Purim Torah: Yayin Begematria Lecach - Sicha Purim 5727 (1967)

00:03 When he would talk about Purim, he would come up with his own “Purim Torah.” He said that the numerical value of yayin, wine, is the same as lekach, honey cake. I know it doesn’t add up. Yayin has a numerical value of seventy, and for anyone who wants to know, lekach has a numerical value of one hundred thirty-eight. He said the answer is this: you take some more wine. But twice yayin comes out to more than lekach, so you take another piece of lekach. So the calculation is that twice lekach is [unclear] with twice yayin, and lekach has to be more than three times yayin. The rule is, you have to have so much wine and so much lekach that they come out equal—or else you can’t fulfill the mitzvah of Purim, “until one does not know.” Rabbah, [unclear], could manage it, but Rav Zeira, all the more so, couldn’t manage it. So yayin has the same numerical value as lekach—or it’s more, or it’s yayin.