Purim 2015

The White House’s unmitigated rage over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acceptance of an offer to speak before Congress surfaced today despite customary diplomatic restraint. And the rescheduled date of March 3 is "coincidently" one every Jew will immediately recognize i.e., the day before Purim, the commemoration of events chronicled in the Hebrew book of Esther:

 “… in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces)” (Esther 1:1), i.e. Xerxes I King of Persia and Media (ancient Iran) whose Daiva Inscriptions record his title as the Great King, King of Kings (Shahanshah) and King of Nations (i.e., of the world)²,






Rock relief of Xerxes I¹

“… King Ahasuerus promote[d] Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman… But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence…. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai…. And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries. And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy. And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey…. The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink…. (Est 3:1-15).

¹This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

²Inscriptions of Xerxes Lines 6-13 (Roland G. Kent in "Language" Vol.

How can I be saved?