Ask The Rabbi 
27 February 1999
Issue #228
Parshat Tetzaveh
=========================================================================== 
This publication is available in HTML format at 
http://www.ohr.org.il/ask/ask228.htm 
=========================================================================== 
Researched at Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem 
This Issue Contains: 
1. Stiff Price?			5. Letter Perfect
2. Stamp it Out			6. Take a Bow
3. Megillah Marriage		7. Yiddle Riddle 
4. No Praise on Purim?
===========================================================================
 
___Stiff Price?___

Chanan Dahl from Voyenenga, Norway <torgerd@online.no> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Why can Purim be one of the happiest holidays in the Jewish calendar when 
the Jews in King Ahasuerus' kingdom took revenge by killing more that 
75,000 of their enemies (Book of Esther's 9:6, 9:16)?  Of course it's a 
reason for joy that all the Jews were saved by Esther's and Mordechai's 
plot, but was not the price the people of the kingdom paid a bit stiff?

************

Dear Chanan Dahl,

	First of all, I think it should be said that the Jews didn't take 
revenge.  They defended themselves.  By Persian law, "an order written in 
the name of the king and signed with the king's ring can not be rescinded" 
(Esther 8:8).  Therefore, Haman's decree to kill the Jews was never 
actually rescinded.  Instead, Achashverosh issued a second decree in which 
"the king gave permission to the Jews in every city to gather and defend 
themselves...against any who wage war against them" (Esther 8:11).

	And Purim doesn't celebrate the death of our enemies.  In fact, we 
celebrate Purim the day after the battle ended.  The Jewish way is not to 
revel in the death of our enemies -- we celebrate the fact that G-d saved 
us from Haman's genocidal plan.

	Also, the death toll may not seem so large when you consider that it 
accounted for Achashverosh's entire kingdom, which stretched throughout the 
known world.


___Stamp it Out___

Yaacov Simon from Larchmont, NY <yaacovs@cloud9.net> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

It occurred to me during the Megillah reading that we only make noise and 
"stamp out" Haman's name when he is referred to as "Haman."  Why don't we 
"stamp out" the name of Memuchan, who the Sages tell us was actually Haman?  
For that matter, why don't we do the same during other Torah reading when 
any bad guy, Amalek for instance, is mentioned?

************

Dear Yaakov Simon,

	Good question!  The answer may be that although Memuchan refers to 
Haman, it is not his actual name.  Part of the original custom to "stamp 
out Haman's name" was to say "shem reshaim yirkav -- may the name of evil 
people be erased."

	Now for your second question, why don't we "stamp out" the name of 
Amalek and other "bad guys?"  The truth is, it's not really appropriate to 
make noise during the Torah reading in the first place, but it's permitted 
during the Megillah reading because of the special joy of the day.  There 
are in fact authorities who discourage it even during the Megillah reading, 
and they only allow it because it is already an established custom.

	Also, it is only appropriate to make noise when referring to a story 
in which we emerged as the clear winner, and with Amalek, that has not yet 
happened.

Sources:

* Rema Orach Chaim 690, 17


___Megillah Marriage___

Name@Withheld wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

How does one explain the fact that Queen Esther married a non-Jew when it 
is written that no daughter of Israel shall marry a non-Jew?  Furthermore, 
how does one explain that the Jewish People actually benefited from this 
"intermarriage?"  Many thanks, again.  Shalom.

************

Dear Name@Withheld,

	Let me make your question even stronger:  The Talmud says that Esther 
was already married ... to Mordechai!  With that in mind, Esther's 
"marriage" to Achashverosh seems to be an even worse sin than 
intermarriage.

	The answer is that Esther did not marry Achashverosh willingly, she 
was forced into it.  So she is blameless in that regard. Even when she went 
willingly, since the salvation of the entire Jewish People depended on 
this, it was permitted. 

