Megillah 12 - December 24, 20 Tevet

Today’s daf is sponsored by Shaindy Kurzmann in honor of the yahrzeit of her mother, Rivkah bat HaRav Simchah Bunim, this Shabbat, 21 Tevet. "My youngest sister, who lives in Neve Daniel, and I, who live in Monsey, have just found out this week – after two years! – that both of us have been learning Daf Yomi since the beginning of this cycle, and we can picture our mother asking us to share what we are learning, just as she had done when we were growing up in our childhood home. May our learning be a z’chus for the aliyah of our mother’s neshamah." Today’s daf is also sponsored anonymously in memory of the Rambam, Moshe ben Maimon.  Even though the 70 years of exile were counted from the destruction of the Temple and the complete exile of the Jews in 586, the count that Balshezar has done, from the time of Nebuchadnezzar's reign was also somewhat true as it was the date used for Cyrus's (Coresh) proclamation permitting the Jews to rebuild the Temple. Was it a wise thing or a foolish thing that first Acheshvaerosh made a party for the people who lived farther away and then later for the ones who lived in his city, Shushan? Why were the Jews of that generation punished (that Haman was going to destroy them)? And why were they ultimately saved if they sinned? The party was in the court of the garden of the king's palace - was it in all three places? If so, why? All sorts of details of the party and what decorations there were are expounded by the rabbis. The rabbis also place Mordechai and Haman at the party based on drashot of the verses, even though according to the simple reading of the text, they were not mentioned. Vashti made her own party - where and why? Why was it specifically on the 7th day that the king asked Vashti to appear naked? This request was understood as punishment for what she did to Jewish women. Why did Vashti refuse? Why did Achashverosh get so angry? Achasverosh turned to the rabbis for advice - what was their quandary? They advised him to ask Amon and Moab instead. The names of the seven advisors are references to sacrifices and other Temple worship as a way of the angels saying to God - did these people ever serve you as the Jews did? Memuchan is a reference to Haman - why was he called Memuchan? Why was it beneficial to the Jews that Achashverosh sent our a proclamation that every man should wield authority in his house? Why is Mordechai called both Yehudi (presumably, from the tribe of Judah) and Yemini (from the tribe of Binyamin). Several different explanations are brought.