My favorite holiday is coming up

[Sgent]

Can you tell the difference between cursed Haman and Blessed Mordicai?

See www.aish.com for a bunch of recipies and explantions.

[Darranar]

1. 502 - 502 = 0. n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

2. I don't get.

I understand the mathmatical equation, but how does it apply to the post?

[Darranar]

3. Gematria - to get out of getting drunk on Purim...

Baruch Mordecai = 502 (if I remember correctly), and so does Arur Haman.

Since, according to that, there is no difference between the two, the obligation is automatically fulfilled.

[Colorado Blue]

4. Oh - Purim! This brings back such memories - dressing up-

of course one had to be Queen Esther. I always borrowed this scarf of mom's - it was violet silk with little pearls edging it:)

And my grandmother's hamantashen - it was out of this world. I haven't been able to find anything as good and we have some good bakeries around here. It had a golden, crisp, cookie-dough crust that she brushed with egg.

Sorry, I got carried away, and do not have a clue about the equation:)

[Darranar]

5. Okay. Another attempt at explaining this...

Gematria, for those unaware, is basically a way of assigning numeric value to Hebrew words, based on the order of the letters in the alphabet. Aleph is one, bet is two, and so on. At yud - the tenth letter - it begins going by tens, and at kuf - one hundred - it begins going up by hundreds.

Baruch Mordecai (Blessed be Mordecai) is spelled bet reish vav khaf (Baruch) mem reish dalet kaf yud (mordecai). Bet = 2, reish = 200, vav = 6, khaf = 20, mem = 40, reish = 200, dalet = 4, kaf = 20, yud = 10.

2 + 200 + 6 + 20 + 40 + 6 + 200 + 4 + 20 + 10 = 502.

Arur Haman (Cursed be Haman) is spelled aleph reish vav reish (arur) hay mem nun (Haman). Aleph = 1, reish = 200, vav = 6, reish = 200, hay = 5, mem = 40, nun = 50.

1 + 200 + 6 + 200 + 5 + 40 + 50 = 502.

502 = 502 - there is no difference between Cursed Haman and Blessed Mordecai. Or, as I put it in my reply, 502 - 502 = 0.

The whole issue has its origin, as far as I am aware, in a passage from the Talmud that says that at the Purim meal one should get drunk enough to not know the difference between the two. Someone discovered this Gematria trick as a way to avoid it. For what it's worth, Maimonides skips over the question and just says that one should drink enough wine to nod off.

I hope that is comprehensible.

[Colorado Blue]

7. OK - that makes sense. Is this the basis of numerology?

I've seen these letters on Tarot cards; is there are relationship?

[Behind the Aegis]

8. Probably

I think the Tarot employs some of this art. Here is a site for you to look at because I looked it up as I had NO idea what Gematria was! The Art of Gematria

[Colorado Blue]

9. Thank you - I'm interested in Cabbala and Tarot, and am

working on a series of paintings based on the Lilith stories.

I'll study the site - wish I had decent Hebrew though. My studies were interrupted when my mom married my step-father, who is the (rebellious!) son of a Lutheran minister, and overnight we became Unitarians. I was about ten, and was devastated, but what can you do. Later I tried to pick up the study on my own and found it almost impossible, due to a complete and utter lack of talent. One of my least favorite memories: working in a factory and trying to study Hebrew on lunch hours - which were actually thirty minutes. This went over like a lead baloon with my fellow workers, as you might imagine. Oh well.

I will keep trying! I have a bit of Greek too, and a little Arabic, all from working as a dancer and listening constantly to the music of the region.

If you can recommend a book on Cabbala I would appreciate it!

Thanks!

[Sgent]

10. For a good introduction to

Kabbalaha -- the real Kabbalaha, not the Madonna version, take a look at http://www.aish.com/spirituality/kabbala101/">http://www.aish.com/spirituality/kabbala101/.

This is the second time I've linked to Aish -- an orthodox Jewish site. FYI, I'm not Orthodox, but they have some of the best information available, and I trust it (at least from a O-Jewish POV). Also, take a look at the Chabad site for more good information.

[Colorado Blue]

11. Thank you - this is what I need - I know what you mean

about the "Madonna" version!

[elshiva]

6. Boo, Haman, Boooooo!

:-) :-)