Purim 394 articles

Jewish Holidays

Purim commemorates our salvation from Haman. We read Megilat Esther, eat a festive meal, send mishloach manot (gifts) to friends and matanot l’evyonim (gifts to the poor)

Rav Soloveitchik: Megillat Esther Lecture – Part 1
Rav Soloveitchik: Megillat Esther Lecture – Part 1
Megilat Esther is a funny book & a sad book, about a king who isn’t wicked or righteous, but ignorant. No one but Mordechai protests the extermination plan. Delivered in Boston, 1969....
Oct 19, 2015
By Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik
Rav Soloveitchik: Jewish Destiny and the Book of Esther – Part 2
Rav Soloveitchik: Jewish Destiny and the Book of Esther...
For part 1 click here. There is a difference between a sefer (a book) and a chronicle. A sefer doesn’t merely tell us the story of yesteryear, it tells us the...
Oct 19, 2015
By Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik
Rav Soloveitchik: Jewish Destiny and the Book of Esther – Part 1
Rav Soloveitchik: Jewish Destiny and the Book of Esther...
There is a difference between a sefer (a book) and a chronicle. A sefer doesn’t merely tell us the story of yesteryear, it tells us the perennial story of Jewish destiny....
Oct 19, 2015
By Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik
Four More Themes on Purim and The Megillah
Four More Themes on Purim and The Megillah
Rabbi Weil discusses 4 more Purim themes. Topics include Purim vs. Yomim Tovim and why didn’t Esther have to give up her life rather than sleeping with Achashverosh? For part 1...
Mar 2, 2015
By Rabbi Steven Weil
Six Themes on Purim and The Megillah
Six Themes on Purim and The Megillah
Rabbi Weil discusses 6 Purim themes including who was Amalek and what was their philosophy. The label Amalek is not limited to a specific biological or ethnic group. For part 2...
Mar 2, 2015
By Rabbi Steven Weil
The Special Power of Prayer on Purim
The Special Power of Prayer on Purim
The Maharal writes that Purim is the epitome of Hashem saving us as a result of our crying out to Him. Tefillah plays a critical role in defeating Amalek.
Mar 2, 2015
By Rabbi Moshe Schwerd
Fascinating Insights into Purim
Fascinating Insights into Purim
A value-less society is ripe for producing a Haman. Rav Soloveitchik saw a parallel to this in the Weimar republic. Until we’re threatened we don’t hear the message & more.
May 15, 2014
By Rabbi Steven Weil
Hilchos Uminhagei Purim
Hilchos Uminhagei Purim
The following is meant as a convenient review of Halachos pertaining to Purim. The Piskei Din for the most part are based purely on the Sugyos, Shulchan Aruch and Ramah, and...
Mar 13, 2014
By Rabbi Y. Dov Krakowski
The Tisha B’Av That Wasn’t There
The Tisha B’Av That Wasn’t There
It’s about time. Megillas Esther is all about time. It’s all over the entire sefer, the whole book is chock-full of times. Everywhere you look in the Megillah, there is another referent to time....
Mar 10, 2014
By Barry Yaffe
Who Am I?:  Behind Our Masks
Who Am I?: Behind Our Masks
Who am I? In the musical, Les Miserables, Jean Valjean was a good and decent man who stole a loaf of bread to feed his family.  Imprisoned for his crime, he...
Mar 10, 2014
By Rabbi Eliyahu Safran

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