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.
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What meaning do the names of the ten sons of Haman have?
Is there a meaning behind the names of the ten sons of Haman who were killed and hung (Esther 9:7-9)? They are:
פַּרְשַׁנְדָּתָא Parshandasa
דַּלְפוֹן Dalphon
אַסְפָּתָא Aspasa
פּוֹרָתָא Porasa
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Does anyone draw a parallel between Haman selling himself to Mordechai and Esav selling the birthright to Yaakov?
There’s a famous Yalkut Shimoni (Nach 1056:18, referenced by Rashi in explaining Megillah 15a), which reads as follows:
א"ר חסדא זה בא בפרוזבולי וזה בא בפרוזבוטי, פעם אחת נתן המלך ��מון ושגרם בראשי ...
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Was Haman so discourteous as to bother the king's sleep?
There are 2 related parts to this question:
1) Haman is annoyed with Mordechai and discusses with Zeresh, his wife and his wise advisers what to do. In Esther 5:14, they tell him to make a tall tree, ...
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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 ...
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Why did Mordechai not stand before Haman?
I understand that (one of) the reason(s) that Mordechai did not bow before Haman was that Haman wore an idol around his neck and therefore bowing to him would (appear to?) be bowing before an idol. ...
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Why does the Targum switch the order when identifying Memuchan and Hasach?
Targum on Esther identifies Memuchan as Haman (in 1:16):
ממוכן הוא המן
Memuchan, who is Haman
Yet on 4:5, when he identifies Hasach as Daniel, he switches the order:
דניאל דמתקרי התך
...
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When and how did Haman amass so much wealth?
In Megillah 15a at the bottom, Rav Chisda brings a teaching on the passuk in Esther 5:13 that Mordechai came with his wealth and Haman came with his poorness as Rashi explains the situation:
וזה ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Why only ten? Why not all of Haman's children?
According to the Gemara Megila 15b Haman had 208 children. Why did they only hang 10 of them?
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How did Haman know Moshe Rabeinu's Yahrzeit but not his Birthday?
I remember learning some years ago in Gemarah Megillah 13: that when Haman drew lots he was happy it landed in Adar since it is the month that Moshe Rabeinu died. However, he didn't know that Moshe ...
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Did both King Ahasuerus and Haman practise Zoroastrianism?
What, if anything, do Jewish sources say about the religion practiced by King Ahasuerus and Haman? Does Jewish legend support the conjecture that they were Zoroastrian?
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