A comment on Rabbi Jachter’s article, “Perspectives on the Divine Influence on Megillat Esther” (March 4, 2021).

World War II officially ended May 8,1945. The Nuremberg trials prosecuted Nazi war crimes and were conducted between Nov. 20, 1945 and Oct. 1, 1946. Controversy arose as to how these criminals were to be executed. The French advocated that they should be killed as soldiers and shot by a firing squad. The Americans argued that hanging was more appropriate since these were war crimes and crimes against humanity. It took some time to decide how in fact they were to be ultimately executed. Had there not been a debate, it is likely that the criminals would have been executed earlier.

There were 11 that were sentenced to death and scheduled to be hanged on Oct. 16, 1946. Hermann Goring committed suicide the night before, so 10 remained to be hanged. Each was given an opportunity to make a final statement. Julius Streicher shouted out “Purim Fest 1946” as he faced the gallows. This was documented and printed in the New York Times the following day.

It is no coincidence that 10 were hanged as were the 10 sons of Haman. What is interesting is that there are three letters within the 10 sons of Haman that are written in a smaller font than the others: the letters ת Taf, ש Shin, and ז Zayin, in that order. The reason these were written as they were must have been a topic of interest for centuries. Rosh Hashanah תשז was on Sept. 26-27, 1946. The executions took place on Oct. 16, 1946. The controversy of how they were to be executed delayed their execution so that it would correspond to תשז.  I can’t imagine a more Divine Influence and message to us.

I credit Rav Yinon Kalazan for these insights.