How could Esther marry Achashveirosh, intermarrying with a non Jew? Why was Esther’s agreement to do seen favorably?

Esther was in a situation where she had to act in order to save her people. She was not married, so it was not an issue of adultery, and she did not “marry” the king, as there is no such thing as a real marriage between a Jew and a non-Jew. She might have been intimate and in ideal circumstances that is not looked upon as a positive thing in any respect, but it was a choice between saving the nation or being destroyed. We see that righteous people are often put through tests and struggles that we cannot understand. The hope is that we learn about who they were and what they represent, so that we can better understand the decisions they made and not be so quick to judge them in a negative light for things that seem so simple for us to understand. I always say that, “The more I know, the more I know I don’t know.” Continue to learn and develop your knowledge base about our past and what our matriarchs and patriarchs sacrificed in order for us to be here today.

Be Well,
Rabbi Gershon Litt