2:45 A stone was hewn from the mountain, not by hands Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a statue whose body is...
2:45 A stone was hewn from the mountain, not by hands Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a statue whose body is...
2:45 A stone was hewn from the mountain, not by hands Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a statue whose body is comprised of various metals. This dream is a preview of world history. The metals correspond to the four main world...
1:2 Hashem delivered King Yehoyakim of Yehuda into his power The exile from the Land of Israel to Babylonia happened in three stages. In the...
1:2 Hashem delivered King Yehoyakim of Yehuda into his power The exile from the Land of Israel to Babylonia happened in three stages. In the...
1:2 Hashem delivered King Yehoyakim of Yehuda into his power The exile from the Land of Israel to Babylonia happened in three stages. In the first stage, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, deported King Yehoyakim, some young Judeans, and vessels from the Beit Hamikdash. Hashem hoped...
10:3 For Mordechai the Yehudi ranked next to King Ahasuerus According to one opinion among the Sages, this verse describes two stages of Mordechai’s...
10:3 For Mordechai the Yehudi ranked next to King Ahasuerus According to one opinion among the Sages, this verse describes two stages of Mordechai’s...
10:3 For Mordechai the Yehudi ranked next to King Ahasuerus According to one opinion among the Sages, this verse describes two stages of Mordechai’s life following the Purim miracle. He was “next to King Ahasuerus” until Darius, son of Esther and Ahasuerus, allowed the...
9:21 To observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar Purim is the only Jewish holiday that is observed on...
9:21 To observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar Purim is the only Jewish holiday that is observed on...
9:21 To observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar Purim is the only Jewish holiday that is observed on two different days, depending on one’s location. The residents of cities that were walled at the time that the Jewish...
5:3 Even to half the kingdom When Ahasuerus offered Esther up to half of the kingdom, this was not...
5:3 Even to half the kingdom When Ahasuerus offered Esther up to half of the kingdom, this was not...
5:3 Even to half the kingdom When Ahasuerus offered Esther up to half of the kingdom, this was not merely an exaggerated show of generosity, but it referred to a specific geographic location. Rashi notes that the halfway mark...
4:14 Relief and deliverance will come to the Yehudim Mordechai’s inspiring words move Esther to courageously step up and defend...
4:14 Relief and deliverance will come to the Yehudim Mordechai’s inspiring words move Esther to courageously step up and defend...
4:14 Relief and deliverance will come to the Yehudim Mordechai’s inspiring words move Esther to courageously step up and defend her people. Mordechai does not say, “If you are silent now, then we are all doomed,” because he knows that...
3:13 To destroy, massacre, and exterminate all the Yehudim Usually, the Torah gives us the reason why an individual, or...
3:13 To destroy, massacre, and exterminate all the Yehudim Usually, the Torah gives us the reason why an individual, or...
3:13 To destroy, massacre, and exterminate all the Yehudim Usually, the Torah gives us the reason why an individual, or the nation as a whole, are punished. Megillat Esther, however, does not explicitly state what the people did to deserve...
2:6 Had been exiled from Yerushalayim When chanted aloud in the synagogue on Purim, this verse is read in the...
2:6 Had been exiled from Yerushalayim When chanted aloud in the synagogue on Purim, this verse is read in the...
2:6 Had been exiled from Yerushalayim When chanted aloud in the synagogue on Purim, this verse is read in the same solemn tune as Megillat Eicha, since it mentions the exile of the Jewish people. The Vilna Gaon points out...
1:3 He gave a banquet What reason was there to celebrate in Ahasuerus’s third year? The prophet Yirmiyahu, who...
1:3 He gave a banquet What reason was there to celebrate in Ahasuerus’s third year? The prophet Yirmiyahu, who...
1:3 He gave a banquet What reason was there to celebrate in Ahasuerus’s third year? The prophet Yirmiyahu, who lived at the end of the first Temple period, prophesied that the Children of Israel would be in exile for...
7:11 Wisdom is as good as a patrimony The Sages teach that the wisdom in this verse is the...
7:11 Wisdom is as good as a patrimony The Sages teach that the wisdom in this verse is the knowledge of the Torah, and the patrimony refers to the Land of Israel, which is the eternal inheritance of the...
