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Another Perspective
Casting As Persians
Capturing and testing the spirit of Purim, which was observed yesterday and Sunday.
In memory of our late colleague Lawrence Henry, who responded in March 2005 to a piece discussing Esther: “Jay, I always like your columns, but I particularly admire this one, translating one of the richest stories in the Bible for modern eyes, ears and sensibilities.”
The Jewish holiday of Purim was celebrated in most of the world on Sunday. In Jerusalem and Tiberias, indeed any city which was walled in ancient times, it was observed on Monday. The day commemorates the Jews being saved from the evil Haman, who used political clout to convince the Persian emperor to issue an edict allowing open season to wipe out the Jews. His plot was foiled by Queen Esther, who had hidden her Jewish identity until that time. The Biblical Book of Esther tells the story in detail and is read twice during the holiday.
This Book is unique in that it is the only one in Scripture not to mention the name of God. No open miracles are recorded in the tale. This is taken to symbolize the notion of God’s hidden hand in history, how He manipulates events without noticeably altering the course of nature. In recognition of this, plays and costume parties are customary, communicating that God disguises Himself in history. Humor is also used, in sharp contradistinction to the general reverence, expressing the notion of the divine comedy in human events. Such as, say, dropping cascades of snow every time Al Gore shows up to make a Global Warming event.
With this in mind, I sent all my friends a special quiz this year, reviewing the events in the Book of Esther through a series of jokes. Herewith my little exam, answers thoughtfully provided.
1) What did people think of King Ahasuerus’ party?
A: They found it intoxicating.
(The text carries on at some length about all the tippling at his inauguration. This is the Hebrew spelling; the Persian form is Chashiarsh and the Greeks called him Xerxes.)
2) Why did Queen Vashti refuse her cameo?
A: She didn’t want to be listed at the tail end of the credits.
(The king wanted his queen to appear before the assemblage but she refused. The tradition says she had developed a swelling which made it look like she had a tail.)
3) What was Haman’s advice to Ahasuerus about Vashti?
A: He should head off any future insubordination.
(The text states he issued a decree against Vashti and he then needed a new queen. Tradition says he had her executed, off-with-her-head as it were.)
4) Why did Esther have to win the contest on the first round?
A: She didn’t want any makeup.
About the Author
Jay D. Homnick, commentator and humorist, is a frequent contributor to The American Spectator. He also writes for Human Events. Here he speaks at the Rally for Religious Freedom in Miami on June 8, 2012.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (29) | Leave a comment
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Ken (Old Texican)| 3.2.10 @ 10:20AM
Folks, I give you an excerpt here from the American Thinker. I hope each of you read the entire article "A radioactive cloud..... over Iran" there.
Best regards
""Remember that Saddam Hussein had a giant, rickety warehouse full of yellowcake uranium -- all the time we were told he had no WMDs by the sleazy Western media. We heard about that warehouse only three years after Saddam was overthrown, the yellowcake was very carefully repacked and moved out, and it was sent to Canada for reprocessing. The uranium warehouse was never bombed or shelled. The risk of a radioactive disaster -- or at least a P.R. disaster -- was much too great. President George W. Bush tolerated years and years of vicious personal smears by the Democrats and the Left about his "failure to find WMDs" just to ensure that the yellowcake was moved safely out of the country. That's the kind of man George W. Bush is. He did the right thing, and he took the hits from all the sleazy demagogues. ""
S.L. Toddard| 3.2.10 @ 10:56AM
That facility was common knowledge long before the Iraq invasion, and had been monitored by IAEA since 91, I believe. "We heard about that warehouse only three years after Saddam was overthrown" is simply a lie. Here is a press release from April 2003, in which the IAEA expressed its concern for the safety of that nuclear material:
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter.....00304.html
Ken (Old Texican)| 3.2.10 @ 11:19AM
SL,
That is specifically why I pasted the excerpt here.
...So no one could play around with the truth.
The man wrote ".....all the time we were told he had no WMDs by the sleazy Western media...
Uh... remember how many zillions of times we heard the phrase, "Bush lied--people died"
I could give you a thousand media links saying precisely what the columnist said they said....right off yahoo search.
You would still argue through your kalediascope though.
Not worth it.
Fascist| 3.2.10 @ 3:00PM
Some words from Hitler:
"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the *Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."
* You may replace it with: leftist thoughts.
Conservative| 3.3.10 @ 1:05PM
Some words from God:
"For God so loved the *world He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Jn. 3:16.
*You may replace it with: Jew
*You may replace it with Gentile
*You may replace it with Fascist.
ATLmedia| 3.2.10 @ 9:13PM
Fascist? Thanks for the honesty!
Close to Tex are ya?Thought so ;-]
Ken (Old Texican)| 3.2.10 @ 9:35PM
FASCIST..........you are a turd.
Go find a turd-bowl to write in. We are for the most part, adults here.
You cannot contribute here...bye!
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