moons, suns, etc.

i'm posting this mostly to remind myself to think more on it later, but also because maybe someone has something to say...

so, a gemara (where? you ask. well, i forget... i may also have the wording slightly wrong...) i have long favored as a springboard for divrei torah this time of year (and also for hannukkah) states, "why was esther compared to the dawn (ayelet hashachar)? just as the dawn is the end of the night, so is esther the end of miracles. but what about hanukkah? we are speaking about [the end of miracles that were] given to be written down."
noteworthy things: by this analogy the time of history in which there are miracles is the night, and the rest is the day. esther, however, is the sun. or maybe she is the darkest part before dawn?

tonight rav goldvicht brought down that "Esther" is supposed to mean "moon" in persian. he also cited a zohar on "mi zot hanishkafah kemo shachar, yafah kha-levanah, barah ka-chamah, ayumah ka-nidgalot." (JPS: "Who is she that looketh forth as the dawn, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, terrible as an army with banners" ShH"Sh 6:10) refers to the geulah, that starts like sunrise - a small amount of light that gets bigger and bigger. Rav. G. made the connection between Esther and "Levanah" here. really, the idea is in many ways similar. she is the small ammount of light in a dark space/time.

but there is also a big difference - is esther sunlight (ayelet hashachar) or moonlight (levanah)? each has its own set of metaphysical and physical associations, (eg, most basically, posessing its own light vs. reflecting.) what are the ramifications of implying that esther is the moon? or is the point that at the time she seems to be merely reflecting light in the darkness (hester panim) but turns out to be the early visibility of an independent light source? and how does that all connect to the end of writing-worthy miracles?

LATER: (MOnday evening) - upon second reading the zohar itself is emphasizing the progression of shachar-aka-geulah from"yafah kha-levanah" to "barah ka-chammah" (and on to ayumah ka-nidgalot?" i see the yafah-barah-ayumah progression, but its not totally clear to me how levanah-chammah-nidgalot works...)

(if you don't like posting but have something to say, do email me - i sincerely want to hear opinions on this!)