One is commanded to drink on Purim until he doesn’t know the difference between “Cursed is Haman” and “Blessed is Mordechai.” There are many ways of understanding this. This can be taken literally, that one must get very drunk, until the sharp difference between hero and villain becomes blurred. Some fulfill this obligation by sleeping, because during sleep one is unaware. There is yet another, deeper way of understanding this.
Let’s find the numerical value of both phrases in Hebrew: “Cursed is Haman” and “Blessed is Mordechai.”
Cursed is Haman:
ארור המן:
א=1 + ר=200 + ו=6 + ר=200 + ה=5 + מ=40 + ן=50
= 502
Blessed is Mordechai:
ברוך מרדכי:
ב=2 + ר=200 + ו=6 + ך=20 + מ=40 + ר=200 + ד=4 + כ=20 + =י10
=502
Both phrases equal the same amount! Hence, the commandment can be understood that one must drink until he is so tipsy that he cannot do the math to find that both phrases equal the same numerical value.
