Re: The effects of teaching unmediated Tanakh - A correction

Just a slight correction to Russel Handel's comments which perpetuate a common misreading of Tanach that is very common, but reflects the importance of reading Tanach carefully. He wrote:

"The Jews took out their vengeance on the Persian population".

That is not accurate. The text of the Megillah states explicitly over and over that the Jews stood up and defended themselves against those who had supported Haman and his plans, against those who were ready to harm them, so for example:

נִקְהֲלוּ הַיְּהוּדִים בְּעָרֵיהֶם, בְּכָל-מְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, לִשְׁלֹחַ יָד, בִּמְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתָם

or

וּשְׁאָר הַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר בִּמְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ נִקְהֲלוּ וְעמוד על נפשם, וְנוֹחַ מֵאֹיְבֵיהֶם , וְהָרוֹג בְּשֹׂנְאֵיהֶם, חֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים אָלֶף; וּבַבִּזָּה--לֹא שָׁלְחוּ, אֶת-יָדָם.

It was not a wholesale slaughter of the Persian population. It was a battle in which the Jews defended themselves and were victorious over their professed enemies.

Indeed even if one looks at the numbers - mentioned in the Megillah - 810 people were killed in the battles in Shushan over two days. In the rest of the empire 75,000 people were killed in clashes with the Jews. If one takes this number as fully accurate (and not typological or exaggerated as many modern readers of this text do) and makes the plausible claim that was divided over the 127 provinces of the Persian empire stretching for thousands of miles as it states:
וּשְׁאָר הַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר בִּמְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ נִקְהֲלוּ וְעָמֹד עַל-נַפְשָׁם
that comes to about 591 people in each province.

Nati Helfgot

Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot
Chair, Department of Talmud and Rabbinics, SAR High School
Rabbi, Congregation Netivot Shalom



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2016 05:10PM by mlb.