<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px">RZS<BR></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">BTW, that she was his wife is definitely to be taken literally;</FONT></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">the gemara and *all* the rishonim and acharonim take it literally</FONT></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">and seriously, and learn halachot from it.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>I think treating it</FONT></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">as some metaphoric medrash would come very close to the edge of</FONT></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">the acceptable range of hashkafa.</FONT></P> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV>As a follow up to my previous response, see the kesef mishne on hilchot yesode hatorah 5;1 - where he is clear that the rambam's understanding of the gmara - and apparently also the kesef mishne himself - is that since rava holds hana'at atmzan shane - and hana'at atzman doesn't apply to giluy arayot - rava does not (repeat not) have the drasha of al tikri levat - that esther was married - and this seems also to be rashi's pshat.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Therefore, the kesef mishne holds that rambam, and rashi all seem to think that the gmara (and the psak halacha is derived from that gmara) is that esther was not married to mordechai - and on avoda we are told that this is close to the edge of the acceptable range of hashkafa??? perhaps those accusing rava, rashi, rambam and kesef mishne are close to a different edge...</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Meir Shinar</DIV></BODY></HTML>