Grager

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"Gragger" redirects here. For the surname, see Gragger (surname).
Yitzhak Shamir spinning a gragger
Knocking out Haman's name from stones
18th century Megillah reading; children with graggers in the back

A grager (

Deuteronomy "Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek"[2] must be understood "even from wood and stones". Traditionally Haman is believed to be an offspring of Amalek, and a tradition had developed to write the name of Haman on stones and to knock them until the name is blotted out.[3][4]

Etymology

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda initially suggested the word Hebrew: מנענע, 'shaker', for the Purim noisemaker, but under the influence of Yiddish the term Hebrew: רעשן ra'ashan for rattler (from the Hebrew ra-ash, meaning 'noise', suggested by Ben Yehuda's son, Itamar Ben-Avi)[5][6] was accepted.[7]

Origins and controversies

The custom can be traced back to the

Sefardi chief rabbis of Jerusalem, Raphael Meir Panigel, and of Izmir, Haim Palachi, protested against the noisemaking tradition, considering it an improper disturbance obstructing the reciting of the Megillah.[10]

Manner of noisemaking

While the blotting out was originally done by clapping two stones or pieces of wood on which "Haman" had been written or drawn, today the noisemaking of "blotting out" is the common practice. Many

Chassidim would stamp their heels, which represent Amalek, the ancestor of Haman.[9] Some have the custom to only make noise when Haman is mentioned with a title or adjective.[11]

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf suggests that any noisemaker will do: "alarm clocks, toddler xylophones, dolls that cry with the push of a button, a toy police car with siren and flashing lights or anything else that will make a wonderfully annoying noise".[4]

Gallery

See also

  • Yimakh shemo ("May his name be erased")
  • Crotalus
    , a similar object used by Catholics during the Paschal Triduum

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gragers.
  1. ^ "Definition of GRAGER". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  2. ^ "Deuteronomy 25 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre". mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  3. ^ Kaplan, Sybil (2020-03-06). "Why groggers on Purim?". Jewish Independent. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  4. ^
    OCLC 44122322
    .
  5. ^ Itamar Ben-Avi, החצוף הארצישראלי, available online. Quote: "למפה קטנה קראתי “מפּית”, לעגלת־עבודה קראתי “עגלילה”, ומן הפועל רעש יצרתי “רעשן” של פורים, ומנחש עשיתי “נחשן” למעופף עשוי־נייר. "
  6. ^ "איתמר בן אב"י, לימודי ירושלים, סיורים וקורסים בירושלים" (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  7. ^ Gilad, Elon (2021-02-26). "בן יהודה רצה שהרעשן ייקרא מנענע, אך דוברי היידיש דיברו בקול רם". Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-07-10. Ben Yehuda wanted the rattle to be called shaker, but Yiddish speakers spoke out
  8. ^ Algemeiner, The (2013-02-24). "Blotting Out Haman's Name While Listening to the Reading of the Megillah (PHOTO BLOG) - Algemeiner.com". www.algemeiner.com. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  9. ^ a b Shurpin, Yehuda. "The Origins of the Gragger: Why We Boo Haman". chabad.org. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Comunicado sobre la actitud en los festejos de Purim". Rabino Isaac Sacca (in Spanish). 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  11. ^ Silberberg, Naftali. "Megillah Laws and Customs". Retrieved 3 March 2023.
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