The "Purim Code"

I almost forgot to blog about the "Purim Code." There is a discussion about this every year. There are some Jews who argue that the Torah contains hidden secrets about life and the world we live in. The Purim Code goes something like this:

"For centuries, Jewish sages have been uncovering hidden secrets in the Torah. Following is a famous example, reflecting events in the twentieth century, which is found not in the Chumash (Five Books of Moses), but in Megillas Esther.

When listing the ten sons of Haman who were hanged (Esther 9:6-10), three letters, namely Taf, Shin, and Zayin, are written smaller than the rest (most printed texts reflect this; if yours doesn’t, look in another). The commentaries offer no explanation for this other than that it is a prophecy. The letters "Taf-Shin-Zayin" represent the Hebrew year 5707, corresponding to the secular year 1946-47.

On October 16, 1946 (21 Tishrei, 5707) ten convicted Nazi war criminals were hanged in Nuremberg. (An eleventh, Hermann Goering, a transvestite, committed suicide in his cell. The Midrash tells us that Haman also had a daughter who committed suicide.) As if the parallel were not obvious enough without further corroboration, Nazi Julius Streicher’s last words were, "Purimfest 1946."

(In case you question the accuracy of Streicher’s last words, they are are well-documented; they appeared in Newsweek, October 28, 1946.)"

I'll let you decide whether you believe it or not.

7 comments:

Jerusalemcop said...

hey jack,

you left out one important fact about that megilla code. there is a large vav right before the names of haman sons are listed. this corresponds to the 6th time tav, shin, zayin comes around (since there is no letter to correspond to each millenia).

shabbat shalom

J.

Dan Rabinowitz said...

Although Taf, Shin Zayn would be Purim 1947 and not 1946. While Taf, Shin Zayn does encompass 1946 and 1947, Purim would clearly fall out in 1947. Consequently, while this is a nice thought, I don't think the code works that well. Perhaps God got it wrong by one year?

Attila said...

My copy of the Megillah predicts that the Mets will win the World Series in 1969.

Jack Steiner said...

J,

I just did a cut and paste job on this one, but I do appreciate the extra info.

Dan,

Same as above.

Attila,

It is a miracle. ;)

Jerusalemcop said...

dan,

the Nurenberg 10 were hanged in nov '46 which was after the new year began so it was 5707 already. If memory serves, it doesnt mention anywhere when they were hanged. Esther just asks the king for permission to hang them.

J.

Jack Steiner said...

I'll have to take a moment to look a little more deeply into this.

Anonymous said...

Dan
TRY NOT TO use your memory too much, it is sadly lacking, just stick to the facts.

Eng translation, Jerusalem Bible; Esther, 9, 14
".... and they HANGED haman's 10 sons"

The real question is WHY they hanged them when it states that they were slain the day before.

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