Prayer—-madmowen, dodaskewen, dotmowen, najdowen, nokanawen, etc. (Bodewadmimwen inspired)

What is it?

Prayer is seeking

Prayer is worship

Prayer is praising the Powers that be

Prayer is meditating and reflecting

Prayer can be deep introspection

Prayer is intercession, interceding for somebody or something

Prayer is travailing or asking for somebody else or something to happen

Prayer is maintenance in one’s life

Prayer is thoughtful

Prayer is heartfelt asking

Prayer is inclusive of all

Prayer is never exclusive

Prayer is compassionate

Prayer is gentle

Prayer is faithful

Prayer is pervading strength of purpose

Prayer is from the heart

Prayer is grounding or centering

Prayer is seeking guidance when needed

Prayer is enlightening

Prayer is wisdom activated

Prayer is wisdom, understanding, knowledge and prudence in all

Prayer is gratifying….

In the English language, prayer is largely defined by the idea of asking. In old English one could say, either to God or to anyone else: “I pray thee to do such and such.” The basic concept here is heart-felt request. The Jewish concept of prayer, however, is best defined by its Hebrew word “tfilia” (תפילה).

The primary meaning of the verb “lehitpalel” (להתפלל), the verb behind the noun, is self-judgement or introspection. Especially in Jewish Hassidic traditions, tfilia is understood to be an introspection that results in bonding between the creature and the Creator, as a child would bond with his/her father.

It is not a surprise that when the Jewish Christ was asked by his disciples how they should pray, he taught them what to request, making sure to address their Heavenly King as “Our Father” (Matt. 6:9). Shortly before that Jesus warned them to avoid using vain repetitions that characterized pagan approaches to prayer (Matt. 6:7).

In Isaiah we find a curious text: “… these I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of my prayer” (וְשִׂמַּחְתִּים בְּבֵית תְּפִלָּתִי). Note the wording: not “my house of prayer”, but “the house of my prayer.” (Isaiah 56:7; Barachot 7A) But how is it possible for God to engage in prayer? And with whom?

The answer lies in understanding that Hebrew prayer is not only a “request-making session.” It is a communal bonding between God and his child. The house of “his prayer” is, therefore, where God himself engages in introspection and in so doing bonds deeply with his people. They in turn reciprocate this action in their own prayers and bond with Him.

Hau Mesho,

Oh Grandfather

Odo pi ébyayak

At this time we come

Éndodmoyak i jitmowen

We ask for this help 

Mine I zhawendagsewen ge ninan shote ednesyak

And this blessing upon us who live here

Énizhopamséwat se ode Aki

As they walk together on this Earth

Nizhokmoyak émnozhewébsiyak ode nwézhobmadsewen

Help us to live this long life

Nizhokmoshek jayék gé ninan

Help all of us

Nishokmoshek épandewébniyak

Help us as we search

I géte myéwen

For the true way

Mine i débwéwen

And the truth

Mine i bémadsewen

And the way of life

Gin se mteno éje penmoyak odo pi

You alone we depend on at this time

Ahau, Migwéch.

Ho, thank you

Iw énajmoyak odo pi

That is all we say at this time

A General Prayer.

