Queen Vashti: A 3-Act Story

An examination of Vashti’s story with discussion questions

Vashti “on one foot”:

Vashti was the first wife of King Achashveirosh \ Ahashuerus in Megillat Esther (“the Megillah”) which we read on Purim.

Context: This is the 1879 painting "Vashti Refuses the King's Summons", by the English painter Edwin Long. He was inspired to paint "Oriental" scenes after visiting Egypt and Syria in 1874 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Long).

1. What do you see?

2. What do you think?

3. What do you wonder?

Act 1

אסתר א׳:א׳-ט׳

Esther 1:1-9

(1) It happened in the days of Ahasuerus—that Ahasuerus who reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Nubia [or Ethiopia].(2) In those days, when King Ahasuerus occupied the royal throne in the fortress Shushan,(3) in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all the officials and courtiers—the administration of Persia and Media, the nobles and the governors of the provinces in his service.(4) For no fewer than a hundred and eighty days he displayed the vast riches of his kingdom and the splendid glory of his majesty.(5) At the end of this period, the king gave a banquet for seven days in the court of the king’s palace garden for all the people who lived in the fortress Shushan, high and low alike.(6) [There were hangings of] white cotton and blue wool, caught up by cords of fine linen and purple wool to silver rods and alabaster columns; and there were couches of gold and silver on a pavement of marble, alabaster, mother-of-pearl, and mosaics.(7) Royal wine was served in abundance, as befits a king, in golden beakers, beakers of varied design.(8) And the rule for the drinking was, “No restrictions!” For the king had given orders to every palace steward to comply with each man’s wishes.(9) In addition, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for women, in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.

Context: This is the very beginning of the Biblical Book of Esther.

1. History (and stories) is not inevitable; people (and authors) make choices. At what points could this part of the story have turned out differently?

2. If you had to guess, how would you describe the king’s party — the mood and/or what was going on there?

3. If you had to guess, how would you describe the queen’s party — the mood and/or what was going on there?

4. Why might Vashti be giving a separate party at all?

Act 2

אסתר א׳:י׳-י״ב

(י) בַּיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י כְּט֥וֹב לֵב־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ בַּיָּ֑יִן אָמַ֡ר לִ֠מְהוּמָ֠ן בִּזְּתָ֨א חַרְבוֹנָ֜א בִּגְתָ֤א וַאֲבַגְתָא֙ זֵתַ֣ר וְכַרְכַּ֔ס שִׁבְעַת֙ הַסָּ֣רִיסִ֔ים הַמְשָׁ֣רְתִ֔ים אֶת־פְּנֵ֖י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֽוֹשׁ׃(יא) לְ֠הָבִ֠יא אֶת־וַשְׁתִּ֧י הַמַּלְכָּ֛ה לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ בְּכֶ֣תֶר מַלְכ֑וּת לְהַרְא֨וֹת הָֽעַמִּ֤ים וְהַשָּׂרִים֙ אֶת־יׇפְיָ֔הּ כִּֽי־טוֹבַ֥ת מַרְאֶ֖ה הִֽיא׃(יב) וַתְּמָאֵ֞ן הַמַּלְכָּ֣ה וַשְׁתִּ֗י לָבוֹא֙ בִּדְבַ֣ר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּיַ֣ד הַסָּרִיסִ֑ים וַיִּקְצֹ֤ף הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַחֲמָת֖וֹ בָּעֲרָ֥ה בֽוֹ׃

Esther 1:10-12

(10) On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he ordered Mehuman, Biz'ta, Charvona, Bigta, Avagta, Zetar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs in attendance on King Ahasuerus,(11) to bring Queen Vashti before the king wearing a royal crown, to display her beauty to the peoples and the officials; for she was a beautiful woman.(12) But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command conveyed by the eunuchs. The king was greatly incensed, and his fury burned within him.

Context: This is the next part of the story. Note that the text says that Vashti was asked to come wearing her crown, not wearing “only” her crown.

1. At what points could this part of the story have turned out differently?

2. What might the king have been hoping to get by having Vashti come?

3. Why might Vashti have refused?

4. How might Vashti have felt before, during, and after she refused?

Act 3

אסתר א׳:י״ג-כ״ב

(יג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לַחֲכָמִ֖ים יֹדְעֵ֣י הָֽעִתִּ֑ים כִּי־כֵן֙ דְּבַ֣ר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לִפְנֵ֕י כׇּל־יֹדְעֵ֖י דָּ֥ת וָדִֽין׃(יד) וְהַקָּרֹ֣ב אֵלָ֗יו כַּרְשְׁנָ֤א שֵׁתָר֙ אַדְמָ֣תָא תַרְשִׁ֔ישׁ מֶ֥רֶס מַרְסְנָ֖א מְמוּכָ֑ן שִׁבְעַ֞ת שָׂרֵ֣י ׀ פָּרַ֣ס וּמָדַ֗י רֹאֵי֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ הַיֹּשְׁבִ֥ים רִאשֹׁנָ֖ה בַּמַּלְכֽוּת׃(טו) כְּדָת֙ מַֽה־לַּעֲשׂ֔וֹת בַּמַּלְכָּ֖ה וַשְׁתִּ֑י עַ֣ל ׀ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־עָשְׂתָ֗ה אֶֽת־מַאֲמַר֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ בְּיַ֖ד הַסָּרִיסִֽים׃ {פ}(טז) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (מומכן)[מְמוּכָ֗ן] לִפְנֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ וְהַשָּׂרִ֔ים לֹ֤א עַל־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ לְבַדּ֔וֹ עָוְתָ֖ה וַשְׁתִּ֣י הַמַּלְכָּ֑ה כִּ֤י עַל־כׇּל־הַשָּׂרִים֙ וְעַל־כׇּל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֕ר בְּכׇל־מְדִינ֖וֹת הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֽוֹשׁ׃(יז) כִּֽי־יֵצֵ֤א דְבַר־הַמַּלְכָּה֙ עַל־כׇּל־הַנָּשִׁ֔ים לְהַבְז֥וֹת בַּעְלֵיהֶ֖ן בְּעֵינֵיהֶ֑ן בְּאׇמְרָ֗ם הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֡וֹשׁ אָמַ֞ר לְהָבִ֨יא אֶת־וַשְׁתִּ֧י הַמַּלְכָּ֛ה לְפָנָ֖יו וְלֹא־בָֽאָה׃(יח) וְֽהַיּ֨וֹם הַזֶּ֜ה תֹּאמַ֣רְנָה ׀ שָׂר֣וֹת פָּֽרַס־וּמָדַ֗י אֲשֶׁ֤ר שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל שָׂרֵ֣י הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וּכְדַ֖י בִּזָּי֥וֹן וָקָֽצֶף׃(יט) אִם־עַל־הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ ט֗וֹב יֵצֵ֤א דְבַר־מַלְכוּת֙ מִלְּפָנָ֔יו וְיִכָּתֵ֛ב בְּדָתֵ֥י פָֽרַס־וּמָדַ֖י וְלֹ֣א יַעֲב֑וֹר אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־תָב֜וֹא וַשְׁתִּ֗י לִפְנֵי֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ וּמַלְכוּתָהּ֙ יִתֵּ֣ן הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לִרְעוּתָ֖הּ הַטּוֹבָ֥ה מִמֶּֽנָּה׃(כ) וְנִשְׁמַע֩ פִּתְגָ֨ם הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ אֲשֶֽׁר־יַעֲשֶׂה֙ בְּכׇל־מַלְכוּת֔וֹ כִּ֥י רַבָּ֖ה הִ֑יא וְכׇל־הַנָּשִׁ֗ים יִתְּנ֤וּ יְקָר֙ לְבַעְלֵיהֶ֔ן לְמִגָּד֖וֹל וְעַד־קָטָֽן׃(כא) וַיִּיטַב֙ הַדָּבָ֔ר בְּעֵינֵ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ וְהַשָּׂרִ֑ים וַיַּ֥עַשׂ הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ כִּדְבַ֥ר מְמוּכָֽן׃(כב) וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח סְפָרִים֙ אֶל־כׇּל־מְדִינ֣וֹת הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אֶל־מְדִינָ֤ה וּמְדִינָה֙ כִּכְתָבָ֔הּ וְאֶל־עַ֥ם וָעָ֖ם כִּלְשׁוֹנ֑וֹ לִהְי֤וֹת כׇּל־אִישׁ֙ שֹׂרֵ֣ר בְּבֵית֔וֹ וּמְדַבֵּ֖ר כִּלְשׁ֥וֹן עַמּֽוֹ׃ {פ}

Esther 1:13-22

(13) Then the king consulted the sages learned in procedure. (For it was the royal practice [to turn] to all who were versed in law and precedent.(14) His closest advisers were Carshena, Shetar, Admata, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memuchan, the seven ministers of Persia and Media who had access to the royal presence and occupied the first place in the kingdom.)(15) “What,” [he asked,] “shall be done, according to law, to Queen Vashti for failing to obey the command of King Ahasuerus conveyed by the eunuchs?”(16) Thereupon Memuchan declared in the presence of the king and the ministers: “Queen Vashti has committed an offense not only against Your Majesty but also against all the officials and against all the peoples in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.(17) For the queen’s behavior will make all wives despise their husbands, as they reflect that King Ahasuerus himself ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.(18) This very day the ladies of Persia and Media, who have heard of the queen’s behavior, will cite it to all Your Majesty’s officials, and there will be no end of scorn and provocation!(19) “If it please Your Majesty, let a royal edict be issued by you, and let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it cannot be abrogated, that Vashti shall never enter the presence of King Ahasuerus. And let Your Majesty bestow her royal state upon another who is more worthy than she.(20) Then will the judgment executed by Your Majesty resound throughout your realm, vast though it is; and all wives will treat their husbands with respect, high and low alike.”(21) The proposal was approved by the king and the ministers, and the king did as Memuchan proposed.(22) Dispatches were sent to all the provinces of the king, to every province in its own script and to every nation in its own language, that every man should wield authority in his home and speak the language of his own people.

Context: This is the next and last part of Chapter 1 of the Book of Esther. Note that Vashti is simply deposed, not put to death or banished in the text.

1. At what points could this part of the story have turned out differently?

2. What was Memuchan afraid would happen if Vashti was not banished?

3. How might Vashti have felt leaving the palace?

4. How might this story be relevant today?

A Musical Take

Context: This is Debbie Friedman’s “Vashti’s Song”. It was released on her 1990 album “Live at the Del” (https://www.discogs.com/master/2840101-Debbie-Friedman-Live-At-The-Del)

This 2019 song "I'm Done Dressing Up for You" is by Alicia Jo Rabins and is part of her "Girls in Trouble" series. Lyrics are here: https://www.girlsintroublemusic.com/songs/im-done-dressing-up/

Appendix A: The full story

אסתר א׳

(א) וַיְהִ֖י בִּימֵ֣י אֲחַשְׁוֵר֑וֹשׁ ה֣וּא אֲחַשְׁוֵר֗וֹשׁ הַמֹּלֵךְ֙ מֵהֹ֣דּוּ וְעַד־כּ֔וּשׁ שֶׁ֛בַע וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּמֵאָ֖ה מְדִינָֽה׃(ב) בַּיָּמִ֖ים הָהֵ֑ם כְּשֶׁ֣בֶת ׀ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֗וֹשׁ עַ֚ל כִּסֵּ֣א מַלְכוּת֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּשׁוּשַׁ֥ן הַבִּירָֽה׃(ג) בִּשְׁנַ֤ת שָׁלוֹשׁ֙ לְמׇלְכ֔וֹ עָשָׂ֣ה מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה לְכׇל־שָׂרָ֖יו וַעֲבָדָ֑יו חֵ֣יל ׀ פָּרַ֣ס וּמָדַ֗י הַֽפַּרְתְּמִ֛ים וְשָׂרֵ֥י הַמְּדִינ֖וֹת לְפָנָֽיו׃(ד) בְּהַרְאֹת֗וֹ אֶת־עֹ֙שֶׁר֙ כְּב֣וֹד מַלְכוּת֔וֹ וְאֶ֨ת־יְקָ֔ר תִּפְאֶ֖רֶת גְּדוּלָּת֑וֹ יָמִ֣ים רַבִּ֔ים שְׁמוֹנִ֥ים וּמְאַ֖ת יֽוֹם׃(ה) וּבִמְל֣וֹאת ׀ הַיָּמִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה עָשָׂ֣ה הַמֶּ֡לֶךְ לְכׇל־הָעָ֣ם הַנִּמְצְאִים֩ בְּשׁוּשַׁ֨ן הַבִּירָ֜ה לְמִגָּ֧דוֹל וְעַד־קָטָ֛ן מִשְׁתֶּ֖ה שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים בַּחֲצַ֕ר גִּנַּ֥ת בִּיתַ֖ן הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃(ו)ח֣וּר ׀ כַּרְפַּ֣ס וּתְכֵ֗לֶת אָחוּז֙ בְּחַבְלֵי־ב֣וּץ וְאַרְגָּמָ֔ן עַל־גְּלִ֥ילֵי כֶ֖סֶף וְעַמּ֣וּדֵי שֵׁ֑שׁ מִטּ֣וֹת ׀ זָהָ֣ב וָכֶ֗סֶף עַ֛ל רִֽצְפַ֥ת בַּהַט־וָשֵׁ֖שׁ וְדַ֥ר וְסֹחָֽרֶת׃(ז) וְהַשְׁקוֹת֙ בִּכְלֵ֣י זָהָ֔ב וְכֵלִ֖ים מִכֵּלִ֣ים שׁוֹנִ֑ים וְיֵ֥ין מַלְכ֛וּת רָ֖ב כְּיַ֥ד הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃(ח) וְהַשְּׁתִיָּ֥ה כַדָּ֖ת אֵ֣ין אֹנֵ֑ס כִּי־כֵ֣ן ׀ יִסַּ֣ד הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ עַ֚ל כׇּל־רַ֣ב בֵּית֔וֹ לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת כִּרְצ֥וֹן אִישׁ־וָאִֽישׁ׃(ט) גַּ֚ם וַשְׁתִּ֣י הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה עָשְׂתָ֖ה מִשְׁתֵּ֣ה נָשִׁ֑ים בֵּ֚ית הַמַּלְכ֔וּת אֲשֶׁ֖ר לַמֶּ֥לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֽוֹשׁ׃ {ס}(י) בַּיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י כְּט֥וֹב לֵב־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ בַּיָּ֑יִן אָמַ֡ר לִ֠מְהוּמָ֠ן בִּזְּתָ֨א חַרְבוֹנָ֜א בִּגְתָ֤א וַאֲבַגְתָא֙ זֵתַ֣ר וְכַרְכַּ֔ס שִׁבְעַת֙ הַסָּ֣רִיסִ֔ים הַמְשָׁ֣רְתִ֔ים אֶת־פְּנֵ֖י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֽוֹשׁ׃(יא) לְ֠הָבִ֠יא אֶת־וַשְׁתִּ֧י הַמַּלְכָּ֛ה לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ בְּכֶ֣תֶר מַלְכ֑וּת לְהַרְא֨וֹת הָֽעַמִּ֤ים וְהַשָּׂרִים֙ אֶת־יׇפְיָ֔הּ כִּֽי־טוֹבַ֥ת מַרְאֶ֖ה הִֽיא׃(יב) וַתְּמָאֵ֞ן הַמַּלְכָּ֣ה וַשְׁתִּ֗י לָבוֹא֙ בִּדְבַ֣ר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּיַ֣ד הַסָּרִיסִ֑ים וַיִּקְצֹ֤ף הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַחֲמָת֖וֹ בָּעֲרָ֥ה בֽוֹ׃(יג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לַחֲכָמִ֖ים יֹדְעֵ֣י הָֽעִתִּ֑ים כִּי־כֵן֙ דְּבַ֣ר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לִפְנֵ֕י כׇּל־יֹדְעֵ֖י דָּ֥ת וָדִֽין׃(יד) וְהַקָּרֹ֣ב אֵלָ֗יו כַּרְשְׁנָ֤א שֵׁתָר֙ אַדְמָ֣תָא תַרְשִׁ֔ישׁ מֶ֥רֶס מַרְסְנָ֖א מְמוּכָ֑ן שִׁבְעַ֞ת שָׂרֵ֣י ׀ פָּרַ֣ס וּמָדַ֗י רֹאֵי֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ הַיֹּשְׁבִ֥ים רִאשֹׁנָ֖ה בַּמַּלְכֽוּת׃(טו) כְּדָת֙ מַֽה־לַּעֲשׂ֔וֹת בַּמַּלְכָּ֖ה וַשְׁתִּ֑י עַ֣ל ׀ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־עָשְׂתָ֗ה אֶֽת־מַאֲמַר֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ בְּיַ֖ד הַסָּרִיסִֽים׃ {פ}(טז) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (מומכן)[מְמוּכָ֗ן] לִפְנֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ וְהַשָּׂרִ֔ים לֹ֤א עַל־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ לְבַדּ֔וֹ עָוְתָ֖ה וַשְׁתִּ֣י הַמַּלְכָּ֑ה כִּ֤י עַל־כׇּל־הַשָּׂרִים֙ וְעַל־כׇּל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֕ר בְּכׇל־מְדִינ֖וֹת הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֽוֹשׁ׃(יז) כִּֽי־יֵצֵ֤א דְבַר־הַמַּלְכָּה֙ עַל־כׇּל־הַנָּשִׁ֔ים לְהַבְז֥וֹת בַּעְלֵיהֶ֖ן בְּעֵינֵיהֶ֑ן בְּאׇמְרָ֗ם הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֡וֹשׁ אָמַ֞ר לְהָבִ֨יא אֶת־וַשְׁתִּ֧י הַמַּלְכָּ֛ה לְפָנָ֖יו וְלֹא־בָֽאָה׃(יח) וְֽהַיּ֨וֹם הַזֶּ֜ה תֹּאמַ֣רְנָה ׀ שָׂר֣וֹת פָּֽרַס־וּמָדַ֗י אֲשֶׁ֤ר שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל שָׂרֵ֣י הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וּכְדַ֖י בִּזָּי֥וֹן וָקָֽצֶף׃(יט) אִם־עַל־הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ ט֗וֹב יֵצֵ֤א דְבַר־מַלְכוּת֙ מִלְּפָנָ֔יו וְיִכָּתֵ֛ב בְּדָתֵ֥י פָֽרַס־וּמָדַ֖י וְלֹ֣א יַעֲב֑וֹר אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־תָב֜וֹא וַשְׁתִּ֗י לִפְנֵי֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ וּמַלְכוּתָהּ֙ יִתֵּ֣ן הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לִרְעוּתָ֖הּ הַטּוֹבָ֥ה מִמֶּֽנָּה׃(כ) וְנִשְׁמַע֩ פִּתְגָ֨ם הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ אֲשֶֽׁר־יַעֲשֶׂה֙ בְּכׇל־מַלְכוּת֔וֹ כִּ֥י רַבָּ֖ה הִ֑יא וְכׇל־הַנָּשִׁ֗ים יִתְּנ֤וּ יְקָר֙ לְבַעְלֵיהֶ֔ן לְמִגָּד֖וֹל וְעַד־קָטָֽן׃(כא) וַיִּיטַב֙ הַדָּבָ֔ר בְּעֵינֵ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ וְהַשָּׂרִ֑ים וַיַּ֥עַשׂ הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ כִּדְבַ֥ר מְמוּכָֽן׃(כב) וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח סְפָרִים֙ אֶל־כׇּל־מְדִינ֣וֹת הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אֶל־מְדִינָ֤ה וּמְדִינָה֙ כִּכְתָבָ֔הּ וְאֶל־עַ֥ם וָעָ֖ם כִּלְשׁוֹנ֑וֹ לִהְי֤וֹת כׇּל־אִישׁ֙ שֹׂרֵ֣ר בְּבֵית֔וֹ וּמְדַבֵּ֖ר כִּלְשׁ֥וֹן עַמּֽוֹ׃ {פ}

Esther 1

(1) It happened in the days of Ahasuerus—that Ahasuerus who reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Nubia.(2) In those days, when King Ahasuerus occupied the royal throne in the fortress Shushan,(3) in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all the officials and courtiers—the administration of Persia and Media, the nobles and the governors of the provinces in his service.(4) For no fewer than a hundred and eighty days he displayed the vast riches of his kingdom and the splendid glory of his majesty.(5) At the end of this period, the king gave a banquet for seven days in the court of the king’s palace garden for all the people who lived in the fortress Shushan, high and low alike.(6) [There were hangings of] white cotton and blue wool, caught up by cords of fine linen and purple wool to silver rods and alabaster columns; and there were couches of gold and silver on a pavement of marble, alabaster, mother-of-pearl, and mosaics.(7) Royal wine was served in abundance, as befits a king, in golden beakers, beakers of varied design.(8) And the rule for the drinking was, “No restrictions!” For the king had given orders to every palace steward to comply with each man’s wishes.(9) In addition, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for women, in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.(10) On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he ordered Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs in attendance on King Ahasuerus,(11) to bring Queen Vashti before the king wearing a royal diadem, to display her beauty to the peoples and the officials; for she was a beautiful woman.(12) But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command conveyed by the eunuchs. The king was greatly incensed, and his fury burned within him.(13) Then the king consulted the sages learned in procedure. (For it was the royal practice [to turn] to all who were versed in law and precedent.(14) His closest advisers were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven ministers of Persia and Media who had access to the royal presence and occupied the first place in the kingdom.)(15) “What,” [he asked,] “shall be done, according to law, to Queen Vashti for failing to obey the command of King Ahasuerus conveyed by the eunuchs?”(16) Thereupon Memucan declared in the presence of the king and the ministers: “Queen Vashti has committed an offense not only against Your Majesty but also against all the officials and against all the peoples in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.(17) For the queen’s behavior will make all wives despise their husbands, as they reflect that King Ahasuerus himself ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.(18) This very day the ladies of Persia and Media, who have heard of the queen’s behavior, will cite it to all Your Majesty’s officials, and there will be no end of scorn and provocation!(19) “If it please Your Majesty, let a royal edict be issued by you, and let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it cannot be abrogated, that Vashti shall never enter the presence of King Ahasuerus. And let Your Majesty bestow her royal state upon another who is more worthy than she.(20) Then will the judgment executed by Your Majesty resound throughout your realm, vast though it is; and all wives will treat their husbands with respect, high and low alike.”(21) The proposal was approved by the king and the ministers, and the king did as Memucan proposed.(22) Dispatches were sent to all the provinces of the king, to every province in its own script and to every nation in its own language, that every man should wield authority in his home and speak the language of his own people.

Appendix B: Vashti and Esther
Kippah tip to Rachel Petroff Kessler for finding this

Selections from "Vashti and Esther: A Feminist Perspective" by Wendy Amsellem

Although Vashti and Esther never meet, the relationship between them is integral to understanding the events of the Book of Esther. Vashti disappears by the end of the first chapter, but she casts a long shadow over the rest of the book.

As we encounter Vashti in chapter one, we learn the following about her: She is beautiful and headstrong. She throws a good party. She refuses to have her appearances before the king regulated solely by his desires. For this last offense, Vashti pays dearly, losing her crown and incurring perpetual banishment from the king’s presence. At the close of chapter one it is clear that a woman in Ahasuerus’s court would do well to be dutiful and to come before the king as he commands.

By contrast, Esther is presented at first as the perfect foil to Vashti. Whereas Vashti was willful and independent, Esther is passive and submissive...It is no surprise that Ahasuerus loves Esther. She is the model of docility, an exact antidote to Vashti.
In this moment...Esther looks into her mirror and discovers that she does not look quite so different from Vashti after all. She takes matters into her own hands and stands up to both sources of authority. Esther assumes control of Mordechai’s plan, changing and amending as she sees fit. Like Vashti, she will appear before the king only when she decides that the time is right–in this case after three days of fasting. Instead of following Mordechai’s suggestion and simply making her petition, she will throw a series of parties as Vashti did. In order to succeed, Esther realizes that she must take on aspects of the repudiated former queen.

...Purim is a holiday in which we explore and challenge our boundaries. We dress up as other people. Some of us drink to the point where differences become blurred. In the spirit of this holiday and following the legacy of our ancestor Esther, I encourage us to reexamine whom we emulate and from whom we shy away. We may discover as Esther did that we are not so different from those whom we fear and that the most important lessons can be learned from the unlikeliest of teachers.

Appendix C: Classical Midrashim

For an excellent examination of the midrashim about Vashti, see this article: https://www.thetorah.com/article/ahasuerus-and-vashti-the-story-megillat-esther-does-not-tell-you

Here's another recounting of the midrashim about Vashti, this time comparing the ones from the rabbis in the Land of Israel, which tended to view Vashti favorably, with the ones from the rabbis in Babylonia, which tended to view Vashti unfavorably: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/vashti-midrash-and-aggadah

Appendix D: A Modern Midrash

Defending Vashti
By DR. ANNE LAPIDUS LERNERMarch 14, 2014, 4:00 am
When the descendants of noble Queen Vashti approached me to undertake her defense, I was, frankly, dubious about the prospects. After all, the eyewitnesses, unreliable as their DUI testimony may have been, have long since left the scene, and no DNA evidence survives. Further, I have a reputation as the Alan Dershowitz of lost causes of historic proportions to maintain.
Yet, as they continued to importune me, the merits of the case, the dimensions of this miscarriage of justice, and of my potential fee became apparent. Despite the 2,500 years that have elapsed, justice must be served, along with the rest of the menu.

First, some context for those of you who were not alive during the glorious reign of Queen Vashti. Unfortunately, due to the miscarriage of justice and the “disappearance” of the queen, the only extant record of her story is the one in that self-aggrandizing Jewish scroll of Esther, which hardly can be trusted as an accurate record.

Vashti is reputed to have been the daughter of Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, whose final days in about 550 B.C.E. were recorded, alas, only in that Jewish book of Daniel. How can we give it credence when it speaks in forked languages? Further, Rembrandt, whose pictorial representation “Belshazzar’s Feast” was painted in 1635, was clearly not present.

Unlike her successor, that well-oiled Jewish girl Esther, Vashti was of royal lineage. I am sure that I don’t need to tell you that the story about the beauty contest must have been composed by one of Ahasuerus’s drunken guests. Queens were – and are – chosen for their political usefulness, not for their prowess, you will excuse me, between the sheets. For that, in those glorious days, there were harems.

The rabbis, in a flight of imagination that is our only record, proposed that on the night Belshazzar was killed Cyrus the Persian and Darius the Mede were guests at his table – an improbable troika given that they were enemies. The candelabrum fell, killing Belshazzar. In the ensuing chaos in the palace, Darius was named to succeed Belshazzar and sat on his royal chair. Vashti, Belshazzar’s young daughter, confused by the palatial pandemonium, sought comfort from her father. In the dark she did not realize that the lap on the royal chair belonged to Darius. This was no lap dance. Taking pity on his orphaned lap lady, Darius moved her from the lap of fortune to marriage to his son Ahasuerus, aka Xerxes.

A slightly more credible story, but, I again warn you, only rabbinic in origin, maintains that Ahasuerus, who was in charge of the royal stables, acquired regal status by marrying the princess. Which laps were involved here is somewhat obscure.
This fictional reconstruction goes some distance in explaining the remarkable disparity between this unlikely king and his blameless queen. As the book of Esther attests: “on the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine” – in other words, completely soused. Public inebriety is not consonant with royalty.

Before moving on to the charges against Vashti, allow me also to point out that this royal match could have no spark. According to those rabbis, when the prophet Isaiah said “instead of the nettle, the myrtle shall rise” he was predicting that Vashti would be dethroned to make way for Esther, whose Hebrew name, Hadassah, means myrtle. Vashti was the “sacrificial queen,” whose sole purpose was to provide an excuse for that “beauty contest.” Of course, that “prophecy” of Isaiah was made after the putative date of the occurrences recounted in the Esther scroll, augmenting its reliability.

CHARGES:
Disobedience
The first charge is that Vashti disobeyed her husband when he ordered her to come, wearing her crown, into the binge-drinking party he was hosting. This charge is groundless. What respectable woman would enter such a scene wearing only her crown? Besides, the custom was that no respectable woman, even completely dressed, would enter the scene of such debauchery. The only women whose business it might have been to be present were, shall we say, in business in the world’s oldest profession.

Some rabbinic traditions appear to have had access to the transcript of the recorded messages that flew between the drunken commoner king and his lucid royal queen. Here is the transcription.

When Ahasuerus sent his important ministers, some of whom were eunuchs, to bring Vashti, she gave her husband the ritually mandated three opportunities to withdraw his demand.

First she told him: “If they see me and think me beautiful, they will want to lie with me, and they will kill you. And if they see me and think me ugly, you will be disgraced because of me.” Appealing to logic, she tries to convince him that, as we say to our children, actions have consequences.

Vashti’s second attempt was: “You were my father’s stable steward, accustomed to having naked harlots come before you. Now that you have become king, you have not mended your degraded ways!”

Although she addresses his sense of honor and self-respect, demanding that he act as a king should, she also reminds him that he did not come into this high office on his merit, but on hers. Since it is her authority he wields he cannot force her to act against her will

There is an unexplained chai – an 18-minute – gap in the recording here. We can only imagine what might have been erased.
Finally she told him: “You want me to come naked. Even my father, when he judged litigants in a trial, would not judge them when they were naked.” He would do well to emulate her father.

Clearly we have ample evidence that Vashti has the wisdom to appeal to Ahasuerus using multiple intelligences. Ahasuerus, on the other hand, acts rashly, without thinking even one step ahead. She should be vindicated and held up as a paragon of virtue, rather than punished.

CHARGES:
Fomenting Rebellion
Likewise the charge that Vashti’s behavior was contagious, modeling uxorial disobedience that would be emulated by wives everywhere in the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire, is baseless. The only reason that anyone outside the palace learned of this domestic contretemps is that the king stupidly publicized it. Vashti did not control the imperial records, the press, the web, or even Wikileaks.

Let us recall that the king’s idiotic mis-advisers were eunuchs. What could they know of the way that power is shared in marriage? I hate to admit it, but those rabbis had a much better perspective on domestic tranquility. They argue that Ahasuerus was stupid to think that a man can impose his will upon his wife: “If a man wants to eat lentils and his wife wants to eat beans, can he force her? Surely she does as she likes.”

CHARGES:
Mistreating workers
The Jews, who later became notorious as supporters of liberal – some might even say socialist – causes, indicated their support of labor as early as the rabbinic period. Supporting labor is fine, as long as it does not become an excuse for maligning management or raising taxes on the rich. In this case spurious charges were drummed up against Vashti, particularly by those rabbis in Babylonia who had to show that Jews were superior to the local population.

They charged that Vashti had Jewish girls work naked, so being ordered to appear naked herself was, one might say, tit-for-tat, or for tit. Another tit-for-t?t claims that her punishment came on the seventh day of the feasting because she forced Jewish girls to work on their seventh day – Shabbat.

Those rabbis even go so far as to suggest that she refused to appear naked because she suffered from leprosy. Their over-active imaginations fantasized that the angel Gabriel came and attached a tail to her, making her unwilling to appear. That’s clearly ridiculous, as it is well known that Ahasuerus, when he finally came to, looked all over the palace for his beloved Vashti, having no memory that she had been excised.

In a more valid midrashic depiction, when Ahasuerus grew sober, he regretted what he had done. He recalled Vashti and her proper behavior, as well as how he had improperly condemned her.

Yet another tradition has Ahasuerus inquiring after his wife when the effects of his intoxication wore off. He was told: “You killed her!” “Why?” “You said for her to come before you naked and she did not come.” He admitted to them: “I did not act nicely. And who counseled me to kill her?” They told him: “The seven ministers of Persia and Media.” He immediately killed them. Consequently, the seven eunuchs are not mentioned again in the Book of Esther.

In fact, Ahasuerus regretted getting rid of Vashti so much that he kept pictures of her above his bed, which he would look at any time he had a woman there, which was generally at least once a day. Vashti continued to reign in his bedroom until he met that commoner Esther, whose pictures went up as Vashti’s were torn down.

SUMMATION:
By now it should be clear to you that Vashti is the blameless victim of this story. While I here have been arguing for an official reversal of her punishment and the restoration of her portrait to the gallery of the queens and kings of the Persians, whatever you decide is on some level irrelevant. After all, Vashti was not a happy queen. She was not comfortable with the licentiousness of the palace scene. All she wanted was some quiet.

In those ancient times, she could not achieve her goal by leaning in. She leaned out and plotted her own escape from the palace. She took her crown and enough jewelry with her to live happily ever after in a quiet corner of a neighboring kingdom, surrounded by her beloved and caring children and staff.

https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/defending-vashti/

Appendix E: Esther vs. Vashti

Breaking Free of the Esther/Vashti Complex
Alan Robert Ginsberg
March 20, 2019

Call it the “Esther/Vashti Complex” — the perennial Purim impulse to define Esther and Vashti against each other as foils, opposites, rivals, or enemies.

They were none of these. This false dichotomy has been superimposed on the narrative, enduring through the ages, reducing the women to two-dimensional figures, robbing them of the dignity of human complexity. It obscures a story of female empowerment behind a mask of misogyny.

For 25 centuries, scholars, rabbis and other thinkers have tried to pit two courageous women against each other, depicting Vashti as wicked and Esther as angelic, venerating Esther by vilifying Vashti.

But Harriet Beecher Stowe praised Vashti as early as 1878 for standing up for women’s rights, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton applauded Vashti’s defiant resistance in 1898. In recent decades it has become increasingly fashionable to vindicate Vashti and even to devalue Esther with faint praise or outright scorn. “Vashti fights for her modesty and her honor, while our heroine Esther is willing to work through the bedroom,” writes Rabbi Ruhama Weiss. Isabel Kaplan derides Esther for having “slept her way to the top.” Scriptural slut-shaming seems particularly ill-advised and retrograde.

