“Esther’s young women and her chamberlains came and told

Midrash Rabbah Esther Rabbah 8:3

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 25, 2025

“Esther’s young women and her chamberlains came and told her, and the queen was greatly shocked” (Esther 4:4).The Rabbis from there2From Babylonia. say: She menstruated. The Rabbis from here3From the Land of Israel. say: She miscarried her fetus, and once she miscarried, she never gave birth again. Rabbi Yudan son of Rabbi Simon said: With an absorbent cloth4This was a form of birth control. she would engage in relations. Rabbi Yudan son of Rabbi Simon said: The last Darius was the son of Esther; he was pure from his mother’s side and impure from his father’s side.

Themes

Exile Holy Land Esther Women of the Bible Tribes

Biblical References

Esther 4:4

Continue Reading

Midrash Rabbah Yerovam at the Dawn of Creation It's like peeling back the layers of an onion – the deeper you go, the more you discover. Today, we're diving into Bamid... Midrash Rabbah Did Hagar Speak Directly to God or an Angel We find ourselves pondering this in Bereshit Rabbah 49, where Rabbi Eleazar raises a fascinating question. How do we und... Midrash Rabbah A Fool's Voice Brings Nightmares Upon Himself In fact, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Kohelet Rabbah, connects them to something much de... Midrash Rabbah Two Evil Inclinations God Created in the World We're diving into Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a Midrash – a collection of rabbinic teachings – on the Song of Songs. Specifica... Midrash Rabbah Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi — The Holy One Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The Holy One blessed be He said to them, to Israel: You wept and said: “W... Apocrypha Tobit Traces His Lineage Through the Tribe of Naphtali It doesn't just jump into the action; it roots itself in generations. "This is the book of Tobi," it begins, and then la... Apocrypha Tobit's Righteousness in the Land of Exile Our story begins with Tobi. He’s in exile in Nineveh, in Assyria. And right away, he’s calling out to God: “Remember me,... Book of Jasher Judah Threatens Joseph and the Truth Comes Out Remember Joseph, the favored son sold into slavery in Egypt? He's now a powerful figure, and his brothers, unknowingly s... Ginzberg Vol. 1 Joy And Sorrow In The House Of Jacob In the house of Jacob, that dance of happiness and grief played out on a grand scale. Let's rewind. Remember Deborah, Re...