Hau nmeshomes

Oh my Grandfather

Mine gi meshomsenanek

And all of our grandfathers

Mine Mamogosnan eshe ne kasyen gego

And Creator as you are also known

Mine o Nokmeskignan

And our Grandmother Earth

E bya ygo ngom

So we come today

Ebgednegoygo ode sema

To put down our tobacco

Mine anet se ode wisnewen

And some of this food

Ik she gwien ekedgoygo

To say thank you

Mine ode kigdowen nake ode madwomen

And this talk or our prayers

Emno widoktadwiygo jayek se ninan

That we may all interact well together all of us

Mine eminangoygo i mnobmadsewen

And we may receive this good life

Ewi mnomajishkaygo mine ewi

That we may be healthy and

Ni zhokmagomen jayek

We may receive the health/help we all need

Pene shna emnobmadziygo

That we always live good lives

Ewi pamseygo se ode kiwen

As we walk about this Earth

Mine ewi mno wdabjetoygo

And that we use in a good way

Jayek gi nozhownen emingoygo

All those gifts we’ve been given

I ye i endotmoygo ngom

That is what we ask of you today

Pene shna emno widoktadwiygo

That we always live well together

Epa bmadziygo shote

Where we live about here

Gego wnikeken gode pwagnen

Don’t forget these pipes

Ewi nizhokmagoygo epenmoygo gi

That we depend on to help us

Ibe pi ebodyego gi pwagnen

When we fill them those pipes

Mine engemwiygo gode gemwenen enajdoygo

And as we sing these songs all of us asking

Gnizhokmagejek ewi byewat shote ednesyego

These powers to come here where we live

Enizhokmagomen emneseygo

To help us in things we need

Ode bmadsewen

Of this life

I ye i wa je penmoygo pene

That is why we depend always

Shna i mendowen etoyen

On this spiritual power you have

Ibe ednesyen

There where you are

Iw enajmoyan…..

That is all I have to say…….

https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/scripture.html

I find the Holy Writings/Holy Bible very interesting as it contains the history and creation of the world(s), the history and creation of man, and the creation of all Life, as we have come to know it. There is much I find in the Holy Writings of God, and they are the writings of the God of this Universe, and I have found much wisdom therein. The Bible is also its own commentary, if one looks to the same God who caused it to be written with the willing help of man. That God is able to explain every intricate detail of the written word I seek within the pages of the Holy Writ, at least that has been my experience.

Iw enajmoyan, Neaseno ndesh ne kas.

https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Torah/The_Shema/the_shema.html

Hear o Neshnabek, the LORD our God is one Lord. We Neshnabek have always been a one God People.

Iw enajmoyan

Nin se Neaseno!

I am leaving for Summer Camp Meeting today and shall not be posting anything Wednesday or Thursday. I will be writing something on Friday though and look forward to God’s blessings during this Summer Camp Session. Ya all take care and God richly bless……

Neaseno Perrot.

https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Chaos/chaos.html

A “What If” story…..

This was posted in the “forum” of our Ning Room for all natives to enjoy reading…
When it comes to fiction, besides the many treaties signed by the USA and its’ many governmental agents, I like stories like this one….
Enjoy…..Nin se Neaseno….



This story imagines a parallel universe in which Native Americans
have conquered and settled Europe. Part of the point is that Native
Americans would not have done to Europeans what Europeans actually
did to Native Americans. The main point is (as Sherman Alexie says)
to “turn it around,” in order to expose cultural double standards.
Versions of this piece were published in 1992 in Akwesasne Notes,
News From Indian Country, Report on the Americas, and other period-
icals.”Wanblee Johnson” is a fictitious character thought up by Zol-
tán Grossman.

