We continue with our lessons from Megillat Esther.
One of the themes of the first perek of the Megillah is Ahashverosh’s party, and if we look closely, we can see the nuances of how Hashem sets everything up.
The Gemara points out that sometimes the Megillah says Paras U’Madai, listing Persia before Medea, and sometimes it lists Madai first, then Paras/Persia.
The Gemara explains that this is because these two countries had overthrown Babylonia, and they had a deal- they took turns being in charge, one over the other, which caused friction between the two nationalities.
This was why Ahashverosh wanted to bring his wife to the party to show her off.
(And as we said previously, this is what got the whole miracle going, and caused Vashti to be replaced by Esther, which would ultimately save the Jewish people)
What caused Ahashverosh to want to show Vashti off?
It was the competition between the Persians and Medeans, who argued about whose women were prettier.
While intoxicated at the party, Ahashverosh bragged that his wife Vashti was neither from Persia nor Medea- she was from Babylon, and he claimed that the Babylonian women were the prettiest.
When Hashem set up these two camps, He set up the friction that brought about Vashti’s demise.
Furthermore, the whole purpose of the party was in order for Ahashverosh to show off. He was nouveau riche, and he wasn’t from the royal family. He became king by marrying the granddaughter of the previous king. It was the third year of his reign and he wanted to make a party to show off. The goal of the party was for him to feel respected and important. And yet, at the height of this party, on the 187th day, when he was finally at the pinnacle of his glory and honor, the whole party backfired. Everybody was there to see how his wife had insulted him.
The Gemarah says that the line she used when he called her was, “You stable boy of my grandfather, you can’t hold your wine.”
So the purpose of the party was to make him respected, and it backfired.
Furthermore, there was an intricate hierarchy of status set up at the party. Some beds were made of gold some of silver etc, and people were divided by social class (much like First class, Business and Economy, early boarding etc- we still have these status symbols). This was all by design, to foster competition, and it was so that Ahashverosh could show who was boss. Thus, Off with Vashti’s head.
As we read through this first chapter, it might seem like just a bunch of details, with golden wine cups… the rule of not forcing anyone to drink, because everyone had to happy. Yet, at the happy “no forcing,” party, Ahashverosh ended up forcing his wife to come against her will.
The rest is history.
Every line shows us how Hashem was total control of the events, setting up it all up 6-7 years in advance, for our protection.
This is yet another principle, which we will explore further in the next chapter.
Have a wonderful day.