Responsa zu Esther 4:14

Therefore, it seems to me, in my humble opinion, that if her actions were definitely necessary to save Israel, then there is no greater compulsion than that. However, it seems from his words that Mordechai was uncertain about that, since he said: “If you are silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from somewhere else… and who knows whether you became royalty for a time like this?” (Esther 4:14) The meaning of his words is that he was confident that God would send deliverance to the Jews, but he was uncertain whether it would come via Esther or from somewhere else. Thus he asks “Who knows” whether you became queen in order to save Israel—as Ibn Ezra explains. Thus, from the perspective of prohibited adultery of a married woman, despite the uncertainty, it was permitted, for we desecrate Shabbat even for the possibility of saving a life. But with regard to the question of whether she remains permitted to her husband, the uncertainty remains, since indeed, it may have been possible to save them another way, so perhaps she committed adultery willingly and unnecessarily. Thus, Esther said “If I am lost, I am lost,” that now she was going willingly, and due to the uncertainty, she would be forbidden to her husband. But when she reached the chamber of idols, and the divine presence left her, she asked, “Why have You forsaken me? Do You judge unwitting acts as though they were done knowingly? Coerced acts as though they were done willingly?” She was not really wondering about this, since the Torah is explicit that God does not judge coerced acts like those done willingly. Rather, she was wondering: “Are You thus, perhaps, telling me that I should not go? That I am not compelled? That You do not want to save Israel through me?” Therefore, when the divine presence returned to her, she knew that this came from God, and that He wished to rescue Israel only through her. And therefore, for this truly righteous woman, it indeed was not considered adultery—which would have made her forbidden to her husband—since she was entirely coerced.