Dear Friend,

A fascinating piece of news you may have missed: Two tiny stone seals dating back to the First Temple period have been recovered in Jerusalem. What makes the discovery all the more remarkable is the fact that one of the 2,500-year-old seals belonged to a woman, Elihana bat Gael, who apparently did enough business that she needed a seal with her name to sign documents and authorize instructions.

In her wildest dreams, I doubt Elihana could have imagined that the descendants of her people would one day find her signet and wonder about her life. But then, there’s little about the Jewish people that could have been predicted.

Since Elihana’s days, we have survived Sennacherib and the Assyrians, Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, Antiochus and the Greeks, Titus and the Romans, Count Emicho and the Crusaders, Torquemada and the inquisitors, Chmielnicki and the Cossacks, and, most recently, Hitler and the Nazis.

This coming month we celebrate Purim, when we were miraculously saved from Haman and his evil plot to destroy the Jewish people. Let us take a moment to recognize the many, many times that G‑d has saved us from evil, and thank Him for His continued care and love.

Menachem Posner,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team