Megillah 11 - December 23, 19 Tevet

Study Guide Megillah 11

Today’s daf is sponsored by Terri Krivosha for a speedy and full recovery of her husband, Hayim ben Fage Rivah, Hayim Herring, from Covid. 

Different rabbis would start their drashot on the Megillah from various verses from the Prophets and the Writings and connected them to the story of Purim. After mentioning various “beginnings” of these drashot, the Gemara moves to the first verses of the Megillah and begins to expound on them. How can the name Achashverosh be expounded? Several different options are brought. The verse says “He is Achashverosh” “he is” is explained to mean he was completely bad from the first day until the last. Other verses where this wording is used to describe people are also explained as being complete – some in a positive way and some negatively. “From Hodi to Cush” – were these states on opposite ends of the world or right near each other? Why does it say “seven and twenty and one hundred states”? Three people ruled over the whole world – Achav, Achashverosh and Nevuchadnetzer. Verses are brought to prove this. Why isn’t Solomon mentioned in this list? What about Sancheriv, Darius and Coresh? Why did Acheshverosh make a party in the third year of his reign? He mistakenly thought that the seventy years of the exile had ended and the Jews had not been redeemed and therefore he thought they would never be redeemed. He thought he was smarter than Balshetzar who also miscalculated the seventy years, but he also miscalculated. What calculation did each of them make and why were they wrong?