“Then Queen Esther Daughter of Abihail Wrote”

Abstract

This article focuses on how the material form of the Esther scroll and the ritualized practices of copying it reflect changes in how Jews remember the events of Purim. I demonstrate how Purim and writing intersect with contemporary changes in women’s roles in Jewish ritual, as well as new interpretations of the Book of Esther informed by feminist readings and heightened awareness of the relationship between gender and agency. I examine Esther scrolls made by contemporary female ritual scribes (soferot) who add their own creative marks to the scrolls they copy: Nava Levine-Coren, Avielah Barclay, Jen Taylor Friedman, and Rachel Jackson. These creative touches convey their readings of the biblical text, which magnify women’s perspective and agency.

“Right on, Vashti!”: Minor Characters and Performance Choices in the Synagogal Megillah Reading

“…2:2). Traditionally, only men could read the megillah to the whole community (m. , though this has changed dramatically in recent decades (Kresh 2014;Homrighausen 2023). Further, the reader may stand or sit (m. Meg.…”