Behold, the Queen

At 1:42 a.m., early Pentecost Sunday morning, Hadassah Mae Carson was born at St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver.

"Hadassah" is the original Hebrew name of the Biblical Queen Esther, who took a Persian name to conceal her Jewish identity when joining the King Xerxes (Ahaseurus) administration in what is now the Islamic Republic of Iran, about 500 years before Jesus Christ arrived on the world scene in Israel.

"Esther" (Hadassah) uses her position in the King's government to deliver the Jews of the Persian Empire from the anti-Semitic, Hitler-like Prime Minister Haman. *

Hada's name also takes inspiration from chapter 25, verse 2 of Proverbs, sometimes associated with the story of Esther: "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but it is the glory of kings to search things out."

And frankly, I think Mordecai's exchange with his newly royal niece in the Fourth Chapter of Esther is one of the most powerful in all of scripture.

At 4 lbs, 8 oz., Hadassah Mae is getting surprisingly scrappy. As EC describes her: "She is small, but mighty." I'm not sure we'll ever sleep a full eight hours again, but what a strangely satisfying way to spend one's sleepless nights.

BC

*I am also informed by a good friend that when Hitler invaded Poland, he forbade the reading of the Book of Esther and banned the Festival of Purim, a Jewish holiday celebrating the historical event. Turns out he didn't like how the story ended.