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Esther and Mordecai, by Aert de Gelder

Mordecai or Mordechai (Hebrew: מָרְדֳּכַי, Modern Mordekhay Tiberian Mordŏḵáy, IPA value: [mɔrdɔ̆ˈxɑj]) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He was the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Biblical account[link]

Mordecai resided in Susa (Shushan),^[1] the metropolis of Persia (now Iran). He adopted his cousin Hadassah (Esther), an orphan child, whom he brought up as his own daughter. When "young virgins" were sought, she was brought into the presence of King Ahasuerus and was made queen in the place of the exiled queen Vashti. Mordecai was referred to subsequently as one of those who "sat in the king's gate" to indicate his position of closeness to the king. While holding this office, he discovered a plot of the king's chamberlain's, eunuchs Bigthan and Teresh, to assassinate the king. Because of Mordecai's vigilance, the plot was foiled. His services to the king in this matter were duly recorded in the king's royal diary.

Haman the Agagite had been raised to the highest position at court. In spite of the king's decree that all should prostrate themselves before Haman, Mordecai refused to do so. Though the Hebrew Scriptures attest to Israelites or Jews bowing before humans out of respect and submission (e.g. Gen. 33: 3; 2 Sam. 24:8), Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, their ancient enemies (Esther 3:1; 1 Sam. 15:8).^[2] Haman, stung by Mordecai's refusal, resolved to accomplish his death in a wholesale murder of the Jewish exiles throughout the Persian empire. Learning of Haman's scheme, Mordecai communicated with Queen Esther regarding it, and by her bold intervention the scheme was frustrated by distributing arms to the Jews of Susa and other Persian cities where they lived and clashed with Haman's militia, until the King rescinded the edict to murder the Empire's Jews. Mordecai was raised to a high rank, donned in the royal gray cloak, and Haman was executed on gallows he had by anticipation erected for Mordecai. In memory of the deliverance thus wrought for them, the Jews to this day celebrate the feast of Purim or "Lots" because of the lots that were drawn by Haman to decide whom he would first murder among the Jewish elders in Persia.

Historicity[link]

Name[link]

The Triumph of Mordecai by Pieter Lastman, 1624.

The name "Mordechai" is of uncertain origin but is considered identical to the name Marduka or Marduku attested as the name of officials in the Persian court in thirty texts (the Persepolis Texts) from the period of Xerxes I and his father Darius, and may refer to up to four individuals, one of which might very well be the biblical Mordecai.

The name is commonly interpreted as a theophoric name referring to the god Marduk with the understanding that it means "[servant/follower/devotee] of Marduk" in Aramaic. (The Book of Daniel contains similar accounts of Jews living in exile in Babylonia being assigned names relating to Babylonian gods.) Some^[who?] suggest that as Marduk was a war god, the expression "[servant] of Marduk" may simply denote a warrior - the popular translation of "warrior" is commonly found in naming dictionaries. Others note that Marduk was the creator in Babylonian mythology whence the term might have been understood by Jews to mean simply "[servant] of God".

The Talmud (Menachot 64b and 65a) relates that his full name was "Mordechai Bilshan" (which occurs in Ezra 2:2 and Nehemiah 7:7). Hoschander interpreted this as the Babylonian marduk-bel-shunu meaning "Marduk is their lord", "Mordecai" being thus a hypocoristicon.

Another interpretation of the name is that that it is of Persian origin meaning "little boy". Other suggested meanings of "contrition" (Hebrew root m-r-d), "bitter" (Hebrew root m-r) or "bruising" (Hebrew root r-d-d) are listed in Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary of the late 19th century. There is also speculation that the name is derived from Aramaic mar dochi; mar being a title address for a gentleman and dochi, meaning "one who incurs merit" (cf. Hebrew zoche).

The Talmud provides a Midrashic interpretation of the name Mordechai Bilshan as mara dachia ("pure myrrh") alluding to Exodus 30:23 and ba'al lashon ("master of languages") reminding us that as a member of the Great Assembly he was familiar with many foreign languages.

Tomb of Esther and Mordechai

In the King James Version of the deuterocanonical Greek additions to Esther, his name is spelled as Mardocheus.

