[Avodah] Who wrote Megillas Esther?

[rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com]

Marty Bluke:
> In truth, Mordechai was a member of the Anshei Knesset Hagedola
> however that doesn't help us for 2 reasons:
> 1. The Anshei Knesset Hagedola did not yet exist at the time of Purim,
> it was only created after the second beis Hamikdash

Contrary to seder olam, modern historians have identified achashveirosh
with Xerxes the great.

This means that the 2nd beis hamikdash was standing already.

My friend, historian Mitchell First, has nailed this and he will be
lecutring tonight beh in Teaneck.

One of the nice purim co-incidences only HKBH coud engineer is that GF
Handel wrote an opera on Judaeus Maccabeus and unwittingly did a Purim
shpiel* titled Serse (Xerxes) whose largo remains one of the claasic
arias of the last 3 centuries.

*) FWIW Serse was a spoof on king xerxes and actually kinda reflects
hazal's opiniomn that achashveirosh was a fool

So OTOH modern scholarship makes a big kasha on Hazal's dating system
it gives back a few points showing that there WAS an Achashveirosh in
history and that his story maps out well to the Megillah itself.

Note the multi-year gaps in the megilla. These map out with Xerxes
absences in Persia due to battling the Greeks.

Eg Ahachshveirosh was concerned with assassinations. AIUI the real life
Xerxes was assassinated!

Freilichen Purim
RRW
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