A Purim Teaching for our Time: Malbim’s Proto-Feminist Commentary on Esther
Purim - Armed with feminist and political theory, Don Seeman probes the depths of Malbim's Esther commentary.
In Plain Sight: Jewish Masquerade from Clueless to the Rabbis
Why have stories of Jewish masquerade captured audiences since ancient times? In her latest, Malka Z. Simkovich explores the hidden meaning behind dressing up, from the Second Temple to '90s cinema.
R. Eliezer Berkovits’ Faith and Freedom Passover Haggadah
Ross Singer reviews the Faith and Freedom R. Eliezer Berkovits Haggadah, compiled by Reuven Mohl.
This Graphic Novel is a Bible Commentary. But What Kind?
David Zvi Kalman reviews Koren Publishers’ new graphic novel version of Megillat Esther.
Unorthodox? How Megillat Esther Justifies the Holiday of Purim
Tzvi Sinensky suggests that the Megillah itself confronts the question of Purim's legitimacy.
Purim and the Joke of Jewish Sovereignty
Zach Truboff argues that Purim reminds us of our vulnerability even with the State of Israel.
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.
Holidays Reimagined: From Pesah To Purim To Post-Hurban Pesah
Shimon Laufer examines how Rabbinic understanding of the holiday of Passover influenced the holiday of Purim, and how one of the oldest manuscripts of the Mishnah hints that the converse may be true as well.
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.
The Agagites
For Parshat Zakhor, this short story by Shira Eliaser richly imagines the world of King Saul and the clandestine encounter that brought Haman’s Amalekite ancestors into the world.
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