Esther in rabbinic literature R. Shimon b. Yohai said that it was because, unlike Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they had bowed down to Nebuchadnezzar's idol. However, he explained that since they did not mean to show devotion, but acted only for appearances sake, so God decreed only the apparent destruction of the Jews, but would not permit Haman to carry it out. A second reason draws a distinction between Daniel, who abstained from Nebuchadnezzar's table and the Jews (with the exception of Mordecai), who attended Ahasuerus' banquet in Chapter 1. Mordecai called upon her to pray for her people and then intercede with the
Shadrach in the Furnace Shadrach is unsure and asks for time to think. Then, he is approached by Bela Horthy, who advises Shadrach to take the offer and flee from Ulan Bator, but Shadrach continues to refuse. He makes a visit to the Project Avatar laboratory to meet Nikki Crowfoot. After a tour of the laboratory, Nikki takes him to her office. She advises Shadrach to flee from Ulan Bator, even at the expense of her work. However, Shadrach still wants more time to think, to which Nikki responds that she loves him still. Soon, Shadrach decides to go on a vacation so that