An introduction to the rhetorical, logical, and topical program, esther rabbah neusner titles in brown judaic studies by neusner, jacob and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. It wasnt that i was so influenced by bible criticism or historical scholarship, it was my own sense that the book of esther, the focus of the holiday of. A haggadic midrash on the book of esther comprising two originally independent portions, according to the title page of pesaros first edition 1519 also called midrash esther or midrash ahasuerus. After zunz, it is not necessary to point out that the midrash rabbah consists of 10.
Except in the wilna and warsaw editions with their modern and. Megillah with indepth commentaryside by side version. Period of anthologies 12001550 yalkut shimoni yalkut makiri midrash hagadol midrash jonah smaller. I will admit that ive always had a certain hesitation when it came to purim. In the biblical book of esther, vashti is the wife of king ahasuerus, the ruler of persia. The book of esthers violent ending my jewish learning. Vashti disappears by the end of the first chapter, but she casts a long shadow over the rest of the book. And it came to pass when nebuchadnezzar died, that his son, evilmerodach, claimed the kingdom. Symphony midrash esther commentary on the book of esther is a tone poem that emotionally depicts aspects of the storytold in the biblical book of estherof the imminent genocide of the jews in the persian empire and their triumphant reprieve and victory over their tormentors. Animated book of esther story of purimthe story of purim a quality family production through the magic of animation come join us on a disney like production of the book of esther you are about to take an exciting trip back in time to the court of king ahasuerus and his beautiful queen esther. As we encounter vashti in chapter one, we learn the following.
In addition to works devoted to midrashic compilations, midrash aggadah also appears throughout the two talmuds. The heroism of mordechai and esther introduction to. Study the purim story from its original text, the book of esther, together with the classic commentaries. Unlike smaller midrashic collections, which were more easily linked to nominally relevant talmudic discussions, the sheer size and comprehensiveness of the bem was not well suited to the talmuds taxonomic system which, of course, was structured according to the order of mishnaic tractates and not biblical books. The midrashim on esther here are based on portions of esther 2.
While the babylonian talmud contains a vast amount of aggadic midrash cf. In addition, according to one opinion esther is already married to mordechai, himself a righteous jew, a prophet and the leader of his generation. Behold, once before was thy father removed from the vicinity of human beings and compelled to eat herbs and grass like the beasts of the field for seven years. Version a, a short collection of aggadot and homilies on the book of esther compiled from various sources, including esther rabbah ii, midrash abba guryon, the babylonian midrash on esther see babylonian talmud. Why and how a complete midrash on esther was preserved in the. Judaism is the essence of esther and she has no desire to live under further duress by having to maintain her jewish observance in secret, as wife of achashverosh. The midrash compilations of the sixth and seventh centuries. The introduction to midrash esther rabba known as the petichta does not parse the narrative of megillat esther.
The a type of nonhalakhic literary activitiy of the rabbis for interpreting nonlegal material according to special principles of interpretation hermeneutical rules. From its plan and scope it is apparently an incomplete collection from the rich haggadic material furnished by the comments on the roll of esther, which has been read since early times at the public service on purim. Symphony midrash esther milken archive of jewish music. God expects people to learn how the laws of nature work and use their intelligence to help themselves, to improve. The megillah book of esther megillat esther, the scroll of esther, is a firsthand account of the events of purim, written by the heroes themselvesesther and mordechai. However, midrash shmuel explains that this verse is a prayer that purim not be forgotten. God was her help and kept her alive and she was wed to the emperor of persia and media, even though she was a chaldean babylonian esth. Still more inexact and misleading is the term midrash rabbah to the five books of the pentateuch and the five rolls, as found on the titlepage of the two parts in the muchused wilna edition. Late period 1200 midrash tadshe sefer hayashar numbers rabbah. The writer of the book of esther probably wanted his readers to realise that god is always in control. Midrash and aggadah by tamar meir queen esther, the central character in the biblical book named after her, is extensively and sympathetically portrayed in the rabbinic sources. Esther and esmerelda share far more than the assonance and similarity of their names.
By special request of esther to the sanhedrin, the megillah was included as one of the 24 books of the biblical canon. Each midrash attempts to wring out added significance from the words of the verse. The megillah scroll of esther is one of the five megillahs in the biblical canon. Vashti is the queen who refused to dance naked before the king and his guests. This article is about esther in rabbinic literature. The talmud megilla 7a uses this verse as a proof that megillas esther was written with ruach hakodesh since mordechai and esther would have no other way to know that the holiday of purim would never cease. The original text of the megillah book of esther with a running commentary culled from the talmud and midrash, the great torah commentators and the.
Although vashti and esther never meet, the relationship between them is integral to understanding the events of the book of esther. In my essay why the talmud is the only rabbinic work from babylonia, i explained why the bavli was the only rabbinic work compiled in late antique babylonia. According to one midrash, esther assesses the situation and does the only thing she can do to further defame haman. In the midrashic account of these events, on the night that belshazzar was killed, cyrus the persian. Mar 20, 2019 a quick midrash on the book of esther, since purim is upon us.
In the jewish bible, esther follows ecclesiastes and lamentations and is read on the festival of purim, which commemorates the rescue of the jews from hamans plottings. Midrash rabbah project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Queen esther, the central character in the biblical book named after her, is extensively and sympathetically portrayed in the rabbinic sources. As a supposed descendant of the destroyer nebuchadnezzar ii of the first temple.
