The Hitler-Hamman Connection
Yomtov Soreq
by Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Talmudic tradition records that Amalek is the epitome of anti-Semitism in
the world. The Book of Esther (3:1) identifies Haman as the direct
descendent of Amalek. And the Talmud (Megillah 6b) singles out a nation
called "Germamia of Edom" as descending from Amalek.
That's the background. The rest of the article you will find deeply
disturbing and shocking.
THE HIDDEN KING
The Book of Esther, which was written over 2400 years ago, is different than
any of the 24 books of the scriptures: it's the only one that does not
contain the name of God anywhere in the entire book.
The sages explain this with a very interesting statement. They say,
everything about the story of the Book of Esther is hidden. The name Esther
itself comes from the word seter, meaning "secret." The miracles of the
Purim story all occurred in a roundabout way. Similarly, God's name is in
the book too, but it's hidden in the following way:
What was the name of King in the Purim story? Achashverosh. If we want to
refer to him, we could write either, HaMelech Achashverosh, "the King
Achashverosh" or Hamelech, "the king." Either way, we'd know who we're
talking about. The sages tell us that every time the Book of Esther uses the
term Hamelech, "the King," it has a double meaning: It doesn't refer only to
Achashverosh, it also refers to God, "The King of the Universe."
The Book of Esther was written 2,400 years ago by scribes, on parchment, and
has been passed down from generation to generation in the same meticulous
way a Torah scroll is written.
Take a look at Esther 9:5-10:
Thus the Jews struck at all their enemies with the sword, and with slaughter
and destruction, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. And in
Shushan the capital, the Jews slew and destroyed 500 men, including... the
10 sons of Haman.
Are the ten sons of Haman dead at this point? Clearly.
Now look a few verses later and you'll see something very strange.
"And the King said to Queen Esther: 'In Shushan the capital, the Jews have
slain and destroyed 500 men, including the 10 sons of Haman. What have they
done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now, what is your request and it
shall be granted to you. What more do you request? It shall be fulfilled.'"
(Esther 9:12)
King Achashverosh is saying, "Esther, darling, whatever you want now is
yours." What do you think Esther's going to ask for?
"Esther replied: 'If it pleases the king, allow the Jews of Shushan to do
tomorrow as they have done today, and let Haman's 10 sons be hanged upon the
gallows.' The king ordered that this be done..." (Esther 9:13-14)
All Esther wants is to hang Haman's 10 sons.
But they're already dead! Why would Esther ask permission to hang 10 dead
men?
Furthermore, we said earlier that HaMelech, "the King," when used by itself,
also refers to God. When Esther replies, she doesn't say "King
Achashverosh." She simply says, "If it please the king." Is Esther really
asking God's permission to hang ten dead men?
No. Esther specifies "to do tomorrow, also according to this day's decree."
Let history repeat itself, she says.
FAST FORWARD 2,000 YEARS
How many of Haman's sons were hanged? Ten.
How many Nazis were hanged at the Nuremberg Trials following World War Two?
Ten.
How many Nazis were actually sentenced? Eleven.
Who was the eleventh and why wasn't he hanged? It was Goring. He committed
suicide.
The Midrash says that Haman actually had 11 children: 10 sons and one
daughter. What happened to Haman's daughter? Traditional Jewish writings
tell only one story about Haman's daughter:
In perhaps the most famous scene of the entire Megillah, Mordechai is
paraded on horseback through the streets of Shushan, wearing the royal
robes -- with Haman leading the way. According to the Midrash, when the
parade route passed by, Haman's daughter had a great idea: She would take a
toilet bowl up to the second floor window, and pour its contents on
Mordechai's head!
The only problem is that the girl assumed it was her wonderful father being
honored on horseback, with that lowly Jew Mordechai pulling him along. So
when the parade passed by, she timed it perfectly and -- splash! The one
pulling the horse got it right in the face.
When the girl saw that she'd dumped toilet waste all over her father, she
was so despondent that she jumped out the window and commited suicide.
Haman has 11 children. Ten are hanged, the one daughter commits suicide.
Eleven Nazis are sentenced. Ten are hanged, one commits suicide.
Some historical accounts of World War Two have identified Goring as a
transvestite who wore women's clothing under his Nazi uniform.
