Rabbi Yehuda Gerami, the Chief Rabbi of Iran Davened Mincha and Maariv and read Megillas Esther this evening at the site believed to be the kever of Mordechai and Esther in Hamadan, Iran.
Young Iranian yeshiva students travelled with with Rabbi Gerami to the Kever. Attached video footage taken for YWN shows the Rabbi and his students, some of whom are training to become rabbinical judges and rabbis, danceing outside the Kever before Mincha. After Mincha, they Davened maariv, followed by Kreiyas Megillah in a nearby Shul next to the Kever. They then broke their fast, and began the journey back to Tehran.
Despite geopolitical tensions, the Iranian regime continues to preserve the kever due to its historical significance. Mordechai and Esther, considered figures of Persian royalty, are recognized as part of the nation’s cultural and historical heritage. The Iranian government, which has a vested interest in maintaining historical sites, considers the kever an important part of Persian civilization.
The Megillah leining at the kever underscores the continued presence – albeit a small one – of Jewish life in Iran, home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, and the very land where the Purim neis unfolded.
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3 Responses
Absolutely fascinating!
Thanks so much YWN for posting.
Correct me if I’m wrong. But this handful of Jews living in Iran are the useful props of the genocidal Iranian regime that wants to kill all Jews, but wants to claim its Jew hatred is just “anti Zionism” so they keep this lot safe, and take lots of pictures of them safe and smiling.
So they can say “Hey look we’re not antisemetic there are 15 Jews in our country that are safe” while at the same time trying to wipe out Israel. Kind of like how the pope had his little cadre of Jews in Vatican City during WWII.
So great….these Jews are taking a picture as kever Esther. Yay.
Btw, not all opinions believe that they are buried there. Especially the Gemara that says Mordechai is Bilshan. Or the Medrash that says Mordechai was Malachi. According to these, he is buried in EY, somewhere. (I forgot where, but there is a known place in EY with a tradition as well…)