Identifying Zoroaster with Mordecai the uncle of Queen Esther and other matters.
Zoroastrians and the Sanhedrin.
Contents:
1. Introduction: Zoroaster and Brit-Am.
2. Enter the Sanhedrin.
AI Overview
3. The Sanhedrin's Letter to Iran.
Historical and Religious Context
Sanhedrin makes stunning claim: Persia's founding prophet was biblical Mordechai
by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz.
4. Brit-Am Commentary. History.
5. Who is the Sanhedrin? The Nascent Sanhedrin.
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1. Introduction: Zoroaster and Brit-Am.
Zoroastrians is a pagan religion practised by descendants of Persians.to day in India and Persia
The sacred texts of this religion indicate that originally it may have been monotheistic and even close to the Hebrew Bible.
Later it developed, or acquired, pagan elements.
See:
A good few decades ago (probably somewhere in the early 1990s) we wrote the Article,
What Spake Zarathustra?
by Yair Davidiy
https://britam.org/zarathustra.html
Zoroaster (4785)
by Yair Davidiy
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/quora/qgeneral-history/zoroaster.html
In this article we explain Zarathustra (Zoroaster) was probably an Israelite possibly a disciple of Jeremiah or one of the pupils of Jeremiah.
This WAS NOT an original idea of ours. Others had suggested the same long before.
See:
Extracts:
King Josiah ben Amon sent the prophet Jeremiah and other emissaries to the Scythians in their places of exile to encourage them to return and also to reform their religious practices and beliefs. The appearance of Zarathustra was a result of this and so too was the original doctrine of Buddha.
Zoroaster, according to Iranian tradition had been taught by the prophet Jeremiah or by one of Jeremiah's pupils (2). Zoroaster himself had Scythian familial connections (3) yet some reports identify him as an Israelite (4) .
Historically, "Zoroastrianism" is the term given to the ancient religion of Persia. At present there is a sect of people, named Parsees in Iran and in India. These people descend from Persian followers of the Zoroastrian religion as it was at a later date. The religion of these people (according to our sources) is quite different from the beliefs of its founder. Nevertheless they still preserve copies of their earliest books (The Gathas) and some of these indicate Israelite Origins.
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2. Enter the Sanhedrin.
Recently an organization calling it self the 'Sanhedrin" has been quoted.
This organization is discussed below.
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AI Overview
Extracts:
The Mount Zion Sanhedrin has proposed a theological and historical connection, arguing that Mordechai, the Jewish hero of the Book of Esther, and the Persian prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra) are the same individual. This claim is presented as a "scholarly bombshell" to highlight shared spiritual history between Jews and Persia, often linked to current events in the region.
Here are the key points of the Sanhedrin's argument:
Identical Timelines: The Sanhedrin argues that the religious reforms of Zoroaster took place during the same period as the Purim story.
Name Interpretation: The Sanhedrin interprets the name Zoroaster as a corruption of the Hebrew phrase Dod Esther ("relative of Esther" or "elder of Esther").
Haman as the Magi: The antagonistic Magian priests in Zoroastrian tradition are identified with Haman, who is described in the Book of Esther as an Agagite.
Esther as Hutaosa: Queen Esther is identified with Hutaosa, the wife of King Vishtaspa (identified as Ahasuerus), who historical records say was a patron of Zoroaster.
Monotheistic Links: The Talmud, as cited by Charisma Magazine Online, is used to argue that the God worshipped by Zoroaster (Ahura Mazda) is the same as the God of Israel.
Core Beliefs: Zoroastrianism's focus on the fight between good and evil is viewed as a parallel to the Mordechai-Haman conflict.
The Sanhedrin letter also notes that the Talmud refers to "Ahormiz" and mentions Jewish leaders, including Mordechai, involved in early Persian history. This identification is sometimes discussed in the context of Purim and the tomb of Esther and Mordechai.
Note: While some historians have noted parallels in the timing of the events, this specific identification of Zoroaster and Mordechai is primarily a theological claim rather than established academic history.
