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Lesson 2 of 8·Jews and the Civil War

Lincoln, Esther, and the Emancipation Proclamation

In 1862, President Lincoln was visited by a group of Christian clergymen, who delivered an earnest sermon citing the Book of Esther to urge the president to free the slaves. Several days later, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Is there a connection between these two episodes?

Taught By

Meir Soloveichik
Meir Soloveichik is the rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel and the director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. His website, containing all of his media appearances, podcasts, and writing, can be found at meirsoloveichik.com.

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