BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:1623@orzarua.org DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260225T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260225T203000 DTSTAMP:20260305T213105Z URL:https://www.orzarua.org/events/megillat-esther-as-political-drama-is-t he-diaspora-good-or-bad-for-the-jews/ SUMMARY:Megillat Esther as Political Drama: Is the Diaspora Good or Bad for the Jews? DESCRIPTION:Pre-Purim lecture by Marc Ashley\n\nAVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE - Mar c Ashley Pre-Purim Lecture: "Megillat Esther as Political Drama: Is the Di aspora Good or Bad for the Jews?" Feb. 26\, 2026. Click HERE to view video . Click HERE for source sheet.\n\n \;\n\n \;\n\nFebruary 25 at 7: 00 pm (Zoom only). Click HERE to join.\n\nThe frivolity of Purim masks its menacing context. Megillat Esther\, which we may read lightheartedly\, de scribes an embattled Jewish community at risk of extermination. Yet the Me gillah also insightfully and provocatively encapsulates a fierce ancient d ebate – with obvious contemporary resonance – about the status\, ident ity and future of Jews in the Diaspora\, far from their ancestral homeland . It is a thoroughly Diaspora-centric story\, set within the milieu of the mighty Persian empire\, with little regard for conventional Jewish themes \, practices and beliefs –including\, stunningly\, not a single referenc e to God. It centrally frames a pivotal question with increasing relevance and urgency for disquieted Jews in today’s unsettling world: Are we bet ter off living in the Diaspora or Israel? Depending on one’s perspective \, Megillat Esther’s answer may be comforting\, confounding or chilling. The issues it raises are certainly timely and consequential.\n\nPlease jo in congregant Marc Ashley for an intriguing discussion of an often misunde rstood and underappreciated classic Jewish text. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.orzarua.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/ 01/2026.02.25-Marc-Ashley-Pre-Purim-Lecture.jpg CATEGORIES:Holidays,Study END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251102T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR