Esther: The Courageous Jewish Queen | Leo & Layla's History Adventures | PragerU Kids

Ugh, I'm exhausted. From volleyball? No, I'm mentally exhausted. I thought you said your classes weren't that hard. It's not schoolwork either. I'm just tired of all the gossip at school. My friends are constantly in each other's business. So much drama. It's like I'm living in a soap opera. You like soap operas. On TV, Leo. I don't want my life to be one. We'll be an influencer. Huh? Remember when you got bangs? None of your friends had them and then boom, like within two weeks, all your friends had bangs. If you want your friends to stop gossiping, I bet you can say something about it and they'll listen. I don't know. I'm kind of scared to. What if they turn on me for speaking up? Weren't you a little scared about being the first to get bangs? True. We're always using the History app to give me pep talks. Let's find a historical influencer to give you one. Um, okay. Influencer. Where are we? It's so beautiful. Somewhere a long, long, long time ago. Welcome to Shushan, capital of ancient Persia. This has got to be a palace. Ooh, royalty. Let's go find a monarch. That's got to be the queen over there. Who are these children before me? It is I, Leo, and this is my sister, Layla. I am Esther, queen of Persia. Are you the new staff? No, ma'am. I mean, your highness. I'm pretty sure she's Esther, like the book in the Bible, Esther. Oh, cool. We're time travelers from the future and we're searching for an important influencer. Can you help us? Well, thanks to my influence, I did save all my people from complete annihilation. So yes, I think you're in the right place. Layla is one of the most popular girls in her school and I'm telling her she could influence her friends to not gossip and be nicer to each other, but she's kind of scared to speak up. If they think I'm going against them, my friends could make my life seriously miserable. I completely understand. I've been in your shoes and it's very difficult to influence people if they think you're working against them. You will have to work strategically and persuasively to lead your friends in a positive direction. That sounds complicated. You're right, complicated and difficult, but not impossible. I'll tell you how I did it. As a young girl, my cousin Mordechai raised me as his own daughter. Imagine if our cousin Brad raised us. That would be a total disaster. Yeah, but we could have ice cream for breakfast. Fortunately, Mordechai was a wonderful father figure, though I was never fed any of this iced cream you speak of. You should get your staff on that. So during this time, all of Persia was ruled by the powerful King Akhashverosh. He often had enormous parties where he boasted about his wealth, possessions, and even his wife. He sounds really stuck up. People who always show off are the worst. He could be awful. For instance, one day Akhashverosh summoned his wife, Queen Vashti, to stand before him and his party guests so he could show off how beautiful she was. Wow, that's super rude. Hey everyone, it's time to stare at my wife. Awkward. How did she feel about that? She refused to participate, and as a result, Akhashverosh took away her royal title and began to search for a new queen. So he hosted a royal beauty pageant. Since many have told me I'm blessed with beauty, I joined the pageant with many other lovely young girls from Persia. Well, that's sad for the old queen, but sounds like fun for you. It wasn't all fun. I had to go through intense training before I even had a chance to meet the king. Oh, like sports camp. She needed to impress the king, Leo, not the little league coach. It was more like intense Persian beauty treatments and learning the customs to act properly royal. Ooh, that's my kind of training. The training was difficult, and I also had to keep a big secret from everyone. What was it? That I'm Jewish. Why couldn't you tell people you were a Jew? Well, here in Shushan, the Persians are in charge, so they treat their fellow Persians better than they treat other people like the Jews. My cousin knew that no matter how beautiful I am, a Jewish girl would not be treated fairly, so he told me to keep my identity secret. I trusted him, so I told no one. When it was finally my turn to meet King Ahasuerus, he was amazed, and I was crowned queen. I know it sounds like life couldn't get any better, but it definitely became more complicated. How so? Well, soon after I became queen, cousin Mordechai discovered that two royal officers were plotting to kill my husband, the king. I immediately reported the conspiracy. My report was confirmed, and my husband's life was saved. Ahasuerus was grateful to my cousin, and had the happenings recorded in the king's official book of events. Ooh, official. Sounds important. It became very important to Mordechai and me once our lives were in danger. What? You and your cousin saved the king's life. You should have been super safe. A few years went