In a 2026 initiative, the modern-day Sanhedrin (a re-established body of rabbis) issued a formal letter to the Iranian people asserting that Mordechai from the Biblical Book of Esther and the ancient Persian prophet Zoroaster were the same person. This claim argues that the spiritual foundations of Judaism and ancient Persian Zoroastrianism are intertwined, with the story of Purim acting as a, pivotal moment in that history.
The Sanhedrin's claim is heavily based on research indicating that Jewish and Persian traditions describe the same individuals under different names.
Key Points of the Identification
The Sanhedrin links Mordechai and Zoroaster through several parallels:
The Name: The name Zoroaster is interpreted by the Sanhedrin as "Elder of Esther" or Dod Esther (Esther's relative/uncle), connecting it to the biblical description of Mordechai as Esther's guardian.
The Timeframe: The emergence of Zoroastrianism coincides with the Persian Empire's historical period and the events of the Book of Esther.
Hutaosa and Hadassah: The Sanhedrin identifies Hutaosa (a queen in Persian sources) with Queen Esther's Hebrew name, Hadassah.
Conflict with the Magi: Zoroaster fought against a religious group called the Magi, which the Sanhedrin connects directly to Haman the Agagite and his followers.
Monotheism: Zoroastrianism's core focus on a single Creator God, struggle between good and evil, and moral choices mirrors biblical teachings.
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3. The Sanhedrin's Letter to Iran.
The letter, signed by the rabbis of the Mount Zion Sanhedrin Court, was presented as a call to the Iranian people to abandon the regime of the Islamic Republic, which they described as heirs to the evil "Ahriman" (a figure in Zoroastrianism) and Haman, and to return to a "path of their fathers" that aligns with the monotheism of both Zoroaster and Mordechai.
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Historical and Religious Context
Mordechai: A central figure in the biblical Book of Esther, which tells the story of Purim, where Jews in the Persian Empire were saved from a plot by Haman to destroy them.
Zoroaster: The founder of Zoroastrianism (around 1500 BCE or later), an ancient Persian religion focused on the struggle between Ahura Mazda (the supreme god) and Angra Mainyu (evil spirit).
Talmudic Views: The Talmud recognizes the God of Israel as the God mentioned in Zoroastrian teachings.
The Sanhedrin notes that this interpretation helps resolve the puzzle of Mordechai's swift rise in the Persian records.
For more on this topic, see the articles on Israel365 News and Charisma Magazine Online.
Sanhedrin makes stunning claim: Persia's founding prophet was biblical Mordechai
https://israel365news.com/417938/sanhedrin-makes-stunning-claim-persias-founding-prophet-was-biblical-mordechai/
by
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz
Extracts:
The Sanhedrin issued a formal letter to the Iranian people this week, making a claim that rewrites ancient history: the prophet Zoroaster, founder of Persia's ancient religion, was none other than Mordechai the Jews, and the Iranian people are being called to remember it.
The letter, dated the 17th of Iyar, 5786, is signed 'the Elder Brother, the Rabbis of the Mount Zion Sanhedrin Court' and opens with a verse that frames everything that follows: "... And you shall say to Pharaoh: So says the Lord, My firstborn son is Israel" (Exodus 4:22). The Sanhedrin is speaking to the Iranian people not as a long-lost brother with a shared, largely forgotten history.
The letter arrives in the wake of Israel's military campaign against Iran, a campaign the Sanhedrin describes in blunt terms: 'In one day, the entire leadership of the Iranian regime was eliminated. Afterward, the entire air defense system was eliminated, so that Israeli aircraft flew safely in the skies of Tehran.' The Sanhedrin then states what it considers the only possible explanation: 'Not a single Israeli aircraft and not a single Israeli soldier fell in this war. The only explanation for this wondrous phenomenon is that the God of Israel, Creator of the world, protects the soldiers of Israel and brings success to our wars.'
Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions, founded in ancient Persia and once the official faith of three successive Persian empires, the Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sasanian. At its peak it was the dominant religion of an empire stretching from modern-day Turkey to India. Today, Zoroastrians number only around 100,000 to 200,000 worldwide, concentrated primarily in India, where they are known as Parsis, and in Iran, where they are called Zartoshti. Despite their small numbers, their religious tradition stretches back somewhere between 1500 and 1000 BCE, making it older than most of the world's surviving faiths.
