The Hidden Scroll: Mysteries of Esther and the Mask of God
The Hidden Scroll reads the Book of Esther with a calm scholar's eye and steady craft. Menachem Clausen guides the reader through hester panim, the hiding of God's face, and shows how courage, restraint, law, and timing shape one of the most precise narratives in Tanach. The tone is clear and accessible. The method is simple to trust. Facts come first. Interpretation follows. Possibilities are labeled as possibilities.
Drawing on Torah, Talmud, and Midrash, and on classic mefarshim such as Rashi, Ramban, Ibn Ezra, Malbim, and Abarbanel, the book unfolds the Megillah's language, symbols, and legal structures. History and archaeology illuminate Shushan's palaces, edicts, banquets, and court culture. Chapters move from hidden names and prudent silence to the ethics of power, the shadow of the tree, wine and judgment, the rose of Shushan, kingship and its parodies, Esther among the seven prophetesses, and Purim's enduring charge in the face of Amalek. Speculative ideas are presented with care and always return to the sources.
Practical sections link learning to life through the mitzvot of Purim. Readers gain a stable guide for family reading, classroom study, and personal reflection. Appendix VII adds an Easy English Translation of the Megillah with short clarity notes so that newcomers and lifelong students can read the story from start to finish with confidence.
The Hidden Scroll invites careful study and steady hope. Quiet providence becomes visible in ordinary days.
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