In anticipation of writing this year’s Purim column, I realized that I am hopelessly ambivalent about Purim 5785. Last year was difficult enough. But considering the unimaginable pain that collective ...

The Book of Esther is a curious text of the Holy Bible. It is especially disconcerting that, in the entirety of the Catholic Lectionary cycle, we read only from these seven verses. This is it. This is ...

MCKENNA IN JUST ABOUT TEN MINUTES. ALL RIGHT. THANKS, TJ. TODAY THE YORK JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER CELEBRATED PURIM, A JEWISH HOLIDAY COMMEMORATING THE JEWISH PEOPLE’S. RESCUE FROM MASSACRE. AS ...

In a few days, Jews will gather for the holiday of Purim and read aloud the Book of Esther. A month later, another gathering, another book — the Passover Haggadah. These ancient texts speak to us ...

Purim, which commemorates the Jewish people’s deliverance from near destruction in ancient Persia, is celebrated from sundown Feb. 25 to sundown on the 26th. It’s a joyous holiday celebrated with ...

For children, the Book of Esther is a fairy tale — of kings, queens, beauty contests and the foiled plans of a dastardly villain. The story can be read as proto-feminist, with Esther saving her people ...

In the ancient Achaemenid Empire, Jews faced annihilation. King Ahasuerus’ evil vizier Haman had convinced the king of the rightness of this policy. To thwart the genocide, Mordecai, an influential ...

Jews are noted for humor, but was the biblical book of Esther written as a comedy? True, it provides the basis for Judaism's most lighthearted festival, Purim. But could an ancient holocaust plan to ...

Get your party on; Purim is almost here! The holiday is one of the most joyous and fun on the Jewish calendar, complete with everything from feasts to costumes to wine, all in honor of Queen Esther ...