Purim Curiosities
Here are some interesting and little-known facts about Purim...
About the Megillah:
* Megillat Esther is the only book in the scriptures that does not mention God‘s name.
* Megillat Esther is unique in that it contains words which appear nowhere else in the Bible.
These include:
- Tevet: the tenth Hebrew month.
- Kasher: fit
- Patshegen: a copy of the (written) text
- Ahashdarpenim: Persian word for the King’s officers
- Pur: Persian word meaning “lot.”
- Karpas: Persian word for cotton.
* All the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are found in Megillat Esther 3:13.
* Haman’s name is mentioned fifty-four times in the Megillah (take out your groggers!).
* The Hebrew word Mishteh, meaning banquet, occurs 20 times in Megillat Esther (which is equal to the total of ALL the other times it is found in the rest of the Bible).
* The longest verse in the Bible appears in Megillat Esther (Megillat Esther 8:9). It has 43 words in Hebrew (and approximately 90 words in the English translation).
“Then were the king’s scribes called at that time, in the third month, that is the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordechai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces, which are from India unto Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing and according to their language” (Megillat Esther 8:9).
* The Talmud instructs us that on Purim we should drink until we don’t know the difference between “Blessed be Mordecai” and “Cursed be Haman.” Interestingly, the numerical value of the Hebrew letters in each of the phrases, “baruch Mordechai” (“Blessed be Mordechai”) and “arur Haman” (“Cursed be Haman”) amounts to a total of 502.
And speaking of “Cursed be Haman…”
* On January 30th, 1944, Hitler said: “If the Nazis are vanquished, the Jews will be able to celebrate a special Purim.”
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