Is he the one who permitted the construction of the Second Temple? Did she have only one son with the king?
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ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/306/Q6 jewishhistory.org/the-beginning-2nd-commonwealth– rosendsFeb 28, 2022 at 11:08
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Why do you think she had a son?– Double AA ♦Feb 28, 2022 at 13:08
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thetorah.com/article/…– Maurice MizrahiFeb 28, 2022 at 17:14
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1 Answer
Who was Queen Ester's son with Achashverosh?
There are traditions that Esther's son was Darius (Tosafoth RH 3b, DH shenath, Leviticus Rabbah 13:5). This would mean that Darius, as the son of a Jewish woman, was a Jew. However this is difficult to reconcile with the Talmud's treatment of his actions (vis a vis his intentions in the bringing of sacrifices) through the lens of identifying him as a gentile (RH 3b).
R. Jacob Hagiz (Halakhoth Qetanoth 2:240) suggests that insofar as he was raised as a gentile, he is treated as a mumar (apostate). And that a mumar, in the Talmud's case here, is treated as a gentile. In which case, though he was as the son of Esther a Jew, he is nevertheless treated as a gentile.
Is he the one who permitted the construction of the Second Temple?
Yes, according to this tradition, it is the same Darius.
Did she have only one son with the king?
I do not believe there is any known evidence of any additional children.
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According to an opinion in another Midrash he.wikisource.org/wiki/… she was 40 when she married Achashverosh so probably not that many kids (but most opinions say ~75 years old in which case no kids)– Double AA ♦Feb 28, 2022 at 15:16
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@DoubleAA though not dispositive, those are certainly good points. Thanks Feb 28, 2022 at 18:38