The "Purim Code"

I almost forgot to blog about the “Purim Code.” There is a discussion about this every year. There are some Jews who argue that the Torah contains hidden secrets about life and the world we live in. The Purim Code goes something like this:

“For centuries, Jewish sages have been uncovering hidden secrets in the Torah. Following is a famous example, reflecting events in the twentieth century, which is found not in the Chumash (Five Books of Moses), but in Megillas Esther.

When listing the ten sons of Haman who were hanged (Esther 9:6-10), three letters, namely Taf, Shin, and Zayin, are written smaller than the rest (most printed texts reflect this; if yours doesn’t, look in another). The commentaries offer no explanation for this other than that it is a prophecy. The letters “Taf-Shin-Zayin” represent the Hebrew year 5707, corresponding to the secular year 1946-47.

On October 16, 1946 (21 Tishrei, 5707) ten convicted Nazi war criminals were hanged in Nuremberg. (An eleventh, Hermann Goering, a transvestite, committed suicide in his cell. The Midrash tells us that Haman also had a daughter who committed suicide.) As if the parallel were not obvious enough without further corroboration, Nazi Julius Streicher’s last words were, “Purimfest 1946.”

(In case you question the accuracy of Streicher’s last words, they are are well-documented; they appeared in Newsweek, October 28, 1946.)”

I’ll let you decide whether you believe it or not.