Let My Nation Live

"

The story of Purim is thrilling and exciting. As the
textbook lesson in G-d's constant, though unobtrusive vigilance and protection
of His people, the miracle of Purim is the Jew's wellspring of faith in times of
exile and danger. Let us not forget that it was the first exile after more than
eight centuries in Eretz Yisrael, and bewildered Jews wondered if Hashem
had cast them off for good! Then came the climax — the proof that miracles take
place beneath the surface and that the bonds connecting G-d and His people can
never be cut.
    Megillas Esther tells only part of the story. The rest is in the Talmud,
Midrash, and the classic commentators. If we could only pull all the disparate
sources together into one flowing, coherent whole, we would have not only an
absorbing and inspiring lesson in faith, we would enter the spine-tingling world
of Mordechai and Esther — the intrigues of the royal court, the Machiavellian
swamp of Haman's conspiracy, the thousands of talents of silver tumbling from
Haman's hands to purchase the rights to history's first genocide, the bravery of
Jewish children unafraid of death. We would exult with Mordechai on the royal
steed, led through the streets of Shushan by his arch-enemy. Our hearts would
pound as the uninvited Esther risks her life to plead with Ahasuerus — and
succeeds!
    Yosef Deutsch puts us on the scene. He has accomplished the very
impressive feat of canvassing all the sources and retelling the Purim story like
a spellbinding novel — except that every word is true! In his narrative, the
events come alive for us as never before. Every reader on every level will enjoy
this book as a fascinating story and as a great learning experience. For the
scholar, the author provides copious sources. For the rest of us, he
gives the story of the Megillah with a sweep and level of interest that we have
never experienced before.
    Read this book. You'll enjoy. You'll learn. You'll love it!

"