Life of Spud

Hiding in Plain Sight How the Assimilated Jews Saved their Brethren Most of us are aware of the uniqueness of Megillat Esther: There’s no mention of God. Not once, not even in passing.  The Jews are in exile. Not temporarily, not waiting to go home, just living in Persia. The person who saves them is a woman who got where she is because a Persian king found her attractive. These are not your typical biblical tropes. The Torah, the prophets, the whole sweep of Jewish history as we tell it — God is present, the land of Israel is the destination, and men are the actors.  Esther is none of those things, which is why the rabbis of the Talmud actually debated whether it belonged in the canon at all. But were you aware that the rabbis in Israel didn't want to celebrate Purim in it’s time?  Mordecai and Esther had to write to them twice to get them to accept the holiday. The Talmud Yerushalmi records their response to the first letter, which roughly translates as, “we have enough...

There's a strange grammatical glitch in the Book of Exodus that most readers skip right past — but once you see it, it's hard to unsee. In Exodus 14:9-10, the Israelites are trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. Two verses in a row describe the same scene, but with a subtle shift: 9. The Egyptians pursued them [וַיִּרְדְּפוּ — plural verb] and overtook them... 10. The Israelites looked up and saw Egypt advancing [נֹסֵעַ — singular verb]..." Same subject. Different verb. Plural becomes singular at the exact moment the Israelites look up and see their enemy. Why? What Was Actually Chasing Them Before we get to the grammar, let's look at the numbers — because they're striking. Exodus 14:7 tells us Pharaoh took "600 choice chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt." Call it generously a few thousand soldiers. A real threat, but a finite one. Now look at the Israelites. Exodus 12:37 says "about 600,000 men on foot, aside from chi...