Age[link]

The Pentecostal minister Finis Dake interprets the Bible verses Esther 2:5–6 ("Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah") to mean that Mordecai himself was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar.^[3]

Biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan discusses this as an inaccuracy regarding Mordecai's age.^[4][5] In the passage, either Mordecai or his great-grandfather Kish is identified as having been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar (in 597 BC). If this refers to Mordecai, he would have had to live over a century to have witnessed the events described in the Book of Esther (assuming the biblical Ahasuerus is indeed Xerxes I).^[4] However, the verse may be read as referring not to Mordecai's exile to Babylon, but to his great-grandfather Kish's exile—a reading which many accept.^[6][7][8][9]

Prophet status[link]

The Talmud lists Mordecai and Esther as prophets.^[10] The Talmud says Mordecai prophesied in the second year of Darius.

Mordecai's genealogy in the second chapter of the Book of Esther is given as a descendant of Kish of the Tribe of Benjamin. Kish was also the name of the father of King Saul, and the Talmud accords Mordecai the status of a descendant of the first King of Israel.^[11]

The Targum Sheni gives his genealogy in more detail, as follows: "Mordecai, son of Ya'ir, son of Shim'i, son of Shmida, son of Baana, son of Eila, son of Micah, son of Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, son of Kish, son of Aviel, son of Tzror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah, son of Sh'charim, son of Uziah, son of Sheshak, son of Michael, son of Elyael, son of Amihud, son of Shephatya, son of Psuel, son of Pison, son of Malikh, son of Jerubaal, son of Yerucham, son of Chananya, son of Zavdi, son of Elpo'al, son of Shimri, son of Zecharya, son of Merimoth, son of Hushim, son of Sh'chora, son of 'Azza, son of Gera, son of Benjamin, son of Jacob the firstborn, whose name is called Israel."

See also[link]

• Marduk
• Persian Jews

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mordecai

External links[link]

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Mordecai in Esther and in Rabbinical literature

v t e Purim / פּוּרִים Overview Gragger Purim spiel Purim Torah Purim foods Hamantash Fazuelos Kreplach Mishloach manot Historical Book of Esther Esther (rl) Haman (rl) Mordecai Ahasuerus Vashti Zeresh Religious Fast of Esther Shushan Purim Purim HaMeshulash Purim Katan

Mordechai Werdyger (born 16 April 1951,^[1] Brooklyn, New York), professionally known as Mordechai Ben David (Hebrew: מרדכי בן דוד‎, lit. Mordechai, son of David) or MBD for short, is an American Hasidic Jewish singer and songwriter popular in the Orthodox Jewish community. He is known as the 'King of Jewish music'. He has produced many popular Jewish albums over the past 40 years. He also starred as a frequent performer in the popular HASC concert series for almost two decades. Werdyger blends traditional Hasidic melodies with modern pop to create the songs in his albums, working with contemporary music producer Eli Lishinsky. Werdyger does not sing at mixed concerts for religious reasons.^{[citation needed]}. His most recent album Kissufim was released recently in October 2011. He has also unofficially released a non-public single titled Omdos Hoyu recently in honor of a Yeshiva Student's marriage in Israel, and although it was only released at the event in Israel, it has become extremely widespread and popular through it being posted on the web. In February 2012, MBD announced on Menachem Toker Radio Israel that he had just started on a new album, although not releasing information as per what type of album.

Family[link]

His father, David Werdyger, is a hazzan (cantor) and Holocaust survivor originally from Kraków. His brother, Mendy, is also a Jewish singer and owner of the Jewish record label Aderet Records and its retail store in Boro Park, Brooklyn, Mostly Music.^[2] His son, Yeedle,^[3] nephew, Yisroel Werdyger (Mendy's son)^[4], and son-in-law, Mendy Wald, are also popular Jewish singers. ^[5][6]

Werdyger lives in Sea Gate, Brooklyn, and has mentioned that he has purchased a house in Jerusalem and intends to move there shortly.

Song adaptations[link]

A few of MBD's songs are adaptations of well-known, non-Jewish songs.

• "Lichtiger Shabbos" on Just One Shabbos (1982) [retitled "Yiddish" on Solid MBD (1993)] is an adaptation of "Close Every Door To Me", from the musical theater production Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
• "Kumt Aheim" on Jerusalem: Not For Sale (1986), commonly referred to as "Yidden" and retitled as such for the CD release, uses the music of "Dschinghis Khan" (English: Genghis Khan), from the German band Dschinghis Khan.
• "Father Dear" on Yerushalayim Our Home (1988) [retitled "Daddy Dear" on The English Collection (1998)] uses music from "Little Child," performed by many earlier singers, notably Cab Calloway and his daughter in 1956; it, in turn, is adapted from an earlier French song.^[7]
• "Shir Hashalom" is an adaptation from Bobby Vinton's My Melody of Love.