THE YEAR 5707
In what year did the hangings of Nuremberg take place? The Nazi criminals
were sentenced in June, 1946, which was the Jewish year 5706. But because of
appeals for amnesty, the hangings did not take place until October of 1946,
which on the Jewish calendar turns out to be 5707.
How do we write the year 5707 in Hebrew? There are no numerals in Hebrew.
Instead, every Hebrew letter has a numerical equivalent. Aleph equals one,
bet equals two, etc. 5707, the year of the hangings at Nuremberg, is written
with the letters taf, shin, and zayin.
Open up any authentic Megillah scroll, and you will see that the names of
Haman's 10 sons are written very large. But three letters are written
extremely small: taf, shin, and zayin.
You'll see this in any Megillah in the world. Megillahs as old as 900 years
have been found. All of them are written exactly the same way. Every letter
of Haman's sons' names is written large, and only three letters are written
small.
For over 2,000 years, the secret of these three small letters lay dormant.
Imagine Esther dictating to the scribes how to write the Megillah. "Listen,
fellas, when you get to the 10 sons, I want that very large, we're real
proud of that. When you get to the taf, shin, and zayin, I want that very,
very small."
"Why, Esther?"
"Don't ask questions. Some day it will become clear why. Meanwhile just
write it the way I tell you."
In the 11th century, a great rabbi named the Rokeach was also bothered by
these words. In his commentary on the Book of Esther, he tells us these
words refer to a time in the future when 10 enemies of the Jewish people
will be hanged. He didn't know exactly when, but he knew that's what it
meant.
It is amazing that though the trial ended in June, 1946, that was the Hebrew
year 5706. Were they hanged in June? No. There were continuous appeals for
amnesty for those Nazi butchers. Nobody understood why. So the hangings were
delayed, until October came around and the new Jewish year had begun: 5707.
PURIM FEST
One more chilling point. At the Nuremberg trials, the whole world was
watching. The following comes from Newsweek magazine, October 28, 1946:
"Only Julius Streicher went without dignity. He had to be pushed across the
floor, wild eyed and screaming 'Heil Hitler.' Mounting the steps he cried
out, 'And now I go to God.' He stared at the witnesses facing the gallows
and shouted, "Purimfest 1946."
Imagine. For over 2,000 years these small letters in the Megillah had
absolutely no explanation, until the Nazi Streicher spends his last
remaining breath to give us the missing piece of the puzzle: "Purimfest
1946."
It seems that Streicher's remark was not an anomaly. The Nazis had a
mysteriously deep association with Purim. Hitler harbored a venomous hatred
for the Book of Esther and the holiday of Purim. "Unless Germany is
victorious," he proclaimed," Jewry could then celebrate the destruction of
Europe by a second triumphant Purim Festival."
When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, he banned the reading of the Book of
Esther, and ordered that all synagogues be closed and barred on Purim day.
On Purim day 1942, in the town of Zdunska Wola in Nazi-occupied Poland, 10
Jews were hung by Hitler's SS, in a sadistic parody of events in the Book of
Esther. To add to this debacle, the Gestapo ordered all the Jews out of
their homes in order to witness the hangings.
Martin Gilbert, in his definitive chronicle "The Holocaust," describes a
similar event the following year:
On March 21, 1943, the actual day of the Purim festival, there was another
'Purim massacre' in nearby Piotrkow. That say, Jews living legally in the
ghetto were told that there was to be an exchange with German citizens
living in the settlement of Sarona, in Palestine. Ten people were needed for
the exchange, the Germans declared. All must possess university degrees:
that was the only condition for emigration.
The Jews chosen for Palestine were driven out of Piotrkow in Gestapo cars,
then driven round the city a few times, before being taken, as darkness
fell, to the Jewish cemetery. A deep pit had been dug. The Gestapo lined up
the 'chosen,' made derisive speeches amid much drinking and laughter, and
then ordered the Jews to undress...
Part of the Nazi 'Purim game' was to 'revenge' the ten sons of the Jew-hater
Haman. These ten had been hanged in the biblical story. But only eight Jews
had been brought from Piotrkow that night, so the Jewish watchman of he
cemetery and his wife were included, at the last moment, in the execution.