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Questions tagged [haman]

A minister in the ancient Persian empire of King Ahasuerus who sought to exterminate the Jewish people. He is the primary antagonist in the book of Esther.

15 votes
6 answers
516 views

Were Haman's possessions hung on a tree?

In Maoz Tzur we say: רב בניו וקנייניו,‏ על העץ תלית His many sons and his possessions, You hung on a tree Were Haman's possessions really hung on a tree?
SimchasTorah's user avatar
  • 33.3k
13 votes
3 answers
681 views

Why did Haman change his mind and decide to immediately hang Mordechai?

In Esther 3:6, it states that Haman was embarrassed to harm Mordechai alone, so he casts lots to decide which date to kill the entire Jewish people. In 5:14, Haman builds a special gallows for ...
DanF's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
298 views

Why would Haman "restrain himself"?

In Esther (5:9), when Haman leaves the king's palace after Queen Esther's first party, all happy and feeling on top of the world, gets very upset when he sees Mordechai sitting there, and not bowing ...
MTL's user avatar
  • 19.1k
5 votes
1 answer
393 views

Source to make noise when Haman's name is mentioned?

Where is the source to make noise when Haman's name is read from the Megillah?
Renato S. Grun's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
422 views

Haman servant of Mordechai: text of document

The gemara in Megillah 15 writes that Mordechai acquired Haman for a piece of bread. Rashi writes: וזה בא בפרוזבולי - מרדכי בא אליו בטענת עושר המן בא בטענת עוני שמכר המן את עצמו למרדכי קודם לכן ...
sam's user avatar
  • 42.3k
2 votes
0 answers
199 views

How old was Haman in the Megillah?

I'm on a bit of a quest to contextualize the story of Purim by getting a better sense of the ages of the main characters. So far, with Mi Yodeya's help, I've explored the age of Esther, and I have ...
Chaim's user avatar
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12 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why is Haman called an Agagite and not an Amalekite?

In Megillas Esther 3:1 Haman is called the Agagite which I always assumed meant he was a descendant of Agag the king of the Amalekite in 1 Shmuel 15:8. His lineage is confirmed in Megillah 13a as ...
please remove my account's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
497 views

What happened to Haman's money?

One of the more interesting encounters in the megilla takes place between Achashveirosh and Haman right after Haman decides to kill the Jewish people. Having decided on a date, Haman approaches ...
eykanal's user avatar
  • 1,432
7 votes
2 answers
442 views

Haman's gallows originating from Noach's ark

There is an interesting Yalkut Shimoni, remez 256 (on parshas Beshalach) where it details that when Haman was searching for a large enough beam of wood with which to make the gallows - he ended up ...
Dov's user avatar
  • 33.7k
5 votes
2 answers
240 views

Does anyone say not to make noise for Haman?

Here is the source that you should make noise at the mention of Haman's name. However, as I was listening to the Megillah this year it occurred to me how counterproductive it is as an act of erasing ...
Y     e     z's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
385 views

Source for Haman's hat

As a little kid, I was always told that a Hamantasch is representative of Haman's three cornered hat. Is there an actual source that says Haman wore a three cornered hat or is it just Folklore?
Bochur613's user avatar
  • 4,697
3 votes
3 answers
112 views

Why does Achashveirosh ask who is responsible for the decree against the Jews?

In Esther 7:5 it says וַיֹּ֙אמֶר�� הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר לְאֶסְתֵּ֣ר הַמַּלְכָּ֑ה מִ֣י ה֥וּא זֶה֙ וְאֵֽי־זֶ֣ה ה֔וּא אֲשֶׁר־מְלָא֥וֹ לִבּ֖וֹ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת כֵּֽן׃ Thereupon King Ahasuerus ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
336 views

Why was Achashverosh so angry about Haman's plot?

In Megilas Esther 7:4, Esther tells Achashveros that someone is planning on wiping out her people: כִּי נִמְכַּרְנוּ אֲנִי וְעַמִּי, לְהַשְׁמִיד לַהֲרוֹג וּלְאַבֵּד; וְאִלּוּ לַעֲבָדִים וְלִשְׁפָחוֹת ...
Daniel's user avatar
  • 25k
3 votes
1 answer
128 views

How did Haman think he could get away with murdering Mordechai?

Haman persuaded Ahashverosh to sign a decree enabling the genocide of the Jews in the Persian empire. This much is clear from the text. But in between Esther's parties, Haman constructs a gallows 50 ...
Seth J's user avatar
  • 41.7k
3 votes
2 answers
635 views

Was Haman Jewish?

I read the question about whether Achashverosh was Jewish and I was wondering, why isn't Haman Jewish? He was Mordechai's slave (see Megillah bottom of 15a through the top of 15b with Rashi) and as an ...
Eliyahu's user avatar
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