	But your second question is, why did the Jewish People benefit from 
this mismatch?  Why did G-d allow the redemption of the Jews to sprout from 
Esther's ignominious "marriage" to a drunken, idol-worshipping king?

	I think the answer is as follows:  The main theme of Purim is that 
even when we Jews are in exile, G-d directs every aspect of history for our 
ultimate benefit.  Even seemingly bad events further G-d's hidden plan to 
bring the final redemption.

Sources:

* Esther 2:8
* Targum Ibid.
* Even Haezer 178, Beit Shmuel, Chochmat Shlomo


___No Praise on Purim?___

Name@Withheld from Calgary, Canada

Dear Rabbi,

Why do we not say Hallel on Purim?

************

Dear Name@Withheld,

	We recite "Hallel" on the festivals which celebrate our freedom from 
Egypt.  Hallel begins with the words, "Give praise, servants of G-d."  
Thus, we recite "Hallel" to celebrate the fact that we are no longer 
"servants of Pharaoh," but rather we are "servants of G-d."

	The Megillah, on the other hand, begins with the Jews in exile, 
subservient to Achashverosh, and ends with the Jews in exile, subservient 
to Achashverosh.  In this sense Hallel is inappropriate.

Sources:

* Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 693, Mishna Berurah 7

___Letter Perfect___

Michael Willen, MD from Slingerlands, NY <willem@rpi.edu> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

In the Book of Esther, why are certain letters in the names of Haman's sons 
written so much smaller than the others and why are some letters in the 
text (such as a tav towards the end of the book) larger than the others?

************

Dear Dr. Michael Willen,

	In Megillat Esther, and elsewhere in the Torah, you find several 
places where a letter is written slightly larger or slightly smaller than 
the other letters.  This is an ancient tradition, and the reason for each 
instance isn't always explained.

	The particular ones you mentioned (Esther 9:7,9) aren't explained in 
any classical sources.  Recently, however, it has been discovered that 
these letters, which occur in the section describing the hanging deaths of 
Haman's ten sons, may contain an uncanny hint to the Nuremberg trials in 
which ten Nazis were tried and hung for their anti-Semitic crimes, as 
follows:

	As you may know, the Jewish calendar year is represented by Hebrew 
letters.  The small letters in the names of Haman's ten sons are:  "tav" 
"shin" "zain."  The large letter is "vav."  These letters represent the 
year 707 ("tav shin zain" equal 707) of the sixth millennium (represented 
by the large "vav" which equals 6).  Thus you have the Jewish date 5707, or 
1946 by the civil calendar.  On the first of October, 1946 -- 6 Tishrei 
5707 on the Jewish calendar -- the Nuremberg Military Tribunal tried ten 
Nazis and sentenced them to death by hanging for their modern "Hamanism."  
One of them, the notorious Julius Streiker, even cried "Purim-Fest 1946" as 
his cryptic last words.

Sources:

* The Jewish Observer," March 1986, pp. 56-57


___Take a Bow___

Ari Trachtenberg, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign 
<trachten@uiuc.edu> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I am thinking about taking a class in Tae Kwan Do this semester to get some 
exercise.  After sitting in on the first class, it seems that there is a 
lot of bowing involved, in addition to various "spiritual" lessons:  
Students are supposed to bow to the training room, to each other, to the 
instructor.  The instructor told me that this bowing is a typical gesture 
of respect, that it is bi-directional (instructors bow to students too), 
and is not a supplication.  Given the Purim story, however, I am hesitant 
to participate in this class.  Do you know of any conflicts between this 
type of martial art and Judaism?  I appreciate your time, and thanks for 
the great "Ask the Rabbi" column!

************

Dear Ari Trachtenberg,

	Bowing to people as a gesture of respect is perfectly okay.  Abraham 
bowed to his guests (Genesis 18:2), the brothers bowed to Joseph (Genesis 
42:6) and Moses bowed to his father-in-law (Exodus 18:6).  So if Tae Kwan 
Do bowing is nothing more than a gesture of respect toward others, I see no 
problem with it.  If however, they are bowing to an object or the room that 
would be forbidden.

