Praise Her Works: Conversations with Biblical Women

22a Vashti

173 o Chapter 22a Vashti NAOMI GRAETZ /// hßp_÷H»v kÝcº¢v&u iÞj»‚v r¢eº¢· “Grace is deceptive, beauty is illusory …” (Prov. 31:30). /h,au uz 'hpuhv kcvu ijv rea Grace is deceptive, beauty is illusory, this is Vashti. —Midrash ha-Gadol When King Ahasuerus1 has reigned for three years, he holds a banquet in his vast gardens for all the people of Shushan. The drinking is according to the law; people are encouraged to drink as much as they can and the king makes sure that nothing is spared for the comfort of his guests. Queen Vashti, rumored to be the last descendant of King Nebuchadnezzar, prepares a parallel feast for the women in the royal house that belonged to King Ahasuerus. While the men are outside carousing, the women are inside enjoying themselves. On the seventh day of this feast, when the king has perhaps imbibed a bit too much, he commands his seven chamberlains to bring his property, meaning his wife, Vashti, before him, ordering her to wear the royal turban that will show off her beauty to the people. This he felt was fair, since her beauty was his to possess as well as the royal crown. And she was indeed beautiful, like her name, which some say in Persian means woman of great beauty. But his beautiful queen refuses to obey his commandment and this upsets him. He does not confront her directly to ask why she has 174 Praise Her Works denied his command. Instead, he asks the wise men and the seven princes of Persia and Media, who sit next to him, for their advice: “What shall be done, according to law, to Queen Vashti for failing to obey the command of King Ahasuerus … ?” (Esther 1:15). Memucan answers for them all by saying, “Queen Vashti has committed an offense not only against Your Majesty but also against all the officialsandagainstallthepeoplesinalltheprovincesofKingAhasuerus. 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” (Esther 1:16,17). “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 … that Vashti shall never enter the presence of King Ahasuerus. And let Your Majesty bestow her royal estate upon another who is more worthy than she. Then will the judgment executed by Your Majesty resound throughout your realm …; and all wives will treat their husbands with respect, high and low alike” (Esther 1:19,20). After his wrath is assuaged, Ahasuerus remembers Vashti briefly, but no longer concerns himself with her, whether she is alive or dead. Instead he listens to his servants who suggest that “… beautiful young virgins fair be sought out for Your Majesty” (Esther 2:2). Commentary After reading the biblical story, it is clear that the beautiful heroine —the first half of the pair that makes up the 22nd eishet chayil—is someone to emulate. She is brave, defiant, strong, and self-determined. Vashti is a proud, unbending woman, who refuses to obey the drunken husband who sees her as his possession to command to perform for him at will. Rabbinic tradition could have been supportive of Vashti for her stance of independence and personal dignity. However, the Rabbis have chosen instead to use her grace and beauty as swords against her. “Grace is deceptive, Beauty is illusory,” refers to Vashti. “It is for her fear of the Lord that a woman is to be 175 Chapter 22a Vashti praised,” this is Esther. Clearly, Midrash ha-Gadol is setting up a binary opposition: whereas Vashti’s grace and beauty are deceptive, Esther is praiseworthy and God-fearing. In the midrash, Vashti is identified with sheker (deception). The letter shin (a), the first letter of sheker, has three prongs. First, it can be the devil’s pitchfork, a comb to brush her beautiful hair, which emphasizes her vanity. Second, like the letter shin, which suggests teeth, Vashti can be seen as someone with a bite, a strong voice of her own who has to be put down. Third, shin can symbolize the crown of her royalty. Most aggadot (stories and legends) are so negative about Vashti that it is almost impossible to identify with her. The sages deviated from the literal or contextual reading of the text when they turned Vashti intoawitchlike,demonicbeingwithnoredeemingcharacteristics.They gave...