Esther's Story Told in Letters

Do you remember the first time you sent a letter? Once upon a time -- before email, before WhatsApp, before social media -- it was a solemn and joyful act: writing by hand, gently folding into an envelope, licking a stamp, checking the address, and anxiously waiting for a reply. Sure, modern-day communication has its perks, but I miss letters, I miss pen pals, I miss the time when the mail wasn't just Amazon packages and bills but included friendship scrawled on paper. Tell me how much you think a stamp costs and I'll tell you when you grew up (I am from the 29 cents era). And that is why it was so exciting to receive Tractate Megillah in my proverbial Torah mailbox -- because Tractate Megillah is an ode to letters, the Talmudic story of a book that first began as an intimate letter.