In the spring, a young man's fancy may lightly turn to thoughts of love; around Purim, my thoughts turn to my mother-in-law.
I am married, on one side, into a large family of Persian/Iranian Jews. There is much to recommend in this which is beyond the purview of this blog. What I can tell you is that Persian Jews are fiercely proud of their continuous history that begins in antiquity. Each Purim, as Jewish people the world over riotously recall escape from massacre at the hands of the evil Haman, my husband never fails to remind me that by some reckonings Persian Jewish history predates Ashkenazi Jewish history a good 1500 years.
So in honour of Esther, Mordechai and all other Persian Jews, let me share one Jewish fact you might not otherwise have considered: The Baybalonian (Bavli) Talmud? A misnomer! Jews study, debate and live by the Persian Talmud. Read here this piece by Yehuda Mirsky: http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/content/module/2010/11/2/main-feature/1/the-persian-talmud.
(BTW as this blog gets back into its rhythm I will return to other pieces by Dr Mirsky, currently of the Van Leer Institute - a scholar who balances erudition, fealty to Jewish tradition, and modern political wisdom. His bio is here: http://www.vanleer.org.il/Eng/content.asp?Id=879)
Recent Comments