SHABBAT READING
Ruth and Esther: Divergent Narratives, Convergent Narratology: Prof. Rabbi Reuven Kimelman, The Torah.com, Mar. 11, 2025 — Aside from featuring a heroine, the biblical books of Ruth and Esther seem hardly alike.
Setting – Ruth takes place in rural Judea, in Bethlehem, in the period of the Judges, before the establishment of the monarchy. Esther takes place in Shushan ha-birah, the fortressed-capital city of the Persian empire in the period of the Persian kings, over a half millennium later, after the dissolution of the Judean monarchy.
Language – Ruth employs classical Hebrew on the model of the books of Samuel and Kings, along with some locations mostly found in late biblical Hebrew. Esther is of late biblical Hebrew, replete with Persian words and practices.
***
Bibas Family Thanks Israelis for Tribute to Murdered Sons on Purim: JNS, Mar. 13, 2025 — The Bibas family expressed heartfelt appreciation on Wednesday to Israelis across the country for their outpouring of support, including the tribute to their murdered kids in costumes on the Purim holiday.
PURIMSPIEL
How the Star of David and Earmuffs Were Really Discovered: A Purim Fable for Our Time: Allan M. Levine, Ph.D., Israzine, Mar. 13, 2025 — Once upon a Purim Eve—not too long ago but certainly before gluten-free pastries took over—the streets of a bustling Jewish neighborhood were alive with merriment, mischief, and the scent of freshly baked, 3-cornered hamentashen (hamentash – singular).
Two Jews, rushing home with oversized, triangular hamentashen the size of small pillows, collided at the corner of Mitzvah and Mazel Streets. It was a truly epic snack attack.
Miraculously, neither man was injured. But their pastries? Oy! They smooshed together in such a way that what emerged was no longer triangular—it was a perfect six-pointed star.
One of the men was named David. Naturally, they looked at each other, nodded solemnly, and declared, “It’s a sign!”
Thus, the Star of David (in pastry form) was born. . . .
***
On Purim, Celebrate Jewish Self-Defense, Not Self-Loathing: Jonathan S. Tobin, JNS, Mar. 12, 2025
Purimfest 1946: The Nuremberg Trials and the Ten Sons of Haman: Emmanuel Bloch and Dr. Rabbi Zvi Ron, The Torah.com. Mar. 16, 2022
Purim Illuminated: Jenna Weissman Joselit, Jewish Review of Books, Mar. 13, 2025
Amalek and the Need to Name Evil: Mijal Bitton, Times of Israel, Mar. 6, 2025
****
FOR FURTHER REFERENCE:
How Purim Looked a Century Ago: Hanan Greenwood, Israel Hayom, Mar. 12, 2025 — For the first time in Israeli history, three rare archival photos documenting Purim celebrations in the Land of Israel, then Mandate Palestine, during the 1920s have been revealed. The photos, belonging to the Jewish National Fund (JNF) photography archive, showcase magical moments of children and adults celebrating the holiday in the Land of Israel.
When Fake News Is Good News … The Purim Shpiel at Work: Sarah Ogince, JNS, Feb. 28, 2025 — As the raucous spring festival of Purim approaches, editors of Jewish news outlets are gearing up to produce articles rife with satire, inside jokes and quotes from fictitious, suspiciously named sources.
Drawing on Dutch masters, NY Exhibit Explores Christians Painting Themselves into Purim Parable: Cathrine J. Prince, Times of Israel, Mar. 12, 2025 — About a decade before the Eighty Years War between the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic ended, Rembrandt van Rijn took paintbrush to canvas and reimagined Queen Esther as a 17th-century Dutch woman.
A Purim Guide for the Perplexed, 2025: Yoram Ettinger, Algemeiner, Mar. 12, 2025 — Ahead of this year’s Purim celebrations on Thursday night, here are seven facts you should know about the holiday: