My favorite long Jewish joke is the one that ends the introduction to my book (which makes a great gift, by the way). 4. What’s your favorite part of the Megillah or tradition about the story of Esther? The one where Haman ends up covered in the contents of his daughter’s slop p...
In her 1978 book, Questions and Politeness: Strategies in Social Interaction, anthropologist Esther N. Goody writes, “Questioning not only involves asking for information, but also carries a command function. Questions are speech acts which place two people in direct immediate interaction. In doing...
The only time these routines change is when he is starting a new book or ending one. He then chooses to work more at night. Mr. Zusak grew up hearing stories about Nazi Germany, about the bombing of Munich and the Jews being marched through his mother's small German town. He always ...
Mrs. Metcalf: Esther Greenwood begins writing a novel and decides upon the name for the protagonist to be "Elaine" because of the number of letters in the name. Esther has six letters and she thinks writing about a character (Elaine) with the same number of letters would be reflective of...
These interviews were even turned into a book published in 2009,Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire: 101 Luminaries Ponder Love, Death, Happiness, and theMeaning of Life, complete with illustrations by Robert Risko. The questionnaire obviously works to unearth interesting and unique knowledge about pe...
Sylvia Plath authored "The Bell Jar," a semi-autobiographical novel published in 1963 that details the decline of the main character, Esther Greenwood, into mental illness while aiming to succeed professionally as a young woman in the 1950s. Plath’s honest portrayal of mental health and the ...
Meet with Matthias before you do anything in the village. The man lies on the ground inside of the barn (see the picture). Speak with him about every topic. You learn more about the prisoner and about the pestilence. You can now act in two ways: ...
The final Old Testament passage we examine is in the book of Esther. Here we have a historical example arranged by Divine Providence. In this account, the Jews are under threat of racial violence. The civil authority, King Ahasuerus, grants them legal permission to use lethal force in self-...
Former NBA player Dwyane Wade answers the internet's burning questions about basketball. Are 3-pointers messing with the game of basketball? Do they still call traveling in the NBA? Why do NBA players have a hard time playing against the zone? How do pla
Why is the Bible not chronological? About 1/2 of the Bible is chronological. The historical section from Genesis–Esther is mostly chronological. The prophets were, for the most part, not interested in chronology because their Jewish audience already knew their history. Instead, the prophets procl...