Who Knows? Jewish Leadership in Times of Uncertainty
"Who Knows" seems to have become a recurring question for so many of us. Erica Brown shares personal and biblical reflections on the meaning of this phrase for the age of coronavirus.
Esther the Queen, Hester Prynne, and The Scarlet Letter as Biblical Commentary
Tzvi Sinensky explores the hidden world of Esther with the help of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Purim and Paul: The Torah Veiled and Unveiled
What do Paul, Purim costumes, and Purim torah all have in common? Yehuda Fogel delves into the meaning of hiddenness and its role in revelation on Purim.
Review of Yehuda Landy: Purim and the Persian Empire
Mitchell First reviews Yehuda Landy's Purim and the Persian Empire.
The Accidental Iniquity of Amalek
In a fascinating analysis, Gavriel Lakser places the Megillah in the context of the overarching struggle between the Jewish people and Amalek.
Joy at Last: Reflections on the End of Esther
Erica Brown explores the deeper meaning of joy in Megillat Esther and beyond.
Puritan Purim
How did Esther shape the way Puritans saw the ideal role of the contemporary woman? Cotton Mather, a major player in the Salem Witch Trials, had much to say in his Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion. Stuart Halpern of Yeshiva University explains, wishing us all a Puritan Purim.
Moses in the Teiva: An Act of Hope or Despair?
Was the teiva an attempt to save Moshe's life? David Fried challenges our assumptions about the purpose of the wicker basket in the river.
With Liberty and Presents for All
Through an analysis of Hanukkah ads, Yael Buechler explains how Yiddish newspapers used the Old Country language to acculturate Jews to the New Country.
The Fourth Chapter of Avot as an extended reflection on Epicurean Philosophy
In the spirit of Hanukkah, Yaakov Jaffe offers an intriguing thesis tying together a series of Mishnayot in the fourth chapter of Pirkei Avot: they are all responding to various aspects of Epicurean philosophy.
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