Purim 394 articles

Megilat Esther is a funny book & a sad book, about a king who isn’t wicked or righteous, but ignorant. No one but Mordechai protests the extermination plan. Delivered in Boston, 1969....

For part 1 click here. There is a difference between a sefer (a book) and a chronicle. A sefer doesn’t merely tell us the story of yesteryear, it tells us the...

There is a difference between a sefer (a book) and a chronicle. A sefer doesn’t merely tell us the story of yesteryear, it tells us the perennial story of Jewish destiny....

Rabbi Weil discusses 4 more Purim themes. Topics include Purim vs. Yomim Tovim and why didn’t Esther have to give up her life rather than sleeping with Achashverosh? For part 1...

Rabbi Weil discusses 6 Purim themes including who was Amalek and what was their philosophy. The label Amalek is not limited to a specific biological or ethnic group. For part 2...

The Maharal writes that Purim is the epitome of Hashem saving us as a result of our crying out to Him. Tefillah plays a critical role in defeating Amalek.

A value-less society is ripe for producing a Haman. Rav Soloveitchik saw a parallel to this in the Weimar republic. Until we’re threatened we don’t hear the message & more.

The following is meant as a convenient review of Halachos pertaining to Purim. The Piskei Din for the most part are based purely on the Sugyos, Shulchan Aruch and Ramah, and...

It’s about time. Megillas Esther is all about time. It’s all over the entire sefer, the whole book is chock-full of times. Everywhere you look in the Megillah, there is another referent to time....

Who am I? In the musical, Les Miserables, Jean Valjean was a good and decent man who stole a loaf of bread to feed his family.  Imprisoned for his crime, he...