Things you never knew

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DID YOU KNOW? 1) Only מגילת אסתר do חז"ל refer to as a מגילה. חז"ל never refer to the other 4 as a מגילה. 2) Three editions of מגילת אסתר  a) written by the Persians* b) written by מרדכי & אסתר** c) written by the אנשי כנסת הגדולה***              3) According to the רמ"א (O.Ch.147:1), It's preferable  to be מחמיר and do נטילת ידים (wash hands) before holding the מגילה with your hands. 4)  The 50 אמות  pole, they hanged המן on,   came from Noach's Teivah.(תרגום שני) 5) The name of the horse מרדכי rode on, was שפרגז  (spare gas-super gas- safer gas) (תרגום שני) 6) ר' עמרם גאון holds to say תחנון on Purim. (טור תרצ"ג) 7) According to the מגילת תענית, one may not fast on the 13th of Adar (תענית אסתר) 8) המן & אסתר are both mentioned in the Megillah 55 times. (רוקח) 9) אברהם אבינו & המן both mothers were named אמתלאי 10)  המן was hanged on ט"ז ניסן. and remained hanging untill the following י"ד אדר  (almost a year) when his children were hanged תורה לשמה שכ"א --------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Esther 10:2 - The Ibn Ezra  in Hakdama writes the Persians copied theirs from the Megilah The Mahrsha Chulin 139b seems to hold the Persian edition was first  **  Esther 9:29 Megilah 19a *** Bava Basra 15a The Brisker Rav Zt"l explains, "The Megilah Mordechai wrote was a kosher Megilah but wasn't part of כתבי הקודש The אנשי כנה"ג rewrote it in א"י  and then became part of כתבי הקודש"