In the Feb. 23, 1996 issue on this page, Daniel Basch’s article "A Purim Masquerade" presented an example of the Bible’s impact on world literature --- specifically William Shakespeare’s use of the Scroll of Esther as the background for the Merchant of Venice. Basch’s book, "The Hidden Shakespeare," use of the language of the Talmud and Midrash, invisible to Christians, escaping detection by his lifetime persecutors."

The following article by Dr. Jean Jofen is another theory about the mystique of the Elizabethan bard and poet --- in essence that Shakespeare’s works were authored by others.