The Strange Extra Yuds in the Word ohhsuvh

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The Strange Extra Yud in the Word 

By Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum

Five times in all, we find the word  spelled in the Megilla with an extra "Yud," yet no matter where I searched, I was unable to find a satisfactory explanation for this strange phenomenon. Certainly, Mordechai didn’t add an extra Yud without a very good reason, but what can this extra Yud possibly allude to?

Extra Yuds are nothing new. We find lots of both extra Yuds as well as missing Yuds throughout Tanach. We find the name Binyomin sometimes spelled with a Yud and sometimes without it. A look into Divrei Hayomim will reveal that every time the name of Dovid appears there, it is spelled with an additional Yud –  . A look into Rashi where this first happens will reveal the answer. The Yud, explains Rashi, ( Divrei HaYomim 1:2:15 ) is a sign of honor and therefore it was added to Dovid’s name.

In fact, a search through Tanach will show you that there are many names that gain or lose this very holy letter. That’s because the Yud is the first letter of Hashem’s Holy Name, and a loss of this letter is an indication of a loss of holiness, while its addition is a sign of added holiness. Moshe Rabbeinu added this holy letter to Hoseah’s name, making it into Yehoshua. He also added this letter to the end of the names of all the shevotim making them into Ho’Ruvaini, Ha’Shimoni, etc.. Pinchos received this additional yud after having killed Zimri. The Yud, says Rashi, is the letter with which Hashem created Gan Eden, the place where all the righteous people will eventually reside. It was this holy letter Yud that was taken out of the word  when they waited for last to contribute to the Mishkon. ( See Rashi Shemos 35:27 )

Mordecai ha’tzaddik came from Shevet Binyomin referred to as , which starts with a Yud, ends with a Yud, and even has a Yud in the middle. Five time in the entire Torah we find Binyomin’s name spelled with the extra Yud. Binyomin was Hashem’s beloved, the  and it was his descendent King Shaul that was also delegated to lead the battle and destroy Amolek who lived in the south of Eretz Yisroel. The name Binyomin actually means south, for he was the only one born down south while his brothers were born north of Eretz Yisroel. ( See Rashi. ) He was the only one of the twelve Shevotim who did not bow down to Esav.

Mordechai Ha’tzaddik was referred to as a Yehudi. Rashi says that this name refers to someone who openly defies avodah zarah. The very letters of his name allude to Hashem’s Name. Mordecai openly defied Haman’s decree and wouldn’t bow down to him despite the great danger to his life. All those Jews that followed in his ways therefore received the addition of the Yud to their names and were referred to as , with the extra Yud, indicating their great holiness.

It was these stubborn and openly defiant Jews that refused to assimilate and mingle with the goyim and remained loyal to the Torah that infuriated and angered Haman. "There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people who’s laws are different from ours and who do not observe the King’s laws," was Haman’s argument to King Achasverosh. These "ultra-Orthodox" Jews refused to attend their parties, celebrate their holidays, adapt to their way of life and refused to accept their god. It was because of them that Haman wanted to wipe out and destroy the entire Jewish Nation even the unaffiliated and assimilated ones who did not represent any threat to him. And so while Haman’s decree was against all the Jews, ( all the  ) even those who had become assimilated, the real cause and source of the problem were the ones who remained stubborn and refused to bend their religion – the the ones with the extra Yud.

We find the very same also happening during the Holocaust. Not only did Hitler y.s.v. want to kill those that openly practiced Judaism, but he even went after the unaffiliated and assimilated Jew who had long forsaken his Jewish ties. It was the stubborn affiliated ultra-Orthodox Jews to whom Mordechai alluded by adding an extra Yud to their names. It was because of them that the great miracle happened. As long as the Jew remains loyal to G-d and His Torah he need not fear Amolek. It’s only when the Jews lose this holy letter as they did in , spelled without a Yud, that they were attacked by Amolek. ( See Rashi Shemos 17:8 ) A careful reading of the Megillah will explain why it is only in five particular places that the Yud is added.