Throughout Tanach, Hashem gave explicit instructions to Jewish leaders through prophecy. Leadership meant transmission and inspiration: receiving divine directives and ensuring the people followed them. Today, without prophecy, we lack that clarity. Yet the Jewish people still need leaders – more urgently than ever. This absence of explicit guidance demands a different kind of leadership: discerning Hashem’s will from the signs He leaves us in Torah, history, and current events, then acting decisively even without explicit guidance.
Megillat Esther, a book devoid of prophecy and lacking even the mention of G-d’s name, presents models of such leadership. Though left to their own devices to determine a course of action, Mordechai and Esther succeed in saving the Jewish people from a terrifying fate. They offer powerful models of leadership in the post-prophecy era.
Mordechai – determining and acting upon G-d’s will
Initially, the Megillah portrays Mordechai as dominant and proactive, while Esther is passive. Mordechai is formally introduced, adopts Esther, discovers and foils the plot to kill Achashveirosh, and actively responds to Haman’s plot.
In contrast, Esther is taken to the palace with the other women and, eventually, to Achashveirosh. Her decision not to reveal her nationality is based on Mordechai’s command. Esther’s first independent action appears only in the fourth chapter, when she attempts to convince Mordechai to remove his mourner’s clothes. Indeed, when Mordechai directs her to beg Achashveirosh to prevent the genocide, she is initially paralyzed by fear.
Mordechai responds with a sharp rebuke: “If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows – perhaps it was for [action at] this moment that you attained royalty” (Esther 4:13–14).
Though Mordechai received no prophecy regarding the correct course of action – hence his use of the term “perhaps” – this does not prevent him from issuing clear directives to Esther about what Hashem expects of her. He reflects on the situation and discerns what action Hashem expects from both of them.
Mordechai’s leadership continues after the miraculous turn of events, as he authors the letters reversing the decree as well as those that eternalize Purim as a Jewish holiday.
From Megillat Mordechai to Megillat Esther
Considering Mordechai’s central role in the narrative, why is the Megillah named after Esther and not after him?
The answer lies in Esther’s dramatic character change at this critical moment. Esther responds to Mordechai’s rebuke not only by taking action but by seizing the reins of leadership. She responds not by consenting to his command, but rather by changing it – planning parties for Achashveirosh and Haman – and by expanding it to include the Jewish people in the process.
With this initiative, Esther shifts from the passive to the active voice. She demonstrates that Mordechai is not the only leader. Moreover, Esther reminds us that Jewish salvation depends not on the heroic actions of individual martyrs but on the ability to inspire others to join the mission. Esther’s emergence as a leader not only eclipses Mordechai, who fades into the background, but also transforms him into one who is commanded.
In the Megillah’s central chapters – when the v’nahafoch hu flip occurs – Esther, not Mordechai, plays the active role. Esther reintroduces Mordechai to Achashveirosh only after Haman’s plot is revealed and he is hanged. Though Mordechai records the story, Esther’s leadership and heroics dominate the narrative. Mordechai was the initial leader, but Esther ultimately played the pivotal human role in facilitating the heavenly miracle.
Through her actions, Esther honors her ancestry. Her heroic, risky act of faith vindicates the ancestry that Mordechai warned would be lost if she failed to act. This explains why the Megillah, when mentioning Esther’s authorship, refers to her as “bat Avichayil” for the first time.
Leadership takeaways
Each leadership model offers vital lessons. Mordechai teaches us the need to question why we find ourselves in the positions we do, in particular positions, to discern what actions are expected of us, and to ensure that we and others rise to the occasion. From Esther, we learn that even those led by others are not exempt from the responsibility of leadership. Moments arise in every life when we are called upon to lead and draw others into the circle of action.
Rabbi Reuven Taragin is the Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the RZA and the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel. His new book, Essentials of Judaism, is available at rabbireuventaragin.com.