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How Queen Esther Became an American Hero Left: "Queen Esther in America." Right: The author, Rabbi Stu Halpern Advertisement This interview first appeared in the Jewish Week. Ivanka Trump and Monica Lewinsky were both compared to Queen Esther. Hillary Clinton called the star of the Purim story her favorite biblical heroine. In 1862, an abolitionist minister quoted the Book of Esther in calling on President Lincoln to free the slaves. Those are just a few of the ways the Book of Esther has been deployed in American political and cultural life. Ministers, rabbis, politicians, activ...

Andrew Silow-Carroll is Editor in Chief of The NY Jewish Week. The cast of a Purim play staged by the Sephardic Jewish Community in New York in 1936. (Center for Jewish History via Wikimedia Commons) Ivanka Trump and Monica Lewinsky were both compared to Queen Esther. Hillary Clinton called the star of the Purim story her favorite biblical heroine. In 1862, an abolitionist minister quoted the Book of Esther in calling on President Lincoln to free the slaves. Those are just a few of the ways the Book of Esther has been deployed in American political and cultural life. Ministers, rabbis, politi...