QUEEN FOR ALL TIME

From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency News Service: Ivanka Trump and Monica Lewinsky were both compared to Queen Esther. Hillary Clinton called the star of the Purim story her favorite biblical heroine. In 1862, an abolitionist minister quoted the Book of Esther in calling on President Lincoln to free the slaves. Those are just a few of the ways the Book of Esther has been deployed in American political and cultural life. Ministers, rabbis, politicians, activists, feminists, anti-feminists and more have drawn on the story of the Jewish queen in the court of the Persian King Ahasuerus, finding lessons in how she intervenes to prevent the king’s evil minister Haman from killing the kingdom’s Jews. Rabbi Dr. Stuart W. Halpern in his book, “Esther in America: The Scroll’s Impact on the United States” has given us examples of how Esther has “inspired and impacted the American project since its very inception.” We’ll even take Halpern’s writing further, taking a deep dive into the “Queen Esthers” of our time such as the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Prime Minister Golda Meir, the late great Jewish community leader Shoshana Cardin and others. Can a non-Jewish woman be compared to Queen Esther? How about Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, former Senator Hillary Clinton and even Maryland’s very own former Senator Barbara Mikulski? Join our discussion just before Purim and be sure to bring along your own examples of a Queen Esther in your life. Registration is Required.