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And the Jewish tradition has some pretty incredible answers. According to the Legends of the Jews, when the Jews returned to Jerusalem under Ezra's leadership to rebuild the Temple...
The legends certainly suggest it. Take Ezra, for example. He wasn't just a scribe, not just a leader bringing the Torah back to life after the Babylonian exile. He was, according t...
Around the time of Ezra, a pivotal figure in Jewish history, Babylon, that mighty, ancient city, suffered a devastating blow. The Persians swept through, leaving only a small, impe...
He wasn't born to be king of Persia. Nope. No royal blood coursing through his veins, no divine right backing him up. How did he become king then? Money. Pure, unadulterated wealth...
Let’s talk about a feast, a capital city, and a birthright. We're starting with Ahasuerus. Remember him? He's the Persian king from the Book of Esther, the one who throws a massive...
The Book of Esther tells a powerful story, but it often feels like we're only getting a glimpse. The Bible mentions Mordecai and his niece Esther, but in just a few words. What abo...
We often hear the story from the inside, from the Torah and the Prophets. But what about the view from outside the camp? What did the surrounding nations think of this seemingly in...
Jewish tradition certainly knows that feeling, and it gives us some incredible stories about how our ancestors faced it. Imagine this: the prophet Elijah, a figure practically syno...
That's the situation facing the Jews in the story of Esther. We often think of Purim as a joyous holiday, full of costumes and noisemakers. But beneath the surface lies a story of ...
