Megilla: Purim supplemt
The megilla story revolves around the battle between Haman and Mordechai. It is a story about (divided) loyalty, government, human rights, laws, racism, and antisemitism.
Haman, the villain of the story has an interesting name. In Hebrew, it means the Manna, the free delicious food that rains down from heaven. Something for nothing. Perhaps his name reflects the idea of the free lunch. An idea that made Google one of the richest companies in the world, an idea that maintains governments all over the world - benefits.
All Haman asks for providing for everyone is the courtesy of the bow. Mordechai, whose name means rebellion, cannot do this. The Halacha that drives him to this misdemeanor is not clear. Others have apparently followed the protocols of government before. Moreover, this act of dissent touches upon an issue implicit in the Megilla story - the loyalties of people from diverse lands in a huge empire.
The megilla attributes the globalization of Haman's resentment, his project to annihilate the Jews, to his arrogance. A single man is too small a target for a great man like Haman. This arrogant globalization may be more common than we want to believe.
The idea of state visits is also prominent in the megilah story, and speaks to current events. Coming to the seat of government without an invitation is a capital offense in the story, With Obama and (ish Yemini) Netanyahu, an uninvited visit elicited threats of deterioration in the relationship. Esther did not like the timing, she would have preferred to deal with the problem when she was summoned in the usual way, but the situation did not allow for delay. Was it the same now. I don't know enough of the details to say.
Haman, the villain of the story has an interesting name. In Hebrew, it means the Manna, the free delicious food that rains down from heaven. Something for nothing. Perhaps his name reflects the idea of the free lunch. An idea that made Google one of the richest companies in the world, an idea that maintains governments all over the world - benefits.
All Haman asks for providing for everyone is the courtesy of the bow. Mordechai, whose name means rebellion, cannot do this. The Halacha that drives him to this misdemeanor is not clear. Others have apparently followed the protocols of government before. Moreover, this act of dissent touches upon an issue implicit in the Megilla story - the loyalties of people from diverse lands in a huge empire.
The megilla attributes the globalization of Haman's resentment, his project to annihilate the Jews, to his arrogance. A single man is too small a target for a great man like Haman. This arrogant globalization may be more common than we want to believe.
The idea of state visits is also prominent in the megilah story, and speaks to current events. Coming to the seat of government without an invitation is a capital offense in the story, With Obama and (ish Yemini) Netanyahu, an uninvited visit elicited threats of deterioration in the relationship. Esther did not like the timing, she would have preferred to deal with the problem when she was summoned in the usual way, but the situation did not allow for delay. Was it the same now. I don't know enough of the details to say.
posted by Sheldon Goldberg at 10:22 AM
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