by, and Ahasuerus' highest nobleman, a man named Haman, decided he wanted to have all the Jews in Persia killed. What? Why? Because my cousin wouldn't kneel before him. Your cousin seems to always be mixed up in royal drama. Why did he refuse to kneel? Like all Jews, Mordechai was loyal to God, not to noblemen like Haman. That's the first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. You're exactly right, Leila. I memorized all ten in Sunday school when I was younger. Haman was furious that Mordechai wouldn't obey him, so he lied and told Ahasuerus that the Jewish people living in Persia followed their own laws and not his laws. I bet Ahasuerus probably didn't like that very much. He didn't, and he told Haman he could do whatever he wished to the Jewish people, my people, and what Haman wanted was death. What did you do? Had you ever told Ahasuerus that you were Jewish? No, I hadn't, and so perhaps I was safe, but I had to do what I could to help my people. I had to convince Ahasuerus to save the Jews of Persia. It was time to be brave and use my influence. Oh, but weren't you scared Ahasuerus would turn on you like he did with the last queen? I thought he might, but I had to stand up for my people and our obedience to God over earthly authority. I had to be brave and bold, but I couldn't just barge into his chambers and start making demands. I had to be strategic and persuasive if I was going to have influence. I love strategizing. What did you do? Well, first, since it's technically punishable by death to see Ahasuerus without being summoned, I made sure I looked my best. So he would be happy to see me and it worked. He welcomed me and held out his golden scepter. What does that mean? Is that good? Oh, yes. Holding out the golden scepter meant that I was welcome to be in his presence and he wouldn't put me to death for intruding on him without an invitation. Oh, I need one of those. Layla, you are welcome to come into my room and escape death. This time. You're such a nerd. So, Queen Esther, did you then ask him to save your people? Not yet. Getting him in a positive mood was only the first step. I needed to be very careful how I eventually made my request for him to save the Jews, so I didn't tell him what I wanted just yet. Instead, knowing how much Ahasuerus loves feasting and boasting, I asked him if I could organize a magnificent banquet in his honor. Ah, I see what you're doing. Strategy. Like how I always butter Layla up before I ask to borrow her phone. So that's why you've been so nice lately. I don't quite understand why you would put butter on your sister. Things must be very different in the future. But anyway, remember when I said Ahasuerus's official book of events would become very important? Well, God made it to where Ahasuerus wasn't able to sleep that evening, and at his request, the record of his reign was read to him. His life must be boring. Help me to fall asleep by reading all about me. Before he fell asleep, Ahasuerus was reminded of the time Mordechai saved his life so he decided to publicly honor him before the feast I was organizing. I bet that Haman guy was so mad. He wanted the Jews killed because of your cousin. Haman was not happy and made even more furious because he had to help honor Mordechai. That night at the banquet, the king was in a great mood and lovingly asked what I wished for and said that he'd make it come true. Now was my best opportunity to make my request. Ahasuerus was so happy with you, he was probably going to go along with whatever you asked. I told Ahasuerus that my life and the lives of my people were in danger and asked that we be spared. Upset and confused, the king demanded to know why and who would do such a thing. That's when I revealed my Jewish identity and told him about Haman's evil plan to have the Jews killed. Thanks to my influence, Ahasuerus had a new decree written and my people were saved. The Jewish people still celebrate this event every year with a two-day holiday called Horem. I definitely think I understand how I can talk to my friends now and get everyone to stop being so gossipy. It's not going to be easy, but as long as I'm not hostile or stuck up, I think I'll be able to make a positive impact. Thank you, your highness. God put me in a position of influence for a reason, and I believe he's doing the same for you. Good luck, Layla. It looks like you had a better day. It was great. I used strategy to keep the conversation positive, and then the gossip started disappearing little by little. It's like my friends wanted to match the tone I was setting. Whenever someone did start gossiping, I kindly asked to change the subject, and luckily nobody turned on me at all. That's awesome! It's amazing what you can do with a little influence. Speaking of which, if I host a pizza feast in your honor, do you think I can borrow your phone? If you'd like to time travel with Leo and Layla again, please visit PragerUKids.com and watch more of their adventures.