Tomb of Esther and Mordechai

A partially underground synagogue chapel was built with a remarkable feature that has special symbolic significance by way of the connection with the Purim story. Esther’s name was linked with the Hebrew word for hidden. Rabbinic commentators on the biblical book which bears her name as title, Megillat Esther, point out that this emphasis on concealment is in fact key to what may well be the major message of the story as well as the holiday that commemorates it. The Jews of the exile who lived in a foreign land thought it best to hide their religious identity.