Sunday Sermonette: A powerful resonance, but an inexact analogy

It ' s obvious why the Book of Esther and the festival of Purim are important to Judaism today. While the specific events in Esther are fictitious, the story does strongly suggest that even in the first diaspora, in the Persian empire, the Jews faced hostility and discrimination. That they were literally marked for extermination speaks directly to the events of the 20th Century.There are some lacunae here. The author does not explain why Mordecai would not bow down to Haman, or exactly why Haman transferred his resentment of Mordecai to the entire Jewish people. The empire was multi-ethnic and multi-lingual generally. In what way the Jews ' customs were separate that somehow distinguished them from all the other peoples in the empire with distinct customs is not explained. I would note that Haman is apparently proposing to exterminate Jews of the diaspora, but not to attack Judah, which by the emperor ' s decree has its own customs and is capable of self-defense. So this story provides an obvious template for modern Zionism. Whether a work of fiction that is at least 2,400 years old really constitutes any form of justification is questionable, however. Also, as we shall see, the story turns out differently from the modern story.3 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles.2 All the royal officials at the king ’s gate knelt down and paid honor t...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs