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...
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