(RNS) — Iran is on our minds and on our lips. There is far more to that story than meets the eye. The Jewish community of Iran (once Persia) is arguably one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Several years ago, I tutored a Persian Jewish girl for bat mitzvah, and I gently teased her: “Who knows? You might be related to Queen Esther and Mordecai!” Sure enough, she came back the next week and told me that according to family lore, I was absolutely right. There are significant Persian Jewish communities in Great Neck, New York, and Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California — so much so, that those locales have earned the nickname “Tehrangeles.” But, here is something this Ashkenormative Jewish guy never really knew. I knew that they had a distinct culture, with distinct foods and customs. All that was clear. But, I never knew they had their own way of interpreting sacred texts. That is, until I wandered into a bookstore in San Diego and picked up a volume …