{"id":55395,"date":"2024-03-06T17:18:08","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T17:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/?p=55395"},"modified":"2024-03-06T17:40:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T17:40:01","slug":"purim-unmasked-with-ou-nach-yomi-educator-leah-feinberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/purim-unmasked-with-ou-nach-yomi-educator-leah-feinberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Purim Unmasked with OU Nach Yomi Educator Leah Feinberg"},"content":{"rendered":"

In celebration of Purim, we are delighted to present Part 2 of our interview with master educator Leah Feinberg, who taught Megillat Esther in the first cycle of the OU Women\u2019s Initiative Torat Imecha Nach Yomi. Here, Mrs. Feinberg continues to explore Esther\u2019s appreciation and respect for her lineage, and the Purim story\u2019s relevance to Am Yisrael in the aftermath of October 7th. Click here to read Part 1 on Taanit Esther<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

When does the Purim story take place?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mrs. Feinberg:<\/b> While the precise year in which the story took place is difficult to pinpoint, we know that it was towards the end of the seventy-year Babylonian exile, after the destruction of the first Temple and before the building of the second.\u00a0According to Chazal, the building of the Second Temple had already begun, but was then stopped by royal decree after the enemies of Israel wrote letters to the Persian king claiming that the Jews were plotting a rebellion against him. That\u2019s what brought Mordechai, who had returned to Eretz Yisrael with Zerubavel at the earliest opportunity, back to Persia, where he hoped to lobby for permission to build the Temple to be restored.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is Megillat Esther included among the Kitvei Hakodesh \u2014 after all, Hashem\u2019s name is entirely absent?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Mrs. Feinberg: <\/b>Like all the books chosen for inclusion in Ketuvim, Chazal determined that it was written <\/span>b\u2019Ruach HaKodesh<\/span><\/i>, with divine inspiration, and that it contains timeless messages that would be relevant for future generations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perek Hei, Pasuk Aleph of the Megillah says, \u201cAnd Esther wore royalty\u201d. Could you explain this phrase?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mrs. Feinberg: <\/b>The difficulty in translating this text is, how does one wear royalty? The simplest resolution is to assume that the word \u201c<\/span>\u05d1\u05d2\u05d3\u05d9<\/span>\u201d is implied between Esther and Malchut \u2014 and Esther wore royal garments. However, the omission of the word hints at something deeper: in her bearing, Esther wore royalty. She carried herself with the dignity and honor of her father\u2019s family, the family of Shaul HaMelech, the founder of kingship in Israel, and with this royal bearing approached King Achashveirosh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Esther is no longer the shy, submissive young maiden who followed Mordechai\u2019s bidding. She is an intelligent, dignified and beguiling woman in her own right, referred to here as Esther HaMalkah, Queen Esther, for the very first time. She has embraced her role as queen, consequent to Mordechai\u2019s hint that this was her destiny in order to save the Jewish people. The midrash further explains that <\/span>Malchut<\/span><\/i> here is another word for <\/span>Ruach HaKodesh<\/span><\/i> \u2013- Esther was enrobed by the Divine Spirit, which accompanied her on her mission to save the Jewish people. <\/span>Malchut<\/span><\/i>, like <\/span>Ruach HaKodesh<\/span><\/i>, is a conduit that serves to connect the kingdom of Hashem in heaven with the Jewish people here on earth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In light of Am Yisrael\u2019s current trials, what are some relevant messages of the Purim story?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Mrs. Feinberg: <\/b>There are so many relevant messages. I find the Megillah speaks to us on so many levels. Yet the first thing that comes to mind when we consider relevant messages of the story today is Haman\u2019s accusation, when he describes Am Yisrael to Achashveirosh as \u201c<\/span>Mefuzar U\u2019Meforad Bein Ha\u2019Amim<\/span><\/i>\u201d \u2014 as fractured, splintered, and dispersed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chazal say that that was brought as an accusation up in <\/span>shamayim<\/span><\/i> against the Jewish people \u2014 that there was disunity among them and that’s why they were deserving of punishment. Esther’s response to that was \u201c<\/span>Lech, Knos et Hayehudim<\/span><\/i> \u2014 Gather the Jews together.\u201d When we gather together <\/span>L\u2019shem shamayim<\/span><\/i>, that\u2019s when the <\/span>yeshua <\/span><\/i>is put in motion. That really resonates so profoundly today; the months prior to the war were a time of so much disunity. But the minute we faced an enemy, our gathering together was unanimous and spontaneous. Hopefully, that will lead to a great <\/span>yeshua<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another highly relevant idea is that we\u2019re living during a period of <\/span>Hester Panim.<\/span><\/i> As in the time of Esther, there is concealment within concealment \u2014 we are in exile, and are living under a terrible threat. We may wonder, where is Hashem? Megillat Esther marks the beginning of miracles that are behind the scenes, and this is the paradigm for us throughout history \u2014 for how to function in <\/span>Galut<\/span><\/i>, at a time of <\/span>Hester Panim,<\/span><\/i> when we don\u2019t see Hashem\u2019s presence openly. Megillat Esther is an unusual book because Hashem\u2019s name is not mentioned. The message that Hashem is still there even if we don\u2019t see His presence openly is extremely relevant today and reassures us that Hashem is ever-present, listening to our prayers and taking note of all the <\/span>chessed<\/span><\/i> that is being performed on a daily basis. May we merit a complete salvation, with the swift return of all our hostages and the realization of all our hopes and prayers for the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash and peace and security for all of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

The words of this author reflect his\/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Leah Feinberg is a master educator, who taught at Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls in Hewlett for 21 years, also serving as Tanach Department Chairperson and New Teacher Mentor. She was a popular maggedet shiur in the Woodmere community, where she taught a weekly Navi shiur for women. Since making Aliyah in 2017, Leah has taught at Michlalah and the Emek Learning Center. She is a frequent lecturer at Kehillat HaElah in Ramat Beit Shemesh and at the OU Israel Center, where she is currently teaching a series on Clothing in Tanach. Leah taught Megillat Esther in the first cycle of the Women\u2019s Initiative Torat Imecha Nach Yomi, Sefer Shmuel Bet in the second cycle, and is teaching Sefer Shmuel Aleph in the current cycle.\u00a0To register for the third Nach Yomi cycle, visit <\/span><\/i>www.ouwomen.org\/nach<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In celebration of Purim, we are delighted to present Part 2 of our interview with master educator Leah Feinberg, who taught Megillat Esther in the first cycle of the OU Women\u2019s Initiative Torat Imecha Nach Yomi. Here, Mrs. Feinberg continues to explore Esther\u2019s appreciation and respect for her lineage, and the Purim story\u2019s relevance to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":730,"featured_media":55397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-purim"],"yoast_head":"\nPurim Unmasked with OU Nach Yomi Educator Leah Feinberg - Jewish Holidays<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/purim-unmasked-with-ou-nach-yomi-educator-leah-feinberg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Purim Unmasked with OU Nach Yomi Educator Leah Feinberg - Jewish Holidays\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In celebration of Purim, we are delighted to present Part 2 of our interview with master educator Leah Feinberg, who taught Megillat Esther in the first cycle of the OU Women\u2019s Initiative Torat Imecha Nach Yomi. 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