Yeshiva University and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary presents

Individual Articles download
  • Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman: "Introduction: A Purim Filled with Life, Loss and Love"
  • Table Talk: Quotes and Questions for Family Discussions Prepared by Shoshana Rockoff and Netanel Muskat
  • Rabbi Elchanan Adler: "When Ignorance Is Bliss: The Antinomianism of Purim and Shiras Haazinu"
  • Dr. Erica Brown: "There Once Was A Man: Singularity and Solitude in Megillat Esther"
  • Excerpts from Batei Yosef: A RIETS Press Publication
  • Insights into the Personalities of the Megillah: From Members of Stern College's Graduate Program in Advanced Talmud/Tanach Studies
  • Rabbi Norman Lamm zt"l: "The Royal Insomnia"
  • Devorah Schreier: "Serenity, Faith, and Happiness"
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  • Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman: "Introduction: Torat Zion: On the Value of Victory in Exile"
  • Rabbi Eliezer Barany: "Megillah Minhagim"
  • Ms. Sydney Daitch: "Setting the Stage for Salvation"
  • Rabbi Daniel Fridman: "Esther as Paragon of Spiritual Resistance: Rav Lichtenstein's Reading of Esther Reconsidered"
  • Mrs. Mimi Fuchs: "Mordechai and Haman: A Match That Makes Scents"
  • Mrs. Elana Katz: "Haman's Fight for Esav's Legacy"
  • Rabbi Yair Menchel: "Coincidence? I Think Not: The Lesson of Amalek"
  • Rabbi Mayer Simcha Stromer: "Moshe Rabbeinu and Purim: Always Yearning for More"
  • Rabbi Shlomo Wadler, PhD: "Overlooking Ezra: Reaccepting the Torah in Megillat Esther"
  • Rabbi Elie Weissman: "Sinah and Ahava Lishma"
  • Rabbi Ezra Wiener: "Should I Take the Day Off from Work? The Nature of the Melacha Prohibition on Purim"
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  • Mrs. Rivka Alter: "The Dual Nature of the Purim Miracle"
  • Mrs. Rikki Ash: "The Secret Sauce of a Tzaddik"
  • Rabbi Yonasan Gersten: "The Nature of the Mitzvah to Read the Megillah"
  • Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot: "Amalek, the Kingship of Saul and the Kingship of God"
  • Rabbi Yaakov Jaffe: "Why Would Mordechai Recite the Psalm for Chanukah?"
  • Rabbi Josh Maslow: "Purim with the Slonimer Rebbe: A Path to Perfection"
  • Rabbi Elliot Schrier: "Celebrating Partial Triumph"
  • Rabbi Mayer Simcha Stromer: "Education Through Inspiration, Not Intimidation"
  • Rabbi Zvi Zimmerman: "Achashveirosh's Beauty Paegant: What is True Beauty?"
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  • Rabbi Yaakov Glasser: "Purim: A Reenactment of Sinai"
  • Rabbi Chaim Jachter: "Pointing a Finger at Achashveirosh"
  • Ms. Victoria Chabot: "Royally Insecure"
  • Rabbi Yaacov Feit: "Coins Of Kapparah"
  • Rabbi David Block: "The Subtlety of Silence: Understanding Mordechai's Motivational Charge"
  • Ms. Diane Kolatch: "The Great Gatsby and Purim"
  • Ms. Adina Borg Blaustein: "Grand Dress and Delusions of Grandeur in Megillat Esther"
  • Rabbi Yosef Kurtz: "Megillas Achdus"
  • Rabbi Kenny Schiowitz: "The Megilah Times"
  • Rabbi Chaim Lanner: "A Hallel By Any Other Name: The Omission of Hallel on Purim"
  • Rabbi Noah Sonenberg: "Purim: The Holiday Where We Celebrate Accepting the Torah?"
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  • Rabbi Yaakov Glasser: "Recognizing Hashem's Hand In Our Lives"
  • Mrs. Rachel Besser: "Kiymu V Kiblu"
  • Rabbi Dov Emerson: "Simchat Purim: Fake it Till You Make it"
  • Rabbi Joseph Blumenthal: "A Significant Lesson from the Oddest of Sources"
  • Rabbi Daniel Grama: "Our Role in the Purim Miracle: Then and Now"
  • Mrs. Bracha Rutner: "Jewish Unity"
  • Rabbi Menachem Rosenbaum and Rabbi Yitzchak Sprung: "Memuchan is Haman: A Cautionary Tale"
  • Rabbi Noam Stein: "Purim Jokes and Shpiels"
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  • Rabbi Yaakov Glasser: "Introduction"
  • Rabbi Eliyahu Alpert: "The Winning Ticket"
  • Rabbi Yehuda Balsam: "Accepting the Torah through Hidden Miracles"
  • Rabbi Donny Besser: "Amalek and the Stunning Power of Spiritual Genetics"
  • Rabbi Yehuda Chanales: "Menucha V'Simcha Ohr LaYehudim: Commemorating Shabbos & Amalek"
  • Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom: "Mordekhai, Son of Yair"
  • Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot: "Purim: From the Grassroots Up"
  • Rabbi Allan Houben: "Purim: It's More than Meets the Eye"
  • Rabbi Moshe Hubner: "Assemble the Jews: Assimilation is not an Option"
  • Mrs. Ora Lee Kanner: "Disconnection and Connection in Binyamin and Esther"
  • Rabbi Effie Kleinberg: "Those Who Bowed Down Were No Better Off"
  • Rabbi Aaron Levitt: "Uncovering Our Hidden Greatness"
  • Rabbi David Nachbar: "Turning the Ordinary into the Extraordinary: The Status of Yom Purim in Rambam's Mishneh Torah"
  • Rabbi Benjy Owen: "Shoshanat Ya'akov: Seeing Mordechai through Rose-Colored Glasses"
  • Ms. Sarah Robinson: "Kriyat Megillat Esther with Its Te'amim"
  • Rabbi Kenneth Schiowitz: "The Dawn of Jewish History"
  • Rabbi Moshe Schochet: "Purim: A Recommitment to Torah Sheba'al Peh"
  • Mrs. Atara Segal: "The Space Between Us: The Role of Place in the Purim Story"
  • Rabbi Sandy Shulkes: "The Hidden Meaning"
  • Rabbi Elon Soniker: "Purim: Finding Meaning and Passion in Our Mitzvos"
  • Rabbi Aryeh Stechler: "Video Conferencing the Megillah"
  • Rabbi Joshua Strulowitz: "How the Mitzvot of Purim Unmask Us"
  • Rabbi Meir Tannenbaum: "Living in a Walled City"
  • Rabbi Zacharia Weitz: "Loshon Hara You ve Got to Hear"
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  • Rabbi Yaakov Glasser: "The Menahel and the Manhig: Two Models of Leadership"
  • Rabbi Menachem Penner: "Open to Embracing Jews; Open to Embracing the Mesorah"
  • Rabbi Joshua Flug: "A Walking Sefer Torah"
  • Deena Rabinovich, EdD: "The Role of Vashti in the Purim Story"

