Insightful, and incredible art! As a Christian, I respect the well-earned right of Mordecai, Esther, and the exiled Jews to their harsh victory over an evil leader and his followers. Disturbing current parallels.
Appreciate the imaginative approach we watched the movie animated ofnpurim that came out two years ago and seeing it reimagined Purim: Lot. The beginning animated scene could be akin to Dune-like.
I usually consider Purim a dangerous story for Jews because it highlights the Court Jew mentality which proved so fatal in Jewish history. But Hazony's focus has me thinking differently now.
If you haven't already come across it, you might find the following book of topical interest -- Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence, by Elliott Horowitz.
Elliott Horowitz has produced a challenging and thought-provoking work, which examines both negative Jewish views of Christianity and Jewish violence against Christians. Horowitz, professor of Jewish History at Bar-Ilan University and co-editor of the Jewish Quarterly Review, argues that “the legacy of Jewish violence” can be uncovered particularly at Purim and successfully demonstrates that Christian contempt of Jews and Judaism was mirrored by Jewish antipathy towards Christians and Christianity.
. . . Historical accounts of Jewish violence against Christians is a controversial subject but Horowitz takes a brave and forthright look at its history and should be commended for demonstrating how anti-Christian practices became part of the carnival at Purim. As Leon Wieseltier has written in his endorsement of the book, “Reckless Rites is a model of the lost art of troublemaking scholarship.”
Of particular interest to Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, is Horowitz’s detailed study (81-106) of the polemical use of Haman, whose death on a gallows was conflated with crucifixion. The LXX, followed by Jerome, rendered Haman’s execution by hanging as a crucifixion (LXX Est 7:9 and 16:17-18). It is therefore unsurprising that a raucous celebration of Purim sometimes ended with a performance of the crucifixion (or hanging), which was interpreted as an allusion to Jesus, who the Talmud describes as being hanged on the eve of Passover (b.Sanhedrin 43a). Thus, it seems likely that the celebration of Purim at times evolved into a demonstration of anti-Christian feeling during which the cursing of the crucified Haman led to the cursing of the crucified Jesus. This outpouring of anti-Christian feeling demonstrates that the festival of Purim served not only as a means of encouraging people during periods of oppression but also cultivated a contempt and a desire for vengeance over Christians and Christianity. In other words, Horowitz shows that Purim and its characteristic rituals enabled Jews to direct hostility towards the symbols of what they saw as an oppressive and threatening Christian environment.
Reckless Rites courageously reassesses the historical interpretation of Jewish violence – from the alleged massacre of thousands of Christians in seventh-century Jerusalem to later medieval attacks on Christian symbols such as the crucifix, transgressions that were often committed in full knowledge that their likely consequence would be death. It is essential reading for scholars and students of Jewish-Christian relations.
Thanks Misha! I really like your unapologetic, full-of-personality Jewish writing. It's so refreshing yet endearing.
Insightful, and incredible art! As a Christian, I respect the well-earned right of Mordecai, Esther, and the exiled Jews to their harsh victory over an evil leader and his followers. Disturbing current parallels.
Appreciate the imaginative approach we watched the movie animated ofnpurim that came out two years ago and seeing it reimagined Purim: Lot. The beginning animated scene could be akin to Dune-like.
Great images! You might want to read Yoram Hazony's wonderful essay on the meaning of Purim where he focuses on the little mentioned final chapters of the story to draw out lessons for politics, morality, the body self and the body politic. Here is the link: https://www.commentary.org/articles/yoram-hazony/mordecais-challenge-essay-war-leadership-purim/
I usually consider Purim a dangerous story for Jews because it highlights the Court Jew mentality which proved so fatal in Jewish history. But Hazony's focus has me thinking differently now.
If you haven't already come across it, you might find the following book of topical interest -- Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence, by Elliott Horowitz.
From a book review (https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/scjr/article/view/1438/1327):
Elliott Horowitz has produced a challenging and thought-provoking work, which examines both negative Jewish views of Christianity and Jewish violence against Christians. Horowitz, professor of Jewish History at Bar-Ilan University and co-editor of the Jewish Quarterly Review, argues that “the legacy of Jewish violence” can be uncovered particularly at Purim and successfully demonstrates that Christian contempt of Jews and Judaism was mirrored by Jewish antipathy towards Christians and Christianity.
. . . Historical accounts of Jewish violence against Christians is a controversial subject but Horowitz takes a brave and forthright look at its history and should be commended for demonstrating how anti-Christian practices became part of the carnival at Purim. As Leon Wieseltier has written in his endorsement of the book, “Reckless Rites is a model of the lost art of troublemaking scholarship.”
Of particular interest to Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, is Horowitz’s detailed study (81-106) of the polemical use of Haman, whose death on a gallows was conflated with crucifixion. The LXX, followed by Jerome, rendered Haman’s execution by hanging as a crucifixion (LXX Est 7:9 and 16:17-18). It is therefore unsurprising that a raucous celebration of Purim sometimes ended with a performance of the crucifixion (or hanging), which was interpreted as an allusion to Jesus, who the Talmud describes as being hanged on the eve of Passover (b.Sanhedrin 43a). Thus, it seems likely that the celebration of Purim at times evolved into a demonstration of anti-Christian feeling during which the cursing of the crucified Haman led to the cursing of the crucified Jesus. This outpouring of anti-Christian feeling demonstrates that the festival of Purim served not only as a means of encouraging people during periods of oppression but also cultivated a contempt and a desire for vengeance over Christians and Christianity. In other words, Horowitz shows that Purim and its characteristic rituals enabled Jews to direct hostility towards the symbols of what they saw as an oppressive and threatening Christian environment.
Reckless Rites courageously reassesses the historical interpretation of Jewish violence – from the alleged massacre of thousands of Christians in seventh-century Jerusalem to later medieval attacks on Christian symbols such as the crucifix, transgressions that were often committed in full knowledge that their likely consequence would be death. It is essential reading for scholars and students of Jewish-Christian relations.