Men

The streets are filled with music again. Every year when Adar arrives, it’s as if the city forgets the weight of winter and remembers joy. Children run with masks and crowns, laughter spilling into alleyways like water into dry ground. The poor receive gifts, the widows share feasts, and strangers become family around shared bread.

The Queen Who Saved a People There are days I walk past the palace, long after the noise has faded and the memory of war has softened into stories. Children play in the street wearing paper crowns.Vendors shout, “Purim pastries!”And the sound of laughter echoes through a city that once stood on the edge of

The Day We Were Meant to Die The thirteenth day of the twelfth month — Adar — had been a shadow on our calendar.A date we had whispered with dread.A day that was meant to be our end. I remember waking before the sun that morning. The city of Susa was silent, as if the

The Royal Ring I never imagined I would be summoned to the inner court. One moment, I was standing at the king’s gate in sackcloth, still mourning the edict that threatened us all. The next, a royal messenger approached — no fear in his voice this time, only honor. “The king has called for you.”

An Invitation to Justice It was quiet that morning. Too quiet.I stood at the king’s gate as I always did, though today the air held tension — like something sacred was about to break open. The second banquet had been arranged.Esther had delayed her request once before, but this time, I sensed… it would happen.

The Night Everything Changed There are moments in a man’s life when he feels the world shifting beneath his feet.  Sometimes it’s loud — an announcement, a decree, a battle cry. Other times, it happens in the quiet — in a night when a king cannot sleep. I did not know it then. I was

Three Days of Waiting They say time passes slowly when you are afraid.But in those three days of fasting, time did not pass — it stood still.The sun rose and fell without meaning. Food lost all purpose. Even my prayers became silent after a while. There are moments when words fail, and only the groaning

A New Name in the Court It began with whispers again — his name carried through the marble halls of the palace and echoed all the way to the gate:  Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite. At first, I paid it little attention. Court titles change often, and those who rise swiftly often fall even

A Gate and a Prayer The king’s gate became my second home. Each morning I would rise, wash my face in cold water, recite the Shema, and make my way through the city streets — until the palace towers came into view. There was no invitation for me to be there. I was not part

The Banquet That Shook the Empire Word travels fast in Susa — especially when it concerns the king. It started with whispers: “A feast like no other… 180 days!” Then came the facts. King Xerxes, in a display of wealth and military might, had opened the gates of indulgence. Silk flowed like water. Gold gleamed

An Unexpected Father I was never meant to raise a child. I was a man of scrolls and laws, of lineage and watchful silence. My life moved in measured steps — duty, prayer, and the rhythm of exile. I walked the streets of Susa with my head down, not in shame, but in survival. A

They remember her as Queen Esther.But I still call her Hadassah. She was the soft light that came after the storm, the quiet laughter in a home hollowed out by grief. I did not choose to be a father, but I became one — because she needed someone, and I had no one left. I