The Talmud (Megilla 7b) records the opinion of Rava, who directs us to become so inebriated on Purim that we are unable to tell the difference between ‘cursed is Haman’ and ‘blessed is Mordechai’, in other words clueless regarding the villain and hero of the Purim story. Immediately afterward, the Talmud shares the story of … Continue reading “ALCOHOL INDUCED HOMICIDE: THE CASE OF RABBA & RABBI ZEIRA”
Each year, on the Shabbat before Purim, we are instructed to recall the abortive attempt by the nation of Amalek to eliminate Jews from the face of the earth. This incident is the first recorded attempted genocide in history. Truthfully, there is an inherent irony in this directive. On the one hand we are being … Continue reading “JUST REMEMBER, IT’S PERSONAL”
The story of Purim, as recorded in Megillat Esther, is a very unusual religious scripture. Many aspects of the narrative make no sense when considered from a faith perspective. They seem to be distractions from what is surely the main theme of the story – the Jewish nation’s miraculous escape from a devastating state-sponsored genocide … Continue reading “ALL THE PLEASURES OF THE WORLD”
Megillat Esther is a record of the Purim story written contemporaneously and later included in TaNaCH (Hebrew Scriptures). Unlike any other biblical text, Megillat Esther contains no reference to God or Divine Providence, an omission that is beyond puzzling. How is it possible that the miraculous events that resulted in the Jews being saved from … Continue reading “THE ABSENCE OF GOD’S NAME”
A few weeks ago, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, our youngest son Uri put his Tefillin on for the first time. In May he will turn thirteen, the age of adulthood for Jewish boys. In anticipation of that milestone moment – when he will become obligated to observe all those mitzvot that until now … Continue reading “BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER”
Next week, thousands of Jews from all over the world will travel to the sleepy town of Lezajsk, Poland. The travelers are all pilgrim visitors to the tomb of the eighteenth-century founder of Polish Hasidism, Rabbi Elimelech Weisblum (1717-1787), whose yahrzeit (death anniversary) is on 21 Adar, exactly one week after the festival of Purim. … Continue reading “PROXIMITY TO THE RIGHTEOUS”
In this shiur Rabbi Dunner concentrates on the festival of Purim, focusing on leadership issues that arise out of the story of Purim as recorded in Megillat Esther, and particularly on the outstanding similarities between the story of Joseph in Egypt, and the story of Esther and Mordechai in Persia. Using the original texts of … Continue reading “LEADERSHIP LESSONS IN MEGILLAT ESTHER”
Thousands of words have been written about this year’s AIPAC Policy Conference in publications across the world. It seems everyone has wanted to weigh in on this gathering of pro-Israel activists, as 18,000 Jews and gentiles who support Israel and are concerned for the strength of the US-Israel relationship gathered in Washington DC to reaffirm … Continue reading “HIGH OFFICE IS NOT ABOUT GLORY”
