Robert Alter calls the book of Esther "Carnivalesque." He notes that no competent empire would have irreversible decrees. The king is portrayed as a buffoon, incapable of making decisions. The book serves as the origin of the Jewish festival of Purim. Jonathan and Seth discuss Pirium, which commemorates the day Jews were to be killed, and how we recall negative situations.

Over the next few weeks, Jonathan settles into a new house and a new job, so we will return with a new episode on February 19th. Until then, we'll re-air two of our favorite episodes from the last few months.