Who was the audience for the rhyming Purim play?
This excerpt of Alef Kats’s ‘Purim shpil,’ presented in English, focuses on King Ahasuerus as a drunken fool
Purim
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Art Why Queen Esther was the star in the age of Rembrandt’s Amsterdam
The figure from the Hebrew Bible was adopted as a figure of national self-determination in the Netherlands
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We can no longer see the Jews’ vengeful murder of 75,800 Persians as fantasy or farce
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News Why are Christians obsessed with Queen Esther?
From the Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project Esther’ to Texas' Bible-based school curriculum, Queen Esther has become a Christian touchpoint
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Fast Forward From raucous street parties in Brooklyn to a somber, costumed rally in Central Park, New Yorkers celebrate the festive Jewish holiday of Purim
The gathering was one of several ways that advocates for the more than 130 hostages held by Hamas linked the Purim season to their cause
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Fast Forward In Israel and beyond, Purim celebrations are tempered by trauma and thoughts of the hostages
Oznei Sinwar replaced Oznei Haman in some bakeries, and children dressed as soldiers and Oct. 7 heroes
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Looking Forward Why I made cookies for Purim despite — actually, because of — the war
Using some of their favorite recipes, our Forward editor-in-chief made 134 cookies for the 134 Israeli hostages still in Gaza
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Culture Is the Purim story actually a work of Babylonian fan fiction?
There's little reason to believe the events recounted in the Megillah of Esther actually happened
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