Rabbi eleazar, son of rabbi jose, says that he saw in rome fragments of king solomons throne. However, midrash shmuel explains that this verse is. The book of esther does not mention the name of god. Tannaitic commentaries on the bible classics of western spirituality classics of western spirituality paperback reuven hammer on. It contains 32 chapters 24 on i samuel and eight on ii samuel which appear to be the contents original to the time of composition. Alef other aspects of the midrash to the scroll of esther. The innocent, reticent, obedient esther is nowhere to be found.
Megillah preserves the only complete babylonian midrash on an entire biblical book. The original text of the megillah book of esther with a running commentary culled from the talmud and midrash, the great torah commentators and the chassidic masters. The rabbis pick up on this literary portrayal of esther and describe her literally as an object in praise saying that she was like a statue which a thousand persons look upon and all equally admire midrash rabbah esther vi. The book of esther opens with a description of an enormous 180day party thrown by king achashverosh in his 3rd year as king of the persian empire, ruling over 127 provinces. Actually, the message of the book of esther, the talmud, and midrash is what the famed jewish philosopher maimonides taught. Midrash rabbah, the great midrash, is the name of the collections linked to the five books of the torah and the five scrolls esther, song of songs, ruth, lamentations, and ecclesiastes read on holidays. As the days of feasting draw to a close, he summons his wife, vashti, to show off her beauty by appearing wearing only her crown. From its plan and scope, it is apparently an incomplete collection of the rich aggadic material which has been produced on the book of esther. From its plan and scope, it is apparently an incomplete collection of the rich aggadic. It wasnt that i was so influenced by bible criticism or historical scholarship, it was my own sense that the book of esther, the focus of the holiday of purim, read more like a novel than a book of prophecy.
Artaxerxes, the king reigning from ezra chapter 7 through the entire book of nehemiah is understood to simply be another royal title for darius. Symphony midrash esther commentary on the book of esther is a tone poem that emotionally depicts aspects of the storytold in the biblical. Only after a searching analysis of all the above will it be possible to ap proach a reconstruction of the nonextant works. Midrash halakha is the name given to a group of tannaitic expositions on the first four books of the hebrew bible. All these midrashim, as well as midrash abba guryon, drew upon an earlier midrashic work on esther 3ff. Whereas the frivolity associated with purim generally eclipses what would have been the darkest of moments in jewish history, the midrash hits the themes of exile and oppression full on. In the end, perhaps we might respond to the massacre in accordance with esther rabbah, the major collection of midrash on the book of esther. These midrashim, written in mishnahic hebrew, clearly distinguish between the biblical texts that they discuss, and the rabbinic interpretation of that text. May 09, 2017 judaism is the essence of esther and she has no desire to live under further duress by having to maintain her jewish observance in secret, as wife of achashverosh.
From its plan and scope it is apparently an incomplete collection from the rich haggadic material furnished by the comments on the scroll of esther, which has been read since early times at the public service on purim. The megillah in depth video series studying the book of esther. Once the midrash was put together, the bavlis redactors had to figure out where to orally store it. Adam was first of man, cain of murderers, and abel of the murdered. In their commentary on the book of esther, the rabbis expand upon and add details to the biblical narrative, relating to her lineage and history and to her relations with the other characters.
Book of esther, book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. As a preliminary remark, i just want to remind you that i have given you only a selection of the midrashim having to do with mordechai and esther. As early as the time of creation it was decreed that the following should have precedence, each in his own sphere. God created or formed the laws of nature and is no longer involved in this world. Midrash to the book of esther in the current midrash editions. According to the book of esther, the relationship is simply that of predecessor and successor. As a preliminary remark, i just want to remind you that i have given you only a selection. Ahasuerusit is now generally agreed among learned men that the ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the xerxes who figures in grecian history. A long time ago, in a palace called sushan, in the kingdom of persia, there was a king named ahasuerus who had just a little too much to drink, he called for his wife and he called for more wine, and the wine he got but the wife he got not.
The book of esther is not explicit regarding vashtis fate. Some time afterward, when the anger of king ahasuerus subsided, he thought of vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her, but without specifying what had befallen her. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings. After zunz, it is not necessary to point out that the midrash rabbah consists of 10 entirely different midrashim. Mar 19, 2019 haman, shocked by the swiftness of his turn of fortune, pleads for compassion. What exactly is the relationship between vashti and esther.
The last midrash of this collection begins with an appreciation of awe for god, who allows the murdered to kill their murderers, the crucified to crucify their crucifiers, and the drowned to drown their drowners the latter being a reference to the crossing of the red sea and then goes on to declare gods abundance of mercy, lovingkindness. We might even think that he does not care about us. Mar 01, 2018 the rabbis pick up on this literary portrayal of esther and describe her literally as an object in praise saying that she was like a statue which a thousand persons look upon and all equally admire midrash rabbah esther vi. Midrash hebrew union college jewish institute of religion. Its not until chapter four that a revolution takes place within esther. Haman, shocked by the swiftness of his turn of fortune, pleads for compassion. Midrash rabbah is the best known and most widely studied of all the midrashic works. The works of aggadic midrash and the esther midrashim brill. But the people refused to anoint him as ruler, and they said to him. On the mystical level king achashverosh alludes to gd, the king of the world. A long time ago, in a palace called sushan, in the kingdom of persia, there was a king named ahasuerus who had just a little too much to drink, he called for his wife and he called for. The kleinman edition midrash rabbah is a 16volume project covering all of midrash rabbah, on the entire chumash and the five megillahs. Midrash samuel midrash proverbs ruth rabbah baraita of samuel targum sheni on esther ruth zuta eichah zuta midrash tehillim midrash hashkem exodus rabbah canticles zutta.
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