500 YEARS SINCE THE INVASION OF EUROPE:
A Letter to the Public from European Rights Activist Wanblee Johnson

It was 500 years ago that Callicoatl sailed across the ocean with three Aztec boats, and found a new continent, a new Eastern Hemisphere. The commemoration of this event is being marked with great fanfare and celebration. Every child has been taught the story: how Callicoatl convinced Montezuma II to support his journey, how the Aztec sailors nearly despaired on the journey, and how they “discovered” a strange white-skinned race in the “New World.”
But that is only part of the story. It is important that in this, the 500th anniversary of Callicoat’s voyage, the record be set straight.
For Callicoatl did not “discover” this continent, he invaded it. It was already inhabited by many nations of people, living our own cultures, and practicing our own religions, on our own land. Over the past five centuries, we, the Native peoples of Europe, have seen our natural resources and our spirituality stolen, and our relatives enslaved. That is hardly a history worth celebrating.
In the Pre-Callicoatlian era, great empires were ruled by the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, the Moors, and many other indigenous peoples of the Eastern Hemisphere. They contributed much to the world, as attested to by the great temples and pyramids they left behind. They had detailed knowledge of astronomy, law, agriculture, and religion. True, there were wars among these peoples, and persecution of those who did not follow the state religion. But they were no more oppressive than the empires of Montezuma II or the Inca Tupac Yupanki in the “Old World” 500 years ago. And, like in the Western Hemisphere, there were many peoples still living in harmony with the land, here in our hemisphere.
There were many other explorers who sailed to these shores, and even some who claimed to have arrived before Callicoatl – the Arawak, the Beothuk, and the Lenni-Lenape. But it was the Aztec flag of Anauak and the Inca flag of Tawantinsuyo that were first firmly planted on our soil. Soon after Callicoatl arrived, this land was named Omequauh after another Aztec-sponsored explorer. The Aztecs and Incas conquered and divided up South and Central Omequauh – the lands we call Africa, Iberia, and the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Later, the Dakota and Ojibwe fought over and divided North Omequauh, my home continent, which we call “Europe.”
Some great “European” leaders pulled together alliances of knights to resist the settlers, but our freedom fighters were never unified enough to prevail. Some of our Native peoples – among them the Irish, Corsicans, and Sardinians – were wiped out, their cultures lost to history.
You may know us as “Native Omequauhns”, but we prefer to be called the “Original Europeans,” or the “First Nations.” We are not one people but many peoples, following different customs. We speak many tongues, which you may call “dialects,” but we prefer to equate with your languages. We worship under different religions that were outlawed until recently, and are ridiculed to this day as mere superstition. The religion of my ancestors was known as “Christianity,” and there are some of us who even today pray to a single god and his son.
Though we are commonly called “tribes,” we have historically existed as nations, with our own borders, provinces, and capitals. The capital of my ancestors, London, was as great in its time as Cuzco or Tenochtitlan, until it was sacked by the invaders. My people, the York band of the English tribe, were once citizens of Yorkshire county (or province) in the English Nation (or “England”). Many of our peoples are not even called by their original names, but by derogatory names that others have given them. The Krauts, for instance, are more properly called the “Germans,” or Deutsche in their own language. Similarly, the Frogs should be called the “French,” or Français in their own tongue.
These terms are important if we are to reclaim our nationhood. But even more important is reclaiming our ancestral land rights, which have been steadily whittled away over the past 500 years. My English people, for instance, are scattered in over 50 small reservations throughout of island of Newfoundland (which we have always called “Britain”), and on the continental mainland where one-third of us were forcible relocated a century ago. Despite disease, removal, and loss of lands where we hunted and farmed, our traditional forms of local government have been carried on to this day.
Agreements we signed with the settlers guarantee that we still have access to natural resources on lands we used to own. Most of these agreements were broken, and many lands were stolen without any agreements whatsoever. Today, some descendants of the settlers don’t understand why we continue to exercise these rights. Some of them even tell us to go back where we came from!
My people were forced into dependency after the warriors (who we called the “Long Arrows”) slaughtered our sheep – our main livelihood. The children began to be sent to schools where they were forced to use Dakota names to replace their English names, and were beaten if they spoke English. Through the generations, many of our people became so assimilated that they began to look, dress, walk and talk like the settlers. But they still retained their identity, hidden from view.
It was only about 25 years ago that our peoples started to reclaim their European heritage. On my reservation, that meant young people starting to relearn the English language. We also began to communicate with Native peoples in South and Central Omequauh, some of whom actually form a majority in their countries. Though they speak different colonial languages (Nahuatl and Quechua), our concerns are similar.
Reclaiming our cultures means learning from our elders, and reading the great works of Chaucer and other ancient prophets. It means challenging stereotypes, such as the view that all of our people wear suits of armor, or live in thatched-roof huts. Above all, it means countering the despair on many of our reservations – the poverty, the consumption of beer and chicha, and the low self-esteem among Native youth.
This new pride has led to conflict with the governments occupying our lands. We have had to take on the Bureau of Caucasian Affairs (BCA), which has controlled our economies and prevented any independent Native voices from speaking out. We are attacked for being poor, and then criticized for methods we use to get out of poverty. We have also had to deal with collaborators among our own people, in some of the councils that the BCA established years ago to replace our traditional governments, and to sell off what is left of our land. Some of the Europeans on these councils are so obedient to authority that we call the “conches” – white on the outside, but red on the inside.
The rebirth of our European cultures has also stimulated interest on the part of mainstream non-European society. Nowadays, some children playing “Warriors and Knights” actually want to be the knights. While this trend is welcome, we also find non-Europeans romanticizing our cultures, and trying to usurp them in the same way they usurped our land. We loathe seeing non-Europeans dressing up like our own priests, and conducting the sacred catechism ceremony, for the benefit of their own curiosity. We don’t appreciate seeing ethnic Dakota wearing powdered wigs, or putting on ballroom dances. And we roll our eyes whenever one of these ‘wannabes’ says that their great-grandmother was a Swedish princess.
There was a time when our land would be stolen and our people divided and relocated, with only a passive response. But no more. The European Wars are being rekindled, as more nations are defending the lands our ancestors are buried under. Many remember the armed confrontations at the Long Fjord Norwegian Reservation about two decades ago, or at the Lake Balaton Hungarian Reservation two years ago. If our sovereignty is not recognized, these skirmishes are likely to continue.
It should be clear to you, the non-European public, that despite 500 years of colonization, we still exist as peoples and nations. In the face of overwhelming odds – the near-extinction of our population, and the theft of our religions and lands – we have survived. When you talk about “celebrating” the arrival of Callicoatl, it sends a chill up our spines. Even Callicoatl’s name, in the Nahuatl language, means “Serpent from the West.” If you do not recognize that our people were here when he arrived in our land, you will never be able to recognize that we are here, in front of you, today. Posted by neaseno at 10:17 AM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

