From the Library: Taking a class on Joseph and Esther made me think that it was "almost Purim" all semester long. So maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but I'd like to recommend a commentary on Esther to any of you who might be thinking that it's time to read about the megilla from some book that isn't published by Artscroll. The commentary I'm thinking of was just published in 2001. It's in the JPS Bible Commentary Series and it's by a wonderful scholar named Adele Berlin. I suspect that any medievalists who might be reading this blog would particularly enjoy it. I'll give you a quote when I'm done with my Greek take-home final if I'm not too tired.