Esther cloaked herself in majesty (malchut) and stood in the innermost courtyard, facing the palace [where] the king sat on his imperial throne in the royal chamber. (Esther 5:1)

Queen Esther, our beloved heroine, appears like a vision glowing against the darker background. As she ventured forth to the king to serve her people, we are told she was wearing malchut—alluding not only to her royal garments, but also to a spiritual holiness that is said to have cloaked her.1

In the painting, this is hinted to by the ethereal veils that surround her, the threads of her cloak made of blue-green light. They look like wings that spread over her as she moves forward with regal simplicity, ethereal and angelic.2