In addition, "Vechol Maminim", from MBD's album of the same name, was an adaptation of "Tov Lehodos", an earlier song by Shlomo Carlebach.

Discography[link]

• Mordechai Ben David Werdyger Sings Original Chassidic Nigunim (1973)
• Hineni (1974)
• Neshama Soul (1975)
• I'd Rather Pray and Sing (1977)
• Vechol Maminim - Songs of Rosh Hashana (1979)
• Moshiach is Coming Soon (1980)
• Memories (1981)
• Mordechai Ben David Live (1981)
• Ich Hob Gevart (I Have Waited) (1982)
• Just One Shabbos (1983)
• Around the Year Vol. 1 (1984)
• Hold On (1984)
• Let My People Go (1985)
• Jerusalem Not For Sale (1986)
• MBD and Friends (1987)
• Jerusalem Our Home - Lekovod Yom Tov (1988)
• Siman Tov and Keitzad (Singles) (1989)
• The Double Album (1990)
• Solid MBD (1990)
• Moshiach, Moshiach, Moshiach (1992)
• Live in Jerusalem (1989)
• Tomid BeSimcha - Always Happy (1994)
• Special Moments (1994)
• Once Upon a Niggun (1996)
• Chevron Forever (single)(1996)
• Ein Od Milvado (1997)
• The English Collection (1998)
• We Are One (1999)
• Maaminim (2001)
• Kumzits (2003)
• Nachamu Ami (2004)
• Oorah [single] (2005)
• Efshar Letaken (2006)
• Yiddish Collection (2007)
• Anovim Anovim [single] (2008)
• Oorah [single] (2008)
• Levado - Mishpacha [single] (2008)
• Kulam Ahuvim (2009)
• Platinum Collection (2009)
• Kisufim (2011)
• Omdos Hoyu [single] (2012)

In addition, MBD appears on many albums including:

• JEP Vol. 4 (1979)
• Jerusalem (1983)
• Father & Sons Biglal Avos (1984)
• Torah (1985)
• Simcha (1986)
• Hallel (1987)
• 25 Years Of Jewish Music (1988)
• Yeedle - Together (1993)
• 3 Generations (1994)
• Yeedle - Laasos Retzon Avicha (1995)
• Best Of The Best 1 (1997)
• Solid Gold Volume 1 (1997)
• Solid Gold Volume 2 (1998)
• Lev Vanefesh II (1998)
• Mona 3 (1998)
• Solid Gold Volume 3 (1999)
• Hamishorririm (1999)
• Ken Burgess - I'll Never Walk Alone In The Desert (2000)
• All Star Collection (2000)
• The Vocal Version (2001)
• Best Of The Best 2 (2002)
• Yeedle - IV (2002)
• Mona 4 (2003)
• Sheves Achim Shabbos In Mezibuz (2004)
• Ken Burgess - Melech (2005)
• Brand New (2005)
• Shabbos With The Werdygers 1 (2006)
• Yeedle - Lev Echad (2008)
• Hameorerim (2008)
• The 8th Note (2008)
• Shabbos With The Werdygers 2 (2010)
• Lipa Schmeltzer - Meimka Dlipa: From the Depth of My Heart (2010)
• Miami Boys Choir - Light Up the Nights & Greatest Dance Hits (2010)

References[link]

Mordechai Kedar (Hebrew: מרדכי קידר‎; Arabic: مردخاي كيدار‎) is an Israeli scholar of Arabic literature and a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University. He holds the Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan University.

Kedar is an academic expert on the Israeli Arab population. He served for twenty-five years in IDF Military Intelligence, where he specialized in Islamic groups, the political discourse of Arab countries, the Arabic press and mass media, and the Syrian domestic arena.^[1] The Los Angeles Times' Edmund Sanders described him as "one of the few Arabic-speaking Israeli pundits seen on Arabic satellite channels defending Israel"^[2].

Kedar drew attention with a June 2008 Al-Jazeera interview in which he challenged the moderator's assertion that "You cannot erase Jerusalem from the Qur'an", pointing out that Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Qur'an.^[3]

Publications[link]

Books[link]

• Asad in Search of Legitimacy – Message and Rhetoric in the Syrian Press under Hafiz and Bashar. Sussex Academic Press. 2006. ISBN 978-1-84519-185-6. 

Articles[link]

• "The Psychological Asymmetry of Islamist Warfare". Middle East Quarterly. Spring 2008. http://www.meforum.org/1867/the-psychological-asymmetry-of-islamist-warfare. 

