-N •

Question of the Week: Which of these singers is oldest:
Carole King, Barry Manilow, Paul Simon, Bette Midler?

'1JOA

s grow-

MeN

u! woci eie Ile •9-17,6
MOIllJOW AJJD9 pup co
v L u! Jalp!vv
elle
L-176 L u! uowi5 rod Aci pamolioj '8c6 L u! wog SDM
uowoAA
•(u!ap,i wog) 6u!> aloJoD LIGAASUlf
is

COVER STORY

Reading
Between
The Lines
Of The
Megillah

Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor

SOME FAMOUS,

W

AND UNUSUAL,

IN TERPRETATIO\S OF

THE PURIM STORY.

A 1707 drawing depicts Purim merrymakers celebrating the defeat of Haman.

hen it comes to the story of
Purim, we all know the
basics: Queen Esther and
Mordechai are good, Haman is evil,
King Ahaseuerus is mostly interested in
wine and women. We get the details
from the Megillat Esther.
In Judaism, however, we rarely are
satisfied with a plain text. We want to
know more, and so we examine every
sentence, every phrase, every word,
every letter — and we add commen-
tary. This is as true for Megillat Esther
as it is for the Torah itself.
The Talmud, in tractate Megillah,
offers almost a complete midrash — or

interpretation — to the Book of Esther.
Moreover, Esther Rabbah is a midrash
on the Book of Esther, and rabbinic
commentators throughout the genera-
tions have offered interpretations of the
Purim story.
In a simple sense, midrash is an
embellishment to the text. Halachically
— or according to Jewish law — we
are not obligated to accept every
midrash, but the interpretations offer
new insights and points to ponder.
What follows is a sampler of midrashic
views of Megillat Esther.
The megillah begins with the
great feast of King Ahaseuerus in
the third year of his reign. One of
the reasons for his celebration was
the building of his throne.

3/2
2001

83