Note for Premium Members: This episode is part of our free release of "A Book Like No Other." If you're a premium subscriber, you already have access to this content in your premium feed.

The Book of Esther has no Divine instructions, no prophecies, no outright miracles. God doesn't even get mentioned. We all love hearing how Mordechai and Esther saved their people in a time of crisis – but does this story have any moral message for us? As we're listening to the Megillah on Purim, what can we learn about coming close to God in our everyday lives?

Join Imu Shalev and Rabbi David Fohrman as they dive deeply into Megillat Esther to find an answer to this question. They start off with a very odd set of comments from our sages, claiming that there were angels at work in the Esther story. The Megillah doesn't say anything about angels, so what on earth made the rabbis think that? Rabbi Fohrman teases the possibility that these strange angel stories are all pointing to a link between Esther, a narrative from the end of Tanach, and another story all the way back in Genesis. If we explore that connection, we may eventually find the key to the Megillah's moral message.

A Book Like No Other is an exclusive product of Aleph Beta, and made possible through the generous support of Shari and Nathan Lindenbaum.

New to A Book Like No Other? Welcome! This is our first-ever free release of this premium series. If you enjoy this episode, become an Aleph Beta member to access our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts, including future episodes of this season. Visit alephbeta.org to join.

Premium members: Already enjoying this series? Make sure you're logged in to access upcoming episodes through your private RSS feed. Need help? Email [email protected].

Click here to start your 7 day FREE trial at Aleph Beta, and gain access to our entire library, as well as exclusive A Book Like No Other bonus content.  

We love to hear from you! Click here to share your thoughts, insights, questions, and reactions by voice note, or send us an email at [email protected].

A Book Like No Other is a product of Aleph Beta, and made possible through the generous support of Shari and Nathan Lindenbaum. Aleph Beta is a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide.