(a) In describing how the 70 years of galut were calculated, Rav states at the
end of the daf (amud bet)that partial years were counted as full years
(which is a mistake). Could you possibly explain that to me?
(b) I have another question. [On 15b] there were at least 12 reasons as to why Esther invited Haman to
the party she made. One of the reasons was that, according to (Rabbi Meir) [Rebbi Yehudah],
not to reveal that she was a jew. I have trouble understanding this. Can you
explain this to me too? Thank You
(a) "Shanim Mekuta'os" means that if one king reigned, for example, for 4 1/2 years, that amount was counted as 5 years. If another king reigned, for example, for 21 1/2 years, then that amount was counted as 22 years. The total, then, was counted as 27 years, when in truth it was actually 26 years (4 1/2 plus 21 1/2).
See our Chart on the topic (attached as a text file -- mgil-011.inc).
(b) It was known that Haman was a Jew-hater, and thus it would be inconceivable that a Jew would want to give so much honor and prestige to the arch-emeny of the Jews. The fact that Esther invited him to her private party, therefore, made everyone think that she was certainly not Jewish.
Yisrael Shaw
D.A.F.