In all the things we experience these days I am reminded of what it was like growing up as simple a lifestyle as we lived. For example, we grew most of our own vegetables, picked and canned a lot of fruits and veggies, hunted and fished a lot, and even canned a lot of wild game we took in. We lived simply, sunup to sundown, one day to the next, prayed a lot as well. Most of our daily living centered around prayer, in fact, one might say our lives were a whole series of ceremonies, from the time the sun arose, to the time it went down again, and the next day it would start all over again. No electricity, no indoor plumbing, no clocks to rule the day, and plenty of fresh air and sunshine.

The one thing I am cognizant of is that we did not seem to place a great importance on the days of the week. This Stay at Home business has brought that back to my memory in a big way. The other day my wife asked me what day it was, and I could not remember. We both had a good laugh over it, and then I told her a little of what it was like growing up the way I did.

There was no concept of days of the week. It was not until we started school that everyone really became conscious of the days of the week. Those that worked in town were aware of those time factors, but we often were not, those of us remaining at home. Time was meaningless, inasmuch as labeling it, micro-managing it. It was good to just be.

We had no concept of time, as we have come to know it today. Most people are governed by their day, from the moment they arise, till they lie down again. This time period we are all experiencing has returned us to the simple ways of the lives of our forefathers.

A word on freedom……..

“What is freedom?” an enlightened teacher asked her class.

“It’s when you can leave home and go wherever you want, and do whatever you

want, and your parents can’t tell you what to do,” a child replied.

“But what if you get hungry?

Are you now free to starve?”

“I would go home,” the child says.

We are not free. Nor have we ever been. Perfect freedom demands a perfect vision of reality, one too painful for the healthy to endure. It requires that we be alive, alert and exquisitely aware of our raw being. Faced with the pain of freedom, man begs for his shackles. Afraid of death, he seeks the stultifying boundaries of religion. Afraid of loneliness, he imprisons himself in relationships. Afraid of want, he accepts the bondage of employment. Afraid of rejection, he conforms to the commands of society. If our knowledge of freedom were perfect, we would not choose it. Pure freedom is pure terror.

Perhaps these folks who are protesting about being quarantined too long are afraid of this freedom. Is that why they need guns when they protest?

These moments of time have brought me much freedom. Freedom from being shackled to a schedule, and other things that ate up the days for me. I am enjoying the liberty of being free in Christ also, free to worship him the way my mom and dad did, in the beginning days of their conversion to Christianity. I am free to literally bathe in the Holy Ghost, not being mindful of religious labels, and just be free as Christ wants me to be.

It is liberating, this freedom and the way it exhilarates the senses. Folks, we are free, in spite of the corona virus. We are free to live and be alive. That is a wonderful thing, to be free in Him…..Christ and the Holy Ghost are not religion.

Iw enajmoyan

Nin se Neaseno.

My friends,


I love the miracle stories of the Bible. They are exciting and inspiring.

It is fun to tell my children about how great God is. The picture Bibles always help me illustrate the highlights of the journeys of Israel, the parting of the sea, the food from the sky, the water from the rock. I love to see their eyes light up as they hear how God can change our natural world any way He wants.
 