Op-eds[link]

• "Understanding the Iranians". The Jerusalem Post. December 14, 2005. http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/understanding_iranians.pdf. Retrieved 2011-04-08. 
• "The Myth of al-Aqsa". Ynetnews. September 15, 2008. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3596681,00.html. Retrieved 2011-04-08. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• Conversation with Dr. Keidar: Israel, The Arab Spring and the 8th States Solution (Arabic)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2007)

The Crisis

First Issue of The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races, November 1910. New York: NAACP, 1910
Editor	W.E.B. Du Bois
Staff writers	Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, W.S. Braithwaite, M. D. Maclean
Monthly[1]
Publisher	NAACP
First issue	November 1910 (1910-November)
Company	The Crisis Publishing Company
Country	United States
Based in	New York, NY
Language	English
Website	www.thecrisismagazine.com
ISSN	1559-1573

The Crisis is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, W.S. Braithwaite, M. D. Maclean.^[2]

The original title of the journal was The Crisis: A Record of The Darker Races. From 1997 to 2003, it appeared as The New Crisis: The Magazine of Opportunities and Ideas, but the title has since reverted to The Crisis. The title derives from the poem "The Present Crisis" by James Russell Lowell.^[1] Published monthly, by 1920 its circulation had reached 100,000 copies. Du Bois proclaimed his intentions in his first editorial:

The object of this publication is to set forth those facts and arguments which show the danger of race prejudice, particularly as manifested today toward colored people. It takes its name from the fact that the editors believe that this is a critical time in the history of the advancement of men. …Finally, its editorial page will stand for the rights of men, irrespective of color or race, for the highest ideals of American democracy, and for reasonable but earnest and persistent attempts to gain these rights and realize these ideals.^[3]

Predominantly a current-affairs journal, The Crisis also included poems, reviews, and essays on culture and history. Du Bois' initial position as editor was in line with the NAACP's liberal programme of social reform and racial equality, but by the 1930s Du Bois was advocating a form of black separatism. This led to disputes between Du Bois and the NAACP resulting in his resignation as editor in 1934. He was replaced by Roy Wilkins.

Although The Crisis was officially an organ of the NAACP, Du Bois had a large degree of control over the periodicals expressed opinion. Du Bois wrote in Dusk of Dawn that he intended for The Crisis to represent his personal opinions:

I determine to make the opinion of the Crisis a personal opinion; because, as I argued, no organization can express definite and clear cut opinions… the Crisis would state openly the opinion of its editor, so long, of course, as that opinion was in general agreement with that of the organization.

Du Bois contends that the periodical suffered during the Great Depression as the "circulation dropped steadily until by 1933 it was scarcely more than ten thousand paid subscriptions." Du Bois left the magazine for both financial and ideological reasons.

Throughout the Du Bois years The Crisis published the work of many young African American writers associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Its greatest era as a literary journal was between 1919 and 1926, when Jessie Redmon Fauset was literary editor. Fauset encouraged such writers as Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Jean Toomer.

Following the departure of Fauset and Du Bois, the influence of The Crisis declined. The magazine was unable to sustain the high literary standards it had achieved under Fauset, but it continued to have a powerful political voice.

References[link]

A 1911 copy of The Crisis depicting "Ra-Maat-Neb, one of the black kings of the Upper Nile", a copy of the relief of Nebmaatre I on Meroe pyramid 17.

Du Bois, WEB (1940), Dusk of Dawn, Library of America, ISBN [[Special:BookSources/97809400450332|97809400450332]] .

Partington, Paul, The Moon Illustrated Weekly: Black America's First Weekly Magazine, ISBN 978-0-9602538-2-1 .

External links[link]

• The Crisis, http://www.thecrisismagazine.com/ .
• History, NAACP, http://www.naacp.org/about/history/ .
• The Crisis, Footnote, January 1918, http://www.footnote.com/browsemore/179488128_Boom%20and%20Bust:%201920-1935/ .
• The Crisis, Books, Google, http://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks%3A1&tbo=1&q=The+Crisis+Magazine&btnG=Search+Books#q=The+Crisis+Magazine&hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks:1,bkt:m&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=TrrMTILMLJG4sQPMn9CPDg&ved=0CBMQpwU&fp=fd2e97bdff999388 .
• The Crisis, 1, 10–23, The Modernist Journals Project, Nov. 1910 – Apr. 1911, May 1915 – Apr. 1922, http://www.modjourn.org/render.php?view=mjp_object&id=crisiscollection .