Purim

Tzvi Sinensky explores the hidden world of Esther with the help of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

As we reflect on ever-present evil by reading Parashat Zakhor this Shabbat amidst the shocking human tragedy of the war in Ukraine, Zach Truboff brings to light a derasha by Rav Moshe Avigdor Amiel written a century ago that speaks to this very moment.

Tzvi Sinensky suggests that the Megillah itself confronts the question of Purim's legitimacy.

In a rare piece of Lehrhaus Purim Torah, Mark Glass explores—with surprising halakhic rigor—whether the Pokémon named Bulbasaur’s use of a Solar Beam attack would constitute cooking on Shabbat.

Mitchell First reviews Yehuda Landy's Purim and the Persian Empire.

David Zvi Kalman reviews Koren Publishers’ new graphic novel version of Megillat Esther.

Ross Singer reviews the Faith and Freedom R. Eliezer Berkovits Haggadah, compiled by Reuven Mohl.

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.

"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.

Shimon Lerner uncovers a surprising but profound message that goes to the very heart of the Purim story.