REFUTING THE FANS OF VASHTI
(a guest post by Mr. Cohen)
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In recent years, Jewish Feminists have claimed that
Vashti, the
wife of
King Achashverosh from the
Biblical Book of Esther, was a Feminist hero or role model.
This claim can be refuted with knowledge of Torah.
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Why Vashti was evil [quick summary in time order]:
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(1) Targum Yonatan on Esther, chapter 1, verse 9,
translates “Queen Vashti” [
וַשְׁתִּי הַמַּלְכָּה] into Aramaic
as “Vashti the evil Queen”
[ושתי מלכתא רשיעתא].
(2) Vashti deserved punishment because she forced
Jewish women to work on Shabbat [while naked]
(Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 48 and also
Babylonian Talmud, tractate Megillah, page 12B).
(3) Vashti did not come [when she was summoned
by her husband, King Achashverosh], only because
she was suddenly struck with leprosy
(Babylonian Talmud, tractate Megillah, page 12B).
(4) Vashti is the ONLY woman who is explicitly
identified as an evil woman [ושתי הרשעה] by the Talmud
(Babylonian Talmud, tractate Megillah, page 12B).
Even the wives of Esau and the wife of Lot were
never explicitly labeled as evil women by the Talmud.
Even Zeresh, the wife of Haman [וַיְסַפֵּר הָמָן לְזֶרֶשׁ אִשְׁתּוֹ],
from the Book of Esther, chapter 6, verse 13, was never
explicitly labeled as an evil woman by the Talmud.
(5) Vashti’s reign was a fulfillment of the curse of
the Biblical Prophet Isaiah (chapter 3, verse 12):
“As for My people, their rulers are mockers,
AND WOMEN WILL RULE OVER THEM…”
(Midrash Rabah, Book of Esther, chapter 3, paragraph 2).
(6) Vashti was one of four women who held power
in the world and oppressed the Jewish people
(Midrash Rabah, Esther, chapter 3, end of paragraph 2).
(7) Vashti desecrated the sacred garments of
the Jewish High Priest
(Midrash Rabah on the
Biblical Book of Esther, chapter 3, paragraph 9).
(8) Vashti influenced King Achashverosh to
stop the
reconstruction of the Jewish Temple
in Jerusalem (Midrash Rabah on the
Biblical
Book of Esther, chapter 5, paragraph 2).
(9) Rashi’s commentary on Esther, chapter 2,
verse 1,
teaches that King Achashverosh regretted killing Vashti
because of her
beauty – [which suggests that Vashti’s
physical beauty was her only positive
attribute.]
(10) Yalkut Meam Loez commentary on Esther,
chapter 1, verse 9, (based on earlier sources):
Vashti wanted to tempt the
Jews to commit sexual
misdeeds, so they would be unworthy of rebuilding
the
Temple in Jerusalem, that her grandfather,
Nebuchadnezzar, had destroyed.
(11) Yalkut Meam Loez commentary on Esther,
chapter 1, verse 11, (based on earlier sources):
Vashti wanted to the Jews
to forget Shabbat,
so they would no longer have hope for redemption
and
rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem,
(12) Esther is mentioned 55 times in the entire Book of Esther.
Esther is mentioned in every chapter except for
the first chapter and the very short last chapter or 10th
chapter.
Vashti is mentioned 7 times in the first chapter of the Book
of Esther,
and 3 times in the second chapter, but never after the
second chapter.
======================================
CONCLUSION:
Vashti was: NOT a hero, and NOT a
Feminist, and NOT righteous.
Vashti does NOT deserve the admiration of any person.
Claiming that Vashti was hero of the Book of Esther
is like c
laiming that Eva Braun was hero of World War II.
Eva Braun was the girlfriend of Adolph Hitler [
yemach shemo].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Braun
https://cross-currents.com/2018/03/01/queen-esther-strong-jewish-woman-mans-world/
======================================
Please also read: If Daniel Were Alive Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-daniel-were-alive-today.html
Please
also read: If Jeremiah Were Alive Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-jeremiah-were-alive-today.html
Please also read: If Isaiah Were Alive
Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-isaiah-were-alive-today.html
Please also read: If Ezekiel Were Alive
Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-ezekiel-were-alive-today.html
Please also read: If Ezra Were Alive Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-ezra-were-alive-today.html
Please also read: If Nehemiah Were Alive Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/04/if-nehemiah-were-alive-today.html
Please also read: If Joshua Were Alive
Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/05/if-joshua-were-alive-today.html
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OTHER BLOG POSTS BY MR. COHEN:
Ancient Roman historians connected Jews with the Land of Israel and Jerusalem:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/02/guest-post-josephus-vs-muslim-liars.html
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/05/guest-post-cornelius-tacticus.html
Rambam Rejected Childless Messiah:
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/08/rambam-rejected-childless-messiah-by-mr.html
Why Muslims Hate Jews:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/12/guest-post-why-muslims-hate-jews.html
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/01/guest-post-moynihan-1982.html
Forgotten Oppression against Jews:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/01/guest-post-forgotten-oppression.html
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/03/guest-post-forgotten-anti-semitism.html
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/06/guest-post-kiddush-hashem-1498.html
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/01/guest-post-jewish-nyc-mayor.html
How a Reform Rabbi Become Orthodox (true story):
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/07/how-did-reform-rabbi-become-orthodox-jew.html
Why Barak Hullman left Reform Judaism and became Orthodox:
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-reform-judaism-doesnt-work-wont-work-and-how-to-fix-it/
Sephardic Jews Reject Reform Judaism:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/07/sephardim-reject-reform.html
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/08/guest-post-persian-rabbis-decree.html
Quick quote from Famous Jewish mega-donor about Jewish Continuity:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/02/mr-sy-syms.html
Greek NYC Jews and Syrian NYC Jews
(a rarely-told true story that very few people know about):
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/03/greek-jews-syrian-jews.html
How to Convict the New York Times of Unfair Bias Against Israel:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/11/guest-post-how-to-convict-new-york-times.html
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/11/guest-post-nyt-erases-israel-from-map.html
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/03/guest-postnyt-vs-israel.html
How to Pray for Tzahal-IDF:
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/09/how-to-pray-for-tzahal-idf.html
How Torah Can Defeat Terrorism:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/08/defeat-terror-with-torah.html
____________________________________________________________
Do Palestinians Want a Two-State Solution?
by Daniel Polisar, PhD in Political Science
https://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2017/04/do-palestinians-want-a-two-state-solution/
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