Secular Nature Of Esther

Just how large is the secular nature of Esther and how much does it reflect our lives today?
The Jews in Megillat Esther are non-religious yet manage to prevail, which makes the book both distinctly unique for the bible and allows it to become one of the most applicable to life as a Conservative Jew in America today. One of the most interesting aspects of Megillat Esther is the completely secular nature of its characters. This can be seen immediately as the entire first chapter of the book is about foreigners and does not mention the presence of Jews once. The book is even introduced using the line ”וַיְהִי בִּימֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ הוּא אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹש“ (1.1) providing context for readers who are not familiar the Jewish goingons of the
There was no mention of Israel/Canaan or the Beit Hamikdash in Megillat Esther, even though the events of Megillat Esther happened in 482 B.C.E., 478 B.C.E., and 473 B.C.E., far after Cyrus allowed Jews to go back to Israel (539 B.C.E.) and the Second Beit Hamikdash was finished (515 B.C.E.). Jerusalem is mentioned only as a city that existed in the past such as in verse 2.6 (אֲשֶׁר הָגְלָה מִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִם הַגֹּלָה אֲשֶׁר הָגְלְתָה עִם יְכָנְיָה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר הֶגְלָה נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל). No mention is made of the city of Jerusalem functioning in the time of the Megillah even though it was. Another key aspect of the secular nature of the Jews was that Esther is referred to by her secular name. Rather than refer to her as her hebrew name (Hadassah) the Megillah uses her Persian name Esther to portray her as the primary character in the Megillah (2.7). In fact Esther is generally thought of as the only name of the protagonist of the Megillah and has become a name associated with Judaism as a result despite its secular origins. In addition to Esther’s use of her Secular name she also intermarries which is a practice which is strongly frowned upon in Jewish