Commentary: How should we read the texts of Purim and Passover this year?
In a few days, Jews will gather for the holiday of Purim and read aloud the Book of Esther. A month later, another gathering, another book — the Passover Haggadah. These ancient texts speak to us across the centuries, a conversation at once enlightening and fitful, bringing the past into the present in ways that are soothing but also discomforting.
This year, I feel the discomfort acutely. Since Hamas launched its horrific massacre and hostage-taking on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated in a brutal, ongoing war, the texts appear both prescient and agonizing, troubling as never before.
The Book of Esther and the Haggadah were
