387 texts · Page 8 of 9
“For the queen’s deed will get out to all the women, making their husbands contemptible in their eyes; that King Aḥashverosh said to bring Queen Vashti before him, but she did not ...
“This day, the ladies of Persia and Media, who have heard of the queen’s deed, will tell it to all the king’s princes, and there will be no end [kedaiy] of humiliation and wrath” (...
“If it please the king, let a royal edict be issued before you, and let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it cannot be abrogated, that Vashti shall never [ag...
“The king’s decree about what he will do will be heard throughout his entire kingdom, vast as it is, and all wives will give honor to their husbands, from great to small” (Esther 1...
“The matter was pleasing in the eyes of the king and the princes, and the king did as Memukhan had said” (Esther 1:21).He issued the decree and brought in her head on a platter.
“After these matters, when the fury of king Aḥashverosh had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what was decreed against her” (Esther 2:1).“After [aḥar] these m...
“He fostered Hadassa, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother, and the girl was fair and beautiful; and with the death of her father and her mo...
Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The Holy One blessed be He said to them, to Israel: You wept and said: “We have become orphans, fatherless” (Lamentations 5:3). By yo...
“On each day, Mordekhai would walk before the courtyard of the harem, to find out how Esther was, and what would be done with her” (Esther 2:11). “On each day, Mordekhai would walk...
“With the arrival of the turn of Esther, daughter of Aviḥayil uncle of Mordekhai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go to the king, she did not request anything except that whi...
“Esther was taken to King Ahashverosh, to his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tevet, in the seventh year of his reign” (Esther 2:16). “Esther was taken [vat...
“The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and grace in his eyes more than all the virgins. He set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen in place...
“Esther did not disclose her family or her people, as Mordekhai had commanded her; Esther followed Mordekhai’s instructions, as it was when she was fostered by him” (Esther 2:20).“...
“The matter was investigated, and it was revealed; the two of them were hanged on a gibbet and it was recorded in the book of chronicles before the king” (Esther 2:23).“The matter ...
Another interpretation: “After these matters” – it is written: “Though his haughtiness ascends to the heavens” – to the heights; “and his head reaches to the clouds”– the clouds2Th...
Another matter: “After these matters, King Aḥashverosh promoted Haman” – there were calculations there. Who calculated? Rabbi Yehuda said: Haman calculated. He said: If Esther is a...
Rabbi Pinḥas said: Two wealthy men arose in the [history of the] world, one from Israel and one from the idolaters, and their property was only to their harm. Koraḥ in Israel, who ...
“All the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed and prostrated themselves to Haman, for so had the king commanded concerning him; and Mordekhai would not bow and would n...
Another matter: “If it pleases the king, let it be written to eliminate them” (Esther 3:9) – He [Haman] said to him [the king]: ‘You should write to give me the pen,’17Give me lice...
“The king removed his ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hamedata the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews” (Esther 3:10).“The king removed his ring from his hand and gave i...
“The king said to Haman: The silver is given to you, and the people are yours to do with them as you see fit” (Esther 3:11).“The king said to Haman: The silver [hakesef] is given t...
“And in each and every province, any place where the word of the king and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews” (Esther 4:3).Is there great mourning and mino...
“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...
“Esther summoned Hatakh, one of the king’s chamberlains whom he had set before her, and commanded him to go to Mordekhai to know what this is and why this is” (Esther 4:5).“Esther ...
“Mordekhai told him everything that had befallen him [karahu]” (Esther 4:7). He said to Hatakh: ‘Tell her that the descendant of karahu6Amalek, the subject of the verse in (Deutero...
“For if you are silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish; who knows if it was for a time ...
“It was on the third day, Esther donned royalty and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, facing the king’s palace, while the king was sitting on his royal throne in the t...
“Haman said: ‘Indeed, Queen Esther gave a feast and besides the king she did not bring anyone but me. And tomorrow too I am invited by her along with the king” (Esther 5:12).“Haman...
“That night, the king’s sleep was disturbed; he said to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king” (Esther 6:1). “That night, the king’s sleep w...
“The king said: Who is in the court? Haman had come into the outer court of the king's palace, to tell the king to hang Mordekhai on the gibbet that he had prepared for him” (Esthe...
“Haman entered, and the king asked him: ‘What is to be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor?’ Haman said in his heart: Whom would the king delight to honor besides myself?...
“Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate and Haman hastened home, mourning and covering his head” (Esther 6:12). Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate; [this phrase] teaches that he ...
Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate and Haman hastened home, mourning and covering his head” (Esther 6:12) – Mourning for his daughter, and covering his head because of what had ...
“Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had befallen him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him: If Mordekhai, before whom you have begun to fall, is...
“The Jews gathered in their cities in all the provinces of King Aḥashverosh, to lay hand on those who sought their harm. And no one stood against them for the fear of them had fall...
“And Mordekhai went out from before the king in royal dress of blue and white wool, and a great gold crown, and a robe of fine linen and purple. The city of Shushan reveled and rej...
Rabbi Ḥiya Raba and Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta were walking in the valley of Arbel and they saw the breaking of the dawn’s light. Rabbi Ḥiya Raba said to Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta: So...
A single verse from Deuteronomy captured the entire emotional arc of Jewish exile. "In the morning you will say: Would that it were evening, and in the evening you will say: Would ...
King Saul was told to destroy Amalek completely. He did not. Centuries later, according to Esther Rabbah, the Jewish people paid for that moment of misplaced mercy with a genocidal...
Ahasuerus was a hypocrite. Not in the casual sense of the word, but in the specific, devastating way that Esther Rabbah defines it: a ruler who kills his wife for his friend, and t...
It’s a question that has echoes through Jewish tradition, and one that comes up in a fascinating discussion about bowing down, prostration, and the very nature of God’s glory. The ...
What if you perform those actions for someone else? Does that automatically make you an idolater? The Talmud, in Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic court), tackles this very question....
Naturally, with such a deep and complex field of study, disagreements and different interpretations will inevitably arise. This brings us to a fascinating glimpse into a historical...
You're not alone! The tradition teaches that deep understanding requires dedication, effort, and a willingness to truly delve into the text. The power to investigate and inquire wi...
Tales abound of subtle changes, deliberate alterations made for reasons far deeper than simple translation. One such story, laden with intrigue and divine intervention, revolves ar...
Maybe you enthusiastically shouted "Amen!" a few too many times, or perhaps you lingered a little too long on the "Modim" (we give thanks) during the Amidah. Turns out, there's a s...
It's a desire that sometimes leads to conflict, as we see when examining certain debates within Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. In this particular instance, we're diving i...
That’s kind of what we're doing today, diving into some pretty deep Kabbalistic concepts about the nature of the Divine. We’re talking about the Sefirot (the divine emanations), th...
