The story of Purim is told in Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther). After the destruction of the first Great Temple in Jerusalem (Bet Hamikdash) in 587 BCE, the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon. When the Persians conquered Babylon a few years later, the Persian king, Ahashverosh (Ahasuerus), instigated by a trusted minister, Haman, attempted to exterminate the Jewish people.

However, Esther, a Jewish woman who had been taken as a wife by the king, intervened and prevented these horrifying events from unfolding. Through cunning and diplomacy, she convinced the king of the nefariousness of the plan and removed the evil Haman from his position of leadership.

Esther’s life story is amazing. Orphan of father and mother, she had been raised by her uncle, Mordecai. Under the protective cloak of her uncle, Esther grew up and came of age. After an incident with his former wife, Vashti, King Achashverosh took Esther as his new wife.

When Haman’s machinations against the Jewish people began to take shape, Esther did not react immediately. It seemed like she thought a miracle would happen and would save her town, or maybe she did not want to endanger her own life. She may have reasoned that, as the king’s wife, she would be exempt from any threat.

However, there is an event that changes everything: when the threat of destruction of the Jewish people is imminent, Esther decides to act. She talks to her husband, King Achashverosh, and invites him and the evil minister Haman to dinner. There she points out to Achashverosh that Haman wants to destroy the Jewish people and is dominated by an unbridled quest for power. Thus, King Achashverosh reacts to prevent the massacre and takes power from Haman.

Esther is the main hero of this story. The whole of it can be read as the transformation of Esther’s character: from a docile and dependent woman, who does what she is told, to a leading woman, who takes in her hands the responsibility of saving an entire town from injustice.

With this story, the Bible appealed to ancient societies that discriminated against women or despised them, unfairly believing that they lacked the capacity to intervene in the same matters that were usually delegated to men.

We are witnesses to the advancement of female leadership in our society. God willing that we can have positive leaders like Esther, who take charge and seek solutions to the problems that challenge us, whether they are men or women. Establishing action limits for men because they are men or for women because they are women is illogical and is contrary to the biblical account. Human actions, leadership positions, jobs whatever they may be, must be undertaken by those who have the capacity to do so, regardless of their gender.