When I was about ten years old, a Messianic Jew came to our Lutheran Church and taught us how to celebrate Pesach (Passover) by holding a Seder meal. My parents were captivated by the ritual: the lifting of the afikomen, the passing of the bitter herbs, the salt water on the tongue.

Purim has always been one of my favorite holidays, because it celebrates the story of Esther, one of the few women in the Torah who is widely remembered.