The religion's central teaching is the eternal struggle between Asha, truth, righteousness, and order , and Druj - falsehood, chaos, and destruction. Its adherents worship one supreme God, Ahura Mazda, meaning 'Wise Lord,' and are guided by the principle of 'good thoughts, good words, good deeds' - .... Zoroastrians do not proselytize, maintain sacred fires in their temples as a symbol of divine light and purity, and believe in the resurrection of the dead, final judgment, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Their holy scripture, the Avesta, contains hymns called Gathas believed to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, hymns that, read alongside the Sanhedrin's argument, sound strikingly familiar to anyone versed in the Hebrew Bible.
Zoroaster.... Ustra is the name Esther, it states, 'and we get the combination 'the elder of Esther' ' dod Esther.' In Greek he is called Zoroaster a name that, the Sanhedrin notes, 'even more closely resembles Esther.'
In the Megillah, Mordechai is consistently called Esther,s dod - her relative and guardian. In the Megillah, Mordechai is called dod Esther, the Sanhedrin noted.
The Sanhedrin is direct: The name Mordechai could be associated with the Babylonian idol Merodach or Marduch. Therefore Mordechai preferred to become known by the name 'dod Esther'- Zoroaster.
The God of Zoroastrianism, the Talmud says, is the God of Israel.
The Zoroastrian deity Ahura Mazda, in Persian, Ahormiz, is explicitly mentioned in the Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin (39). The Sanhedriin quotes Rashi's comment there: 'Ahormiz, the Holy One Blessed Be He is called thus.' The Sanhedrin concludes: 'We find that the Talmud and the early authorities related to the worshippers of Ahormiz as worshippers of God.'
The Talmud there mentions that they attributed control also to the demon Hormin, and this was the error that spread among them over the generations, the Sanhedrin said.
The religion of Zoroaster had a rival religion called the religion of the Magi, the Sanhedrin stated. It was an idolatrous and crude religion, and its priests even carried out a revolt and seized power for a short time. The document cites the historian Herodotus's famous story of the festival of the slaughter of the Magi, and draws the connection directly: This story is very similar to the story of Purim, and many have connected them. We find, therefore, that the Magi are the Agagites.
Haman in the Megillah is identified as an Agagite, a descendant of Agag, king of Amalek. The Sanhedrin maps the two stories onto each other with precision: They say that Zoroaster prayed that the king would move to his religion and leave the religion of the Magi and their priests, and indeed, through the influence of his wife Hutaosa, the king became his student and even spread his religion. When we understand that the Magi are the Agagites, before us is the story of Purim. The king followed Haman the Magian priest, and Mordechai prayed and fasted so that Ahasuerus would leave Haman. Through the influence of his wife Esther-Hadassah, the king hanged Haman and appointed Mordechai as viceroy.
The Book of Esther states: ..."And many of the peoples of the land converted to Judaism" (Esther 8:17).
... If we accept the identity between Mordechai and Zoroaster, we understand that those many peoples of the land who 'converted' did not accept upon themselves the 613 commandments and did not become ordinary converts. They accepted the Jewish faith in the Holy One Blessed Be He, abandoned their idols, and learned principles of Judaism that non-Jews can also fulfill. The mass conversion recorded in the Megillah was, in fact, the mass adoption of Zoroastrianism, spread by Mordechai across the Persian Empire.
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On Israel's current success, the letter draws the contrast directly: 'The people of Israel succeeds today in standing against all its enemies ' fewer than 10 million people of Israel against a billion and a half enemies and additional billions of haters, and achieves great accomplishments, because it holds fast to the pure faith in the One God, Creator of the world, without partnership of foreign forces. As it is written: ...'God guided them alone, and there was no foreign god with him' (Deuteronomy 32:12).
