Ideas in the Megillah That Are Still Around Today

     Personally, I feel like it is hard to connect to certain Jewish books. Sometimes I feel like they are so old and therefore useless. Although we are not so far into it, I have noticed that Megillat Esther is very different from many other Jewish books I have learned about. In the <egillah, I see many ideas or traditions that are still followed today which makes it easier to connect to. There are a few ideas that I wanted to discuss that took place in the sefer and still take place today.
             First, I wanted to discuss part of the background. When we learned that in the Megilla shushan was referred to as "Shushan Habira." We talked about how the Jews were supposed to be in Yerushalayim but they were not, so they called Sushan " Shushan Habira." ( Yerushalayim was supposed to be "Yerushalayim Habira.) We then discussed why the Jews were in Shushan. Why would they be in Shushan if the 70 year exile decree was over and they could have gone back to Yerushalayim? There is no answer to the question. It is unclear why they were in Shushan if they could have been back in Yerushalayim, considering the exile was over.
Now let's bring up something else. Why are the Jews spread out all around the world when we could/should be in Israel, our home?
Yet again, there is no answer. There is no direct answer explaining why the Jews are not all together. Maybe it has to do with jobs, school, or just because.
Just like the Jews were not back in Shushan back then, today the Jews are not all in Israel.

I noticed one other similarity. We also discussed how Esther had two names, Hadassah and Esther. Esther was her Persian name and Hadassah was her " Jewish" name.
Today, many people have two names. They have one secular name that they are referred to in public and a second Jewish name, relating to their Judaism. We learned that Esther assimilated with the gentiles and was referred to as Esther around them. I found it interesting that even today this is done and we do it too.
      These are just two examples that I found still apply to our modern world and wanted to share. Have a great Monday!