Not only were Esther and Vashti never adversaries, there is historical evidence to suggest they were the same woman. The next time you thumb through ancient secular sources such as “The Histories” by Herodotus or Plato’s account of Socrates’ dialogue with Alcibiades, you’ll notice they name only one woman, Amestris, as the wife of Xerxes, the Persian king identified with Ahasuerus.

Drop the “V” from Vashti and the “Am” from Amestris, and it’s not much of a stretch from the remaining “ashti” and “estris” to “Esther.” Etymologies reaching back to ancient Greek, Persian, Babylonian and Hebrew are complex and uncertain at best. Esther derives from Ishtar, a Greek goddess and “star.” Vashti and Amestris also share roots.

Esther and Vashti contend with the same husband, the same patriarchal authority. They never appear together, or even at the same time. For interpretive purposes, we may conclude that they were two women of valor. Or one.

Ahasuerus throws a party, a six-month government shutdown to energize his base. Wine is served in vessels of gold. The décor is garish.

Later, the king convenes a smaller party of cronies, patrons, sycophants and generals while Queen Vashti fêtes the real housewives of Shushan’s noblest families.

The king orders Vashti to abandon her female posse and her dignity, and dance naked in front of the men. Vashti refuses.
Ahasuerus can have Vashti brought to him by force. But he needs her to appear voluntarily so he can seem like a benevolent husband with a loving, compliant wife. Vashti’s refusal shatters the illusion.

Ahasuerus spins his personal embarrassment as a political question. He asks his advisers what to do. Vashti’s defiance — a courageous declaration of self-ownership — terrifies the king’s men. They fear that Vashti’s chutzpah will inspire their wives to rebel and disobey.

Vashti is banished. Details are sketchy. Perhaps she is simply relegated to the king’s harem, hidden from the public and banned from the royal bedroom.

Ahasuerus is left embarrassed and alone.

A search for Vashti’s replacement commences with young women commanded to compete for the role, sequestered in the palace, bathed in frankincense and myrrh. Each woman spends a night on the king’s casting couch. There can be only one leading lady. After, uh, auditioning them all, the king will anoint his favorite.

This process is described as a beauty contest. The winner will wear the royal crown that provided no honor and no protection to Vashti. These women will be raped and enslaved as concubines. (How strenuously we must avert our attention from these sordid details to maintain the fairy-tale illusions we associate with this happy holiday.)

Esther is conscripted into this beauty contest by her cousin and guardian Mordecai. She is the orphaned daughter of his uncle. Having raised Esther from childhood, Mordecai offers her to the king. This act is troubling, to put it mildly. [Ed. Note - This is factually incorrect -- in Esther Chapter 2, the royal officers are told to take all the young woman and they take Esther. There is not a word about Mordechai urging her to participate or offering her. I'm all for not whitewashing things for adults, but this is just a factual error. - DS]

But Esther is a strategic thinker. She enters the contest without protest. Esther gives Ahasuerus what Vashti refused him — in private, not in front of an audience. What she chooses to reveal is superficial. She conceals her Jewish identity.

The king requires Esther to agree to remain obedient, an ironic legacy of Vashti’s refusal. Esther formally consents. Perhaps this is a sadder but wiser Vashti, transformed into the savvy Esther, pursuing a new strategy.

Ahasuerus decrees a festival to honor the new queen. He never asks Esther to dance. To win popularity, he cuts taxes.
Meanwhile, Haman wants the world to bow to him. Mordecai won’t bow. And when Mordecai discovers a plot to assassinate the king, he sends a warning through Esther, earning the king’s gratitude and Haman’s wrath. Haman then plans to kill all the Jews. [ Ed. Note - another factual error -- Mordechai sends warning through Esther at the end of Chapter 2, Haman doesn't appear until Chapter 3. Haman plans to kill all the Jews because Mordechai won't bow down to him, not because Mordechai reported the assassination plot. - DS]

Mordecai wants Esther to get the king to prevent the pogrom. But even the queen may not visit the king unless he summons her. Aware of what happened to Vashti, Esther hesitates to approach the erratic king. Mordecai argues that self-preservation and Jewish solidarity compel her to act.

So, Esther presents herself to the king. He invites her to approach and kiss his scepter. She complies. We pretend not to understand. The visit is conjugal. It’s been a month since husband and wife last saw each other.

As it turns out, the king is delighted that his wife took the initiative. The now-uxorious Ahasuerus protects Esther as he failed to protect Vashti. Esther has won a victory on the metaphorical battlefield where Vashti fell.

Haman is then hung from the gallows he built for Mordecai. Enabled by Esther, the Jews defend their lives.

Esther takes the baton of female empowerment passed by Vashti. Or, if you prefer, Vashti reemerges as Esther. The Jewish people get a seat at the table of power. The tradition of matrilineal descent in intermarriage affords Esther the prospect of bearing children who will be Jewish Persian royalty.

On Purim we drink wine until we cannot tell the difference between Mordecai and Haman. Better to drink wine until we cannot tell the difference between Esther and Vashti, and break free of the Esther/Vashti Complex.

https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/analysis/295455/breaking-free-of-the-esther-vashti-complex/

David Schwartz

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