Purim

Esther Shows How to Speak Your Mind Without Undermining Social Order

The star of this week’s Purim story gets her point across because of the way she tells certain truths.

Atar Hadari
Feb. 24 2021 12:01AM

A Medieval Scroll of Esther Comes to Israel

From 15th-century Iberia.

National Library of Israel
Feb. 23 2021 12:01AM

The Exuberance of Purim Stands in Stark Contrast to the Book of Esther’s Dark Undertones

Jewish vulnerability and Jewish heroism.

Meir Soloveichik
March 10 2020 12:01AM

The Holiday of Purim Emphasizes the Durability of Jewish Identity That Shakespeare Denied

Hath not a Jew costumes?

Meir Soloveichik
March 5 2020 12:01AM

How the Quintessential Exilic Holiday Spawned Local Jewish Variants

The Purims of Egypt and Carpentras.

Michelle Chesner
March 4 2020 12:01AM

Esther, Shakespeare, and the Hidden Hand of God

Can Measure for Measure help explain the biblical book?

Noah Millman
March 21 2019 12:01AM

The 700-Year History of the Purim Parody

The Tractate of Drunkards.

Michelle Chesner
March 20 2019 12:01AM

Purim: The Holiday of Jewish Solidarity

Esther’s central question is whether the Jewish people will continue in exile.

Meir Soloveichik
March 18 2019 12:01AM

Why the Roman Empire Tried to Crack Down on Wild Purim Celebrations

Crucifying Haman in effigy.

Henry Abramson
March 13 2019 12:01AM

For the Jews of Frankfurt, a Second Purim Once Celebrated a 17th-Century Anti-Semitic Riot

The Scroll of Vincent.

Josh Weiner
Feb. 26 2019 12:01AM

A Yiddish-Italian Purim “Shpil” in Verse

What rhymes with Ahasuerus?

Curt Leviant
March 1 2018 12:01AM

How the Six-Day War Changed Israel and the Jews

“A kind of religious ecstasy.”

Yossi Klein Halevi
April 5 2017 12:01AM

King Saul’s Hidden Role in the Book of Esther

The Benjaminite rehabilitation.

Marc Zvi Brettler
March 10 2017 12:01AM

Haman and Mordecai Visit the Shtetl

A Purim story.

Sholem Aleichem
March 9 2017 12:01AM
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