On the Islamic Republic specifically, the Sanhedrin is unsparing: 'Pay attention to the linguistic similarity between Ahriman the evil and Haman the wicked of the Megillah of Esther, and between them and Khamenei the Supreme Leader whom the people of God eliminated. The linguistic and essential connection between them is not coincidental. This is the same seed of evil that tries in every generation to destroy you and the world. The Revolutionary Guards cling to evil and chaos, to the destruction of the world, and bring the world into perpetual conflict and continual ruin. They serve Satan and not God. They advance evil and destruction and death, and not good and life and the building of the world that serves God.'
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4. Brit-Am Commentary. History.
Jewish History (Midrash seder Olam dates Jeremiah to 463 BCE snd Esther to 362 BCE.
The secular dates are Jeremiah 650 - 570 BCE, and Esther is treated as a work of fiction and her historical time is uncertain. Ahaseurus is identified (maybe) with Xerxes 485-465 BCE.At all events Jeremiah preceded Esther and fits the facts better. Nevertheless, the attribution of Mordecai as playing a role in the spread of Biblical-type belief is also a possibility.
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5. Who is the Sanhedrin? The Nascent Sanhedrin.
After its foundation and lack of widespead support the "Sanhedrin" stopped using the name "Sanhedrin" for a while called itself the Jewish Council. It now uses the title "Nascent Sanhedrin" connoting "coming into existence."
In 2004 at Tiberias by the Sea of Galilee about 70 Religious Jews gathered and declared themselves the new Sanhedrin.
Historically the original Sanhedrin was the supreme Jewish legislative and judicial council in ancient Israel, composed of 71 leading sages and elders who sat in Jerusalem during the Second Temple era.
The number 70 was derived from the commandment given to Moses:
Numbers 11:
16 SO THE LORD SAID TO MOSES: GATHER TO ME SEVENTY MEN OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL, WHOM YOU KNOW TO BE THE ELDERS OF THE PEOPLE AND OFFICERS OVER THEM; BRING THEM TO THE TABERNACLE OF MEETING, THAT THEY MAY STAND THERE WITH YOU. 17 THEN I WILL COME DOWN AND TALK WITH YOU THERE. I WILL TAKE OF THE SPIRIT THAT IS UPON YOU AND WILL PUT THE SAME UPON THEM; AND THEY SHALL BEAR THE BURDEN OF THE PEOPLE WITH YOU, THAT YOU MAY NOT BEAR IT YOURSELF ALONE.
When the Jews returned from Babylon (Ezra and Nehemiah) they first set u pa "Great Assembly." This originally numbered 120 but as members died out or retired they were not replaced until the number had diminished to 70. The number was actually 71 when the President (Ha-Nasi i.e. The Prince) is included. This reflected the situation in the time of Moses when in addition to the 70 elders Moses would also participate bringing the number up to 71. The seventy elders comprised the Sanhedrin (Numbers 11:16). The Great Assembly had included amongst its members the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
We thus have an overlap between the Sages of the Sanhedrin and the Prophets. After the destruction of the 2nd Temple the Sanhedrin moved to various places but it continued to exist in some form or other until around 300 CE.
The attempt to reconstitute the Sanhedrin in 2004 lack public support. None of its members appear to have been hardcore hareidim (Ultra-Orthodox) and not all of them were that serious.
Nevertheless, they did encompass several learned Rabbis.
They also received funding.
They enjoyed the facilities of the learning institution of Rabbi Adin Steinzoltz with which they came to overlap.
We yourself had a few friends among members (or past members) of the "Sanhedrin."
Nevertheless they made some serious mistakes concerning the Lost Tribes.
They did not recognize our researches.
They met up with representative of native peoples claiming to be from the lost Ten Tribes.
They manipulated Rabbi Adin Steinzolts into signing a document identifying America with Magog. The Rabbi (who had renamed himself "Even-Israel'. died in 2020 but already had suffered astroke in 2016 and could not speak. This raises serious questions as to waht was going on then,
One of their officials after previously having been on friendly terms with us publicly vicious unjustly attacked Yair Davidiy and Brit-Am belief. He later, in private, apologized but the damage was done.
This behavior appears to follow a pattern that reflects on the whole.