Hello. Chag Sameyach!
Just a question on the megilah:
In perek 9, it talks about the Jews getting their revenge. It pasuk 10 it states that the ten sons of Haman were killed, and then in pasuk 13 Esther requests that they be hanged on the gallows. I'm not sure I understand this. Weren't the gallows the way to kill somebody (it seems that Haman was killed on the gallows, not just put up there once he was killed)? If the sons were dead, why now would they be hung? And why weren't they killed originally by being hanged on the gallows?
Thanks!
--Talia Stern
I think you have it exactly right. The gallows served a dual purpose, both as a means of execution, and to publicize the downfall of their enemies (וכל העם ישמעו ויראו ולא יזידון עוד). It was ironic and appropriate that Haman be killed on the very gallows on which he planned to execute Mordechai, but after that, the decree was only that the Jews were permitted to fight back when their enemies tried to kill them. Therefore, I would guess that the sons of Haman were killed in a more conventional way, and then later hung as a warning to other people the the Jews were not to be messed with.
חג שמח!
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