Bigthan and Teresh: Besides Haman, there are two important villains in the Purim story who are sometimes overlooked. They are critical players, because without them, Mordechai could not have risen to prominence and Esther would not have been able to use her influence with King Achasverous to save her people. Their names were Bigthan and […]
The central theme of Purim is celebration. Mishe nichnas Adar, marbim be’simcha. With the beginning of Adar rejoicing is increased. (Taanit 29a). The hilarity of Purim has always been a welcome respite from the grind of daily life in exile. It is almost as if G-d was telling past and future generations to stop what […]
Purim, Festival of Lots Did you ever hear a situation being described as A Purim Story? It means a crazy, mixed up series of events that do not seem to make sense, but in the end, all work out. That is Purim in a nut shell– an ancient story of court intrigue, deception, miscommunication, drunken […]
After eating your way through Jerusalem, you can arrange for your family to give back. Carmei Ha’Ir, a Hebrew acronym for “All that are hungry shall eat” is a restaurant for anyone who can’t pay for lunch or dinner. It is located in the middle of Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem’s open air market. It looks like […]
In The Beginning… Shutafim, Partners: A marriage is a blessing, a union decreed at the beginning of time, with each individual being born with a designated Zivug, or soul-mate. The Torah relates that G-d originally created man and woman as one entity. “G-d created the human in His image, in the image of G-d […]
http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/ Click on the above link to bring the Shrine of the Book Museum to life on your computer screen.
