More Discussions for this daf
1. "Shanim Mekuta'os" 2. Achasverosh's Empire and Ages 3. questions about reish lakish's introduction...
4. Evil Merodach 5. Matisyahu 6. Directive for Dealing with Amalek
7. לא סליק מלכותיה
DAF DISCUSSIONS - MEGILAH 11

Zvi Lefkowitz asked:

(a) In describing how the 70 years of galut were calculated, Rav states at the

end of the daf (amud bet)that partial years were counted as full years

(which is a mistake). Could you possibly explain that to me?

(b) I have another question. [On 15b] there were at least 12 reasons as to why Esther invited Haman to

the party she made. One of the reasons was that, according to (Rabbi Meir) [Rebbi Yehudah],

not to reveal that she was a jew. I have trouble understanding this. Can you

explain this to me too? Thank You

The Kollel replies:

(a) "Shanim Mekuta'os" means that if one king reigned, for example, for 4 1/2 years, that amount was counted as 5 years. If another king reigned, for example, for 21 1/2 years, then that amount was counted as 22 years. The total, then, was counted as 27 years, when in truth it was actually 26 years (4 1/2 plus 21 1/2).

See our Chart on the topic (attached as a text file -- mgil-011.inc).

(b) It was known that Haman was a Jew-hater, and thus it would be inconceivable that a Jew would want to give so much honor and prestige to the arch-emeny of the Jews. The fact that Esther invited him to her private party, therefore, made everyone think that she was certainly not Jewish.

Yisrael Shaw

D.A.F.