	Why then in the Purim episode did Mordechai refuse to bow to Haman?  
The Midrash answers that Haman claimed divine powers for himself.  He even 
went so far as to attach an idolatrous icon to his clothing.  Under these 
circumstances, bowing to him was tantamount to bowing to an idol.

Sources:

* Rashi on Megillat Esther 3:2
* Ibn Ezra, ibid.

===========================================================================

Yiddle Riddle

Last week we asked:

"What verse in the Torah contains the same shoresh (root) four times in a 
row?"

Answer:

Bamidbar 4:47.  In describing the Levites' Sanctuary service, the verse 
says "la'avod avodat avodah v'avodat masa -- to serve the service of 
Service and the service of carrying...."  This verse contains the Hebrew 
root for service, "ayin, bet, daled" four times in a row.

* Riddle and answer submitted by C. Blum, Toronto 
<catriel@stellapharm.com>

===========================================================================   
You can submit your questions to the "Ask The Rabbi" staff with your web    
browser at: http://asktherabbi.org    
Or to use standard E-Mail, address it to: info@ohr.org.il   
To insure correct handling, set the subject to "ASK THE RABBI"    
===========================================================================    
Did you know that EVERY question EVER published in Ask The Rabbi    
isavailable on-line in an index for easy look-up?    
http://www.ohr.org.il/web/index/askidx.htm   
===========================================================================   
   
Do you link to us?  Let everyone know about the Ohr Somayach Home Page by   
dropping the following text into the HTML document of YOUR home page:   
   
          <A HREF="http://www.ohr.org.il" TARGET="_top">   
          The Ohr Somayach International Home Page</A>   
===========================================================================    
                                 SUBSCRIBE!   
   
to one of the many weekly "lists" published by Ohr Somayach Institutions:   
   
      weekly - Summary of the weekly Torah portion   
     dafyomi - Rav Mendel Weinbach's insights into the Daf Yomi   
         ask - The Rabbi answers YOUR questions on Judaism   
  parasha-qa - Challenging questions on the weekly Torah portion   
  os-special - All the SPECIAL publications produced by Ohr So   
       month - Seasons of the Moon - The Jewish Year through its months   
     os-alum - "B'Yachad" - the Ohr Somayach Electronic Alumni Newsletter   
    judaismo - Spanish-Language newsletter on the Parsha & Judaism   
  judaismo-p - Portuguese-Language newsletter on the Parsha & Judaism   
      yossi - Yossi & Co. comic strip in PDF Format  
  ohrnet - Torah Weekly, Q&A, Ask the Rabbi & Daf Yomi in PDF Format  
     ohrnews - Keep up-to-date with the Ohr Somayach Web Site  
  Simcha - Simcha's Torah Stories for youth of all ages.  
   
Ohr Somayach NEVER charges for any of the above lists.     
To subscribe, see the page http://www.ohr.org.il/web/sub.htm   
Or send the message:     
            subscribe {listname} {your full name} to listproc@vjlists.com  
===========================================================================   
"I'm looking for the E-Mail address of a student at Ohr Somayach..."   
 Look no further than:  http://www.ohr.org.il/web/alumni/email.htm   
===========================================================================    
Dedication opportunities are available for Ask The Rabbi.   
Please contact us for details.   
===========================================================================   
Ask The Rabbi is written at   
Ohr Somayach Institutions / Tanenbaum College, Jerusalem, Israel.   
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman   
Production Design: Eli Ballon   
===========================================================================    
Prepared by the Jewish Learning Exchange of    
Ohr Somayach International    
22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103    
Jerusalem 91180, Israel    
Tel: 972-2-581-0315 Fax: 972-2-581-2890    
E-Mail:  info@ohr.org.il   Home Page:  http://www.ohr.org.il    
===========================================================================    
(C) 1999 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved.