There is one thing many of those children’s Bibles don’t emphasize though. It isn’t fun. It isn’t inspiring. And you don’t want to see the pictures.

I also love the miracle stories of my life. Healings God gave my family. Transformations He has done in me. Prayers He answered that were impossible. I live in hope of what He will do next.

If I’m careless, however, I make the same mistake as the picture Bibles. I fixate on the goodness of God and forget His severity.

After telling about the power and wonder of God leading His people under the cloud and through the sea, look what else the apostolic historian recounted in I Corinthians 10:5

“But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.” (NKJV)

Uh, these were the ones who He did all those things for. Epic miracles like walls of water and miracle food and drink! And He then slaughtered them all until there were piles of bloating corpses in the wilderness.

Not the picture Bible I want to see. 

Not the picture I want to live.

But I could end up there. 

If God reduced the thousands of people who saw those miracles down to just two survivors, I had better pay attention.

So, the question begging in the back of our minds is, “Why?” 

I’m glad your mind asked that.

He executed them because they craved evil things.

He thinned them out because they gave their attention and affection to idols which replaced the focus they once had on Him.

He killed them because they lived to indulge themselves with food, drink, and fleshly pleasures that took them out of the bounds of God’s purity. 

He slaughtered over 23,000 of them in one day because they engaged in sexual activity outside of God’s design (marriage).

He sent serpents to bite those who tempted our King and provoked Him to act.

He commissioned the destroyer to take out the complainers.

Uh.

Not cool. 

Don’t say you haven’t complained.

These stories are recorded for us to see both the shock and awe of God’s power and the anguish and awfulness of burning His kindness to us. (See I Corinthians 10:1-11.)

Are you playing too loose?

It is not uncommon for people who have seen the greatest miracles in history to lose sight of what is important. We know better. We have their story as a warning to us.

God could heal you of cancer and send you to hellfire.

You could cast out devils and raise the dead and your life fall as a harvest to the devil’s sickle.

Will you finish strong? Will you keep your focus and attention on the One who saved you?

Will you run from sexual sin and that temptation to complain about your preacher?

Love the Lord with all your heart. We will end up as worse than bloated carcasses if we let something else replace Him in our lives.

You needed Him for your breakthrough. You rejoiced in Him in your deliverance. And you better hold onto Him if you want to make it to the Promised Land.

Much love,

Daniel

The Inner Room

His Heart Yearned For His Brother

Last time, we saw that together with Benjamin the brothers had returned to Egypt. They were apprehensive of being accused of stealing the silver they had found in their sacks; they didn’t know whether they would find Simeon alive and whether he would be returned to them; and most of all they were afraid that Benjamin, upon whose coming the Egyptian magistrate had insisted, would for some reason be taken from them. In short, they were filled with expectations of gloom and doom. When upon Joseph’s order they were  brought to his house, they said, ‘It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.’[1] But the steward of Joseph’s house to whom they tried to return the silver answered them, ‘Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks…’ Then he brought Simeon out to them.[2] So, contrary to their expectations, everything began to turn out not so badly after all, and once again they, now with Benjamin, came and stood before Joseph…

Take a look at this remarkable scene. The ten had already been here before and this whole scene would have been like an unpleasant déjà vu for them. Only Benjamin, laying eyes for the first time on the one about whom he had heard so much, with open curiosity examines this strange man. Who is he? Why has he been so insistent on his, Benjamin’s, coming? And what is even more peculiar, now that Benjamin has finally come, why does he not even bother to look at him?

Have you also noticed it? From the moment the brothers come before Joseph and he begins to speak with them, until the moment when he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son,[3] an entire eternity passes. Four verses of Scripture can make up several very long moments in real life. Could it possibly be that Joseph really did not notice Benjamin until now?