    • From the Musmakhim in Chag Hasemikhah 2017/5777
  • Rabbi David Block: "Esther and Bas Paraoh: Reaching for What is Out of Reach"
  • Rabbi Tuvia Brander: "Our Hamantaschen's Forgotten Meaning"
  • Rabbi Michael Weingarten: "Self-Nullification through Inebriation"
  • Rabbi Dani Zuckerman: "Purim: The Simcha of Satiation"
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  • Rabbi Eli Belizon: "Tick Tock the Purim Clock"
  • Rabbi Dr. David Horwitz: "Sefer and Iggeret: The Dual Nature of Megillat Esther"
  • Rabbi Jonathan Schachter: "What's in a name? A "LOT"!!!"
  • Rabbi Robert Shur: "Selected Comments of the K'tav Sofer to Megillat Esther"
  • Ms. Eliana Sohn: "The Vilna Gaon's Purim Blessing"
  • Rabbi Michoel Zylberman: "The Converts of Shushan"

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  • Rabbi Hyman Arbesfeld: A Tribute to Herb Smilowitz
  • Rabbi Yosef Blau: "Mordechai and Esther: The Evolution of a Relationship"
  • Dr. Lisa Fredman: "Amalek and Yitro: What's the connection?"
  • Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein: "The Meaning of Ta'anit Esther"
  • Rabbi Menachem Penner: "The Origin of Mishloach Manot"
  • Rabbi Mark Smilowitz: "The Meaning of Mishlo'ach Manot"
  • Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler: "The Intrigue Behind Mordechai's Approval Rating"

