It is easy to regard the ending of Megillat Esther only as an exaggerated parody not meant to be taken at face value. However, this dismissal negates the extent to which this story has sometimes been understood as a justification of violence against other enemies or supposed enemies of the Jews. The ending of the Purim story can certainly be read as a legitimate battle of self-defense in which the Jews kill those who were instructed to destroy them; indeed, this is the way that most traditional Bible commentators have understood the episode. This understanding eases concerns about the nature of the violence, but does not fully respond either to the bloodiness of the battle or to the textual ambiguity about the identity of the
...f the major Optimism of the Jews is that they could not comprehend the killing of all their people. They see it as a task that contains no possible way to be fulfilled. They justify it by saying “Was he going to wipe out a whole people? Could he exterminate a population scattered throughout so many countries? So many millions! What methods could he use?” (6). The answer to their question is yes but there is many chances to escape this fate, although the Jews of Sighet deny it.
She tries to debate her subject and brings a sense to help her credibility as an authority by saying Jesus is not support death punishment. As times has indeed changed, “The “wicked” might be “coerced by the sword” to “protect the innocent,”…even punishment by death” states by
To conclude this essay about the comparisons and the contrasts in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’ is that Byron has written a Romantic account on a biblical account of a battle concerning the Angle of Death or God and the Assyrian’s while Tennyson, who was Poet Lauriat, wrote a simple version of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ showing how noble the soldiers were and he makes it a readable story.
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol is considered by many to be a classic for all the ages, if an objectivist point of view is used to analyse the social and political undertones of the story they will agree with most of it, if not all of it. One of the major parts that an objectivist would agree with in A Christmas Carol is how scrooge thinks of and how he treats the poor and infirm. Scrooge further develops his objectivist ideology by being completely self-interested in both his personal and professional life. After Scrooge is visited by the three apparitions he is radically changed from a self-interested, objectivist, to a positive and uplifting altruist. In Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, an objectivist would agree with Scrooge’s original ideology but would struggle with Scrooges outward manifestation at the end of the story.
The ritual of the sotah from the book of Numbers is a fascinating passage to read in the Hebrew Bible. For one thing, this ritual deals with the idea of a man being able to bring his wife to trial, even if he has no evidence against her. While such an instance might be seen as negative treatment of women, others might explain it as the Israelites’ constant concern over the idea of impurity. Another interesting aspect of the sotah rite is that it is the only example of an ordeal similar to those practiced in other cultures of the Ancient Near East. While other ordeals are told mostly in story form, Num. 5:11-31 is the only instance in which the actual process of an ordeal is laid out point by point. Finally, the ritual merits attention due to its continued practice even after the Temple was destroyed, as is depicted in the Talmud. These reasons and more are evidence as to why this small 20 verse passage has been subject to such scrutiny and study over the course of the years.
work for a long working hour and not get any break or time off at any
The narrative of David and Bathsheba has been of interest to commentators from all periods. This narrative focuses on the sin of David and gives insight into man’s nature as sinful and fallen, and offers the reader the lesson that this is the nature we possess. The narrative focuses on literary elements including the development of characters, the plot, and setting the narrative. This essay will summarize the narrative of David and Bathsheba and expound on the literary techniques the narrator uses.
In this chapter, Esther talks about the bell jar. She says that the sour air from her life is trapped in a bell jar. The sour air is all of the bad things that have happened, all of the things that have ever hurt her. She says that she breathes the sour air that is trapped in the jar, which causes problems in her life. I believe that she means she cannot get away from the sour things because she is constantly near them. You cannot escape air, and Esther cannot escape the sour parts of
In The Princess and the Goblin, the author uses many literary devices to bring his writing to life and to illustrate specific moments in the story.
Although the points where the Torah and Qur’an disagree on basic facts may be controversial, these facts can often profoundly change the overall character of a story. Rather than making a value judgment as to which story is better or more likely, I will simply present these differences along with a discussion on how they impact the meaning and purpose behind the story.
The Final End of The Wicked written by Edward Fudge tries to give us the contrasting side of the argument between the wicked’s final destruction and the never-ending conscious torture. The author talks about the ever feared eternal punishment that is bequeathed with the wicked. He presents his article with a very simple understanding to the readers which position he is supporting. He restates his opinion which says the idea of unending torture is merely an irreligious view based on assumption and not in scripture. The subject matter Fudge brings about is a very unique one that requires lots of valor in order to think out of the box and fight against the old belief. He contrasts between the Old Testament and the New Testament in order to prove his theory. As the process goes on, he argues that there was no such idea as ‘eternal punishment’ mentioned in the Old Testament, whereas, the New Testament calls for it. He says this misinterpretation was due to the inter-testamental years which played a major role in the enhancement of t...
While researching for this paper, I found two seemingly opposing facts about The Merchant of Venice - the Shakespearean play which have sparked the most controversy. This play is the most controversial and the most studied play in Israel. It is difficult to understand how this play could be beloved by the very people who are struck down. Apparently there are various readings of The Merchant of Venice which I had not considered.
Anita Diamant’s novel The Red Tent is a Midrash revolved around the biblical passage of Genesis 34: Dinah and the Shechemites. In this story Anita Diamant gives a voice to Simeon and Levi’s sister, Dinah, who is known as the woman who was raped then later loved by Shechem. After Shechem’s injustice of Dinah, Shechem and his city were slaughtered by Simeon and Levi. Both bible passages and the novel The Red Tent provide some similar and some different characteristic traits for Simeon and Levi which in turn allows the readers to take away and learn more from the Midrash story. The readers are able to further involve themselves in the relevance of Dinah’s voice and story. Even though Simeon and Levi are separate individuals, for the purpose of this character analysis, I will be treating Simeon and Levi’s character aspects as of one character. Because the character of Simeon and Levi in the bible were described as cruel but nevertheless righteous whereas in Anita Diamant’s novel, The Red Tent, they are cruel, unrighteous and deceitful; the differences and similarities of their characters are easily brought forth which in turn enabled Anita Diamant to provide Dinah’s story with more relevance and implication.
Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, a romantic story set in Medieval England; embodies the definition of how a novel’s themes are applied to human life. The representation of Jews in Ivanhoe, through the character Rebecca, outlines the most important themes within the novel such as chivalry, romance, and centuries long English Anti-Semitism.
This play was written in Elizabethan period. Elizabethan period was a time when Christians hated Jews. Jews had to bear all the atrocities done by the Christians. They had suffered a lot.