[Avodah] Haman and Amaleik

Micha Berger micha at aishdas.org
Sun Feb 24 04:38:11 PST 2013


On Sun, Feb 24, 2013 at 12:00:39AM -0600, Lisa Liel wrote:
>> Okay, we could identify beruach haqodesh that Haman was from Amaleiq.
>> But there was no Amaleiqi culture anymore to have been the cause of his
>> hatred of Jews.

> That, I'm not sure about.  The Septuagint actually calls him a Magi,  
> rather than an Amaleki...

There is that theory that it refers to him being from Agag, east of
Ashur. But I think it was found the cuneform actually calls the country
Agaz, not Agag.

...
> The fire priests, who started out as worshippers of Mithra and Anahita  
> and later brought their worship into Zoroastrianism (which had started  
> out monotheistic) might have been descendants of Amalek...

Zoroastranism was focused on the two demiurges by Koreish's day. Which
is why Hashem tells him (Yeshaiah 47:1) that He (v. 7) is "yotzeir or
uVorei choshekh, oseh shalom uvorei ra" -- that light and darkness,
good and bad all come from one Source.

In any case, it would be a far distance from Chazal's story if Haman
was a monotheist. I am not sure how to explain the permissability and
laidability of Mordechai's refusal to bow.

> biologically or ideologically or both....

It would have to be at least ideologically. The source for Haman haAmaleiqi
is Bamidbar Rabah 14:1
<http://www.gocomics.com/comic/explore/1635773/0>.
And is mentioned in the piut we said after megillah reading last night.

Back in Mar 2001 <http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol06/v06n142.shtml#03>
RYGB wrote that Y-mi Yevamos 13a implies as much. "Vekhi ben haMdasa
hayah? Ela tzoreir ben tzoreir".

>> AMD, if it is possible to pick out Amaleiqim beruach haqodesh, does this
>> mean that if Eliyahu haNavi were to see a baby that happened to be from
>> Amaleiq, he would be mechayev to kill her?

> Teiku.

LOL.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 Life is complex.
micha at aishdas.org                Decisions are complex.
http://www.aishdas.org               The Torah is complex.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                                - R' Binyamin Hecht



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