Esther’s choice
During the holiday of Purim, celebrated this week, Jews recount the story of Esther, a secretly Jewish woman who becomes queen, and the choices she makes to save her people.
During the holiday of Purim, celebrated this week, Jews recount the story of Esther, a secretly Jewish woman who becomes queen, and the choices she makes to save her people.
Last weekend, as I listened to the reading of the Purim Megillah, I was struck by its theme of reversals.
Queen Esther, the heroine of the Purim tale, was quite a woman.
On Mar. 8, we celebrate International Women’s Day, a day intended to celebrate the economic and social advances made by women, while at the same time drawing attention to areas that still need action. It is striking that this year the day falls so close to Purim.
The central character of Purim is Esther, whose name means hidden. The story is full of things hidden, and waiting for the right time to be revealed.
Launching her world tour in Israel, Madonna appealed for Middle East and world peace.
International pop star Madonna, who will launch her upcoming world tour in Israel, has added a second concert date in Tel Aviv for a \”Concert for Peace.\”
With Purim just a grogger’s turn away on March 19, it\’s time to reroll the scroll of Esther and take another look at the whole megillah. It\’s a story with characters so lifelike, I should quote them. That would be news. But lacking a time machine, I was still able to go to the source to hear what Mordecai, Esther, Haman and Vashti have to say: I interviewed prominent people — Jews and a non-Jew — whose names either come from the Megillah or sound like they are straight from the scroll:
Iranian authorities have downgraded the status of the tomb of Esther and Mordechai, while an official state news agency has publicized the Purim story as a Jewish massacre of Iranians. Officials recently removed the sign that identified the mausoleum of the biblical figures in the central Iranian city of Hamadan as an official pilgrimage site. The removal of the sign signifies that its status has been downgraded, according to reports. The actions come about two weeks after a group of about 250 militant students surrounded the tomb and threatened to tear it down. Their threats were in response to alleged Israeli excavations under the Al-Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Purim — from generation to generation.