I believe this single dramatic detail is enough to show how infinite is the love Joseph has for his brother. Joseph, who doubtless had noticed Benjamin from the second he entered, continues to converse with the others as if unaware of the newcomer. With all his might, he refrains from looking over at Benjamin, knowing that when he does he will no longer be able to speak, be unable to resist being swept away on the wave of emotions that will overpower him. Only after all the obligatory and polite words of welcome are pronounced does he permit himself for the first time to look fully upon his mother’s son. He allows himself to lift his eyes and see his brother Benjamin³⁶ and to look, forgetting everything and everyone, absorbing these infinitely dear features… Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph… sought somewhere to weep.[4]

The description of Joseph’s feelings is acutely intense in the Hebrew:

Now his heart yearned for his brother (כי-נכמרו רחמיו אל-אחיו)

This is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, expressions in the Tenach to describe the feelings which permeate a loving person. When King Solomon, for example, was determining the mother of the infant and made as if to have the child divided in two with the sword, it is said of the real mother:

She yearned with compassion for her son [5] (נכמרו רחמיה אל-בניה)

This same phrase is used several times in the Bible to describe God’s love for Israel: ‘Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him,’ says the LORD.[6] It is intriguing that the word רחמיה/רחמיו can be translated as womb (in this sense we get the term heart, as that innermost part of us), but also as compassion, mercy, or lovingkindness. The combination of these two definitions makes that deep-down love that besieges the soul even more prominent and intense. It describes the emotion with which Joseph is overcome, like a wave swallowing him from head to foot. Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep.³³

The inner room

Now, try to see this entire scene through the eyes of the brothers. So Joseph made haste.³³ Try to imagine for yourself their puzzlement when this arrogant Egyptian governor (this is probably how they would have perceived him), unexpectedly right in the middle of their conversation, without any explanation and for no apparent reason, turns and strides quickly toward the exit. Not one of the brothers, including Benjamin, has the slightest idea of what is really going on in the heart of this “aloof” lord, or how his heart yearned for his brother.[7] Faith is the evidence of things not seen – and it is difficult to imagine a more graphic or expressive illustration of the difference between the seen and unseen. The brothers do not see the heart-breaking scene that you and I do: and he went into his chamber and wept there.³³ They do not know what is happening with Joseph in this inner room, and for this reason, the gap is truly great between how they perceive the circumstances and what is really going on in the invisible reality of that chamber. However, we the readers easily understand that it is in his chamber that we see the true Joseph!

For a brief moment, it might seem to us that the game is over. Now, we think hopefully, wiping his tears, Joseph will emerge from his room and rush over to Benjamin, give him a bear hug and reveal himself. I am convinced that this was exactly what Joseph wanted to do more than anything else in the world. It is perfectly natural to expect this from a person who finally sees a beloved brother from whom he has been separated for many years. Instead, we see something completely different: Joseph (revealing the character of God’s supernatural love in this more than in anything else!) cannot reveal himself to the brothers until his plan is complete until God’s work in their hearts is finished. For this reason, what does he do upon leaving his chamber? Completely opposite of what we might expect and what he might personally want to do, he washed his face so that his tears would not be seen, so that there would be no trace of that love, and came out; and he restrained himself… (ויתאפק).[8]

Remember this word restrained; remember these tears of love that Joseph had to hold back. Remember, because at the end of this story we will see that Joseph could not restrain himself anymore. However, right from the beginning of the next chapter, we are puzzled again – and next time, we will discuss the new layer of this amazing story.

[1] Gen. 43:18

[2] Gen. 43:23

[3] Gen. 43:29

[4] Gen. 43:30

[5] 1 Kings 3:26; the NASB translates this phrase as ‘She was deeply stirred over her son.’

[6] Jer. 31:20

[7] Gen. 43:30

[8] Gen. 43:31

After These Events

My dear readers, I have been leading this blog for almost 5 years now, and that means that I am writing an article about Purim here for the fifth time. In previous years I spoke about many different things and told you many different stories related to Purim (here are the links to some previous posts on Purim: https://blog.israelbiblicalstudies.com/jewish-studies/miracle-purim-reversal-evil/, https://blog.israelbiblicalstudies.com/jewish-studies/the-book-and-the-festival-1/ , https://blog.israelbiblicalstudies.com/jewish-studies/purim-the-question-and-the-answer/ ). I thought that by now I had exhausted the topic completely. However, as I was reading the Book of Esther in preparation for this post, I was struck by something that I had not seen before – and this is the first thing I would like to share with you today.

The first two chapters of this amazing tell us how a Jewish girl named Esther became queen of the Persian Empire—and only after that we read, in the first verse of the third chapter: “After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him”[1].  After these things! Think about it: it was only after the remedy was ready for the salvation of Israel that Haman was allowed to be promoted.