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  • Rabbi Kenneth Brander: Foreword
  • Rabbi Menachem Penner: Introduction
  • Rabbi Hershel Schachter: "Semikhah: Then and Now"
  • Rabbi Dr. David Horwitz: "The Semikhah Controversy of the 1500's"
  • Rabbi Yosef Bronstein: "Rav Kook's Purim"
  • Rabbi Noah Cheses: "The King's Party and the Human Appetite for Control"
  • Rabbi Reuven Garrett: "Hope Amidst Despair"
  • Rabbi Chesky Gewirtz: "What It Means To Be a Jew"
  • Rabbi Yosef Sharbat: "Purim Masquerade: Unmasking the Origins"
  • Rabbi Jeremy Stern: "Taanit Esther: Giving Voice to Silenced Women"

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  • Rabbi Kenneth Brander: "Introduction"
  • Mrs. Nechama Price: "Secret Identities"
  • Rabbi Ian Shaffer: "Esther Hamalkah: The key to unlocking another layer of the Purim story"
  • Rabbi Dr. Moshe D. Tendler: "Genetics and Epigenetics in the Purim Miracle"
  • Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Weinberg: "Maintaining Peace of Mind in a High Speed World"
  • Collected Insights from members of the Masters of Arts in Biblical and Talmudic Interpretation program at Stern College for Women

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  • Rabbi Yosef Blau: "Remembering Purim During the Messianic Age"
  • Rabbi Joshua Flug: "The Relationship between Mishlo'ach Manot and Matanot La'Evyonim"
  • Rabbi Ozer Glickman: "Purim and the 'Randomness' of Life"
  • Dr. Shalom E. Holtz: "Whose Battle? Whose Victory?"
  • Mrs. Shoshana Schechter: "Purim Fulfilling Jewish Destiny"
  • Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner: "The Joy of Giving"
  • Collected Insights from members of the Masters of Arts in Biblical and Talmudic Interpretation program at Stern College for Women



    • Individual Articles download

  • Rabbi Yona Reiss: "Ad De'lo Yada: An Elucidation of the Notion of Intoxication on Purim"
  • Rabbi Mordechai Willig: "When is a Bar Mitzvah in a Leap Year?"
  • Rabbi Simon Basalely: "Seudat Purim"
  • Rabbi Reuven Brand: "A Life of Giving"
  • Rabbi Jonathan Cohen: "The Halachah of History: Ancient Cities and the Date of Purim"
  • Rabbi Joshua Flug: "Why Don't We Recite Hallel on Purim?"
  • Rabbi David Hellman: "The Meaning of Myrtles: Understanding Esther's Other Name"
  • Rabbi Aaron Kraft: "The Man-Made Holiday"
  • Rabbi Yoni Levin: "Making Scents of Purim"
  • Rabbi Moti Neuburger: "Purim: Out of Control"
  • Rabbi Etan Schnall: "A Tale of Two Cities? Shushan Purim in Modern-day Yerushalayim"
    Download Google Earth Map Relating to Article
  • Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky: "Purim: The Other Day of Rest"
  • Rabbi Moshe Stavsky: "The Machatzit HaShekel and Selfless Giving"
  • Rabbi Yehuda Turetsky: "Hester Panim: Between Exile and Redemption"



    • Individual Articles download

  • Rabbi Norman Lamm: "Neither Here Nor There"
  • Rabbi Haskel Lookstein: "How Should Jews Party?"
  • Rabbi Dovid Asher: "Am Mefuzar or Ish Echad?"
  • Rabbi Michael Davies: "Shelo Asani Aved - Relationship with God, Relationship with Man"
  • Rabbi Aaron Feigenbaum: "The Hit You Can t Forget: A Purim Torah about Tort Law"
  • Rabbi Eric Goldman: "Internalizing Ourselves"
  • Rabbi Raphy Hulkower: "What was Achashverosh Thinking?!"
  • Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky: "One of these Mitzvot is not like the Others"
  • Rabbi Yigal Sklarin: "Mikrah Megillah: Vehicle for Prayer, a Medium for Praise, and a Form of Talmud Torah"

    • Learning on the Marcos and Adina Katz YUTorah site is sponsored today by Francine Lashinsky and Dr. Alexander & Meryl Weingarten in memory of Dr. Alvin M. Lashinsky, Avraham Moshe ben Meir Hakohen, z"l on the occasion of his yahrzeit on the 19th of Kislev, and in honor of their children, Mark, Michael, Julie, Marnie and Michelle, and in honor of Agam bat Meirav Berger and all of the other hostages and all of the chayalim