Here we come to a point of great importance. You have probably already heard that the book of Esther doesn’t contain the name of God at all? Over the centuries, not once has the question arisen, as to why this book was included in the canon in the first place.

I believe we can find an answer in these three simple words: After these things אַחַ֣ר | הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה . The Book of Esther was included in the canon because, in fact, it is all about God.  The evil here is defeated through a series of events orchestrated by God – and that is how God reveals Himself to His people! Yes, the word “God” does not appear openly in this book, because oftentimes God remains hidden in our lives—until we recognize Him and His handwriting in the circumstances and events that unfold. Of course, it does happen sometimes that God’s salvation comes as a miracle, defying natural laws (like in the book of Daniel, for instance). More often than not, however, divine salvation is “disguised” in ordinary events – “hidden” in what can be perceived as a series of “coincidences” – like what happens here in the book of Esther.

The very title of this book – Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther) – is extremely profound. I have written about it before, but I think it is worth mentioning again: the amazing dynamic between hidden and revealed is reflected in this title. The name Esther (אסתר) is related to the word “nistar”: “hidden”, “concealed”; while the word Megillah is related to the word “megaleh”: “reveal”. Therefore, the words “Megillat Esther” can literally be translated as “the Revelation of the Hidden” – and this is the message of this amazing book! God’s hand is at work, even when He is hidden and we don’t “see” Him acting in our lives, – and it will be revealed! And so important did this message seem to our sages, that, according to the Talmud, Esther is hinted at and “hidden” in the Torah, even though the story of Purim happened many centuries later. Here is what Talmud says: “Where do we hear about Esther in the Torah? [It says in Deuteronomy 31:18:] “And I will hide, really hide my face from them.”[2]

Descendants of Rachel versus Descendants of Amalek

In the Jewish commentaries, we find a very interesting observation:

Rachel was always meant to be Yaakov’s wife, as opposed to Leah who was initially destined to marry Esav. As a result, her (Leah’s) descendants don’t have the necessary strength to be Esav’s spiritual nemesis[3].

These words comment on a fact that every time the Jewish people fight their great enemy Amalek (who was the grandson of Esau), the battle is led by a descendant of Joseph or Benjamin, the sons of Rachel. It seems that the children of Rachel and their descendants are destined to fight Amalek throughout the history of Israel. The first battle with Amalek, after Israel leaves Egypt[4], was fought by Joshua who was from the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph. The second time Israel faced Amalek, the battle was fought by King Saul, the son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin[5]:

Samuel also said to Saul…. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them… And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur… But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep… and were unwilling to utterly destroy them.

In the Purim story, Esther and Mordechai, from the tribe of Binyamin, confront Haman the Amalekite:

Esther 3:1After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite…

Esther 2:5 In Shushan the citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. 

In fact, we can see the story of Esther and Mordecai as a continuation of that story that happened six hundred years before, with King Saul and Agag. Here we can trace one of those amazing spiritual laws that the Bible tells us about: Agag had to be destroyed – and it seems that his destruction was very important in God’s eyes, since Saul was commanded first to destroy Agag “utterly”, and then he was rejected as king right after he had spared him. Moreover, his failure to destroy Agag almost resulted in the slaughter of the Jews by an Agagite six centuries later: Haman was a descendant of Agag; Mordecai was a descendant of Kish and Benjamin; the line of Agag and the line of Kish had to meet again. According to Jewish tradition, Mordecai had to destroy Agag’s descendant, Haman, because Saul didn’t destroy Agag. Thus, the story of Purim began six hundred years before Esther, with Saul and Agag—but this was a hidden beginning. This, perhaps, is one of the brightest biblical examples of the spiritual accountability that each one of us carries: each of us is obliged to remember that what we did or didn’t do during our lifetime can, in the most unexpected way, surface in the lives of our descendants. And this is another profound lesson of this amazing book!

CHAG PURIM SAMEACH, MY DEAR READERS!

[1] Esth.3:1

[2] Talmud – Chullin 139b

[3] Breishit Rabba 73:5

[4] Exodus 17:9

[5] 1-Samuel 15:1-3