c. 1999 Religion News Service

(Rabbi Rudin is the National Interreligious Affairs Director of the American Jewish Committee.)

UNDATED _ Purim, Judaism’s merriest holiday, is based on the biblical Book of Esther, a beautifully crafted short story filled with many familiar elements _ including sexism in high places, evil government officials, complex intrigue within a ruler’s household, and, finally, a dose of what we moderns call anti-Semitism.

On Purim eve, March 1, the book of Esther will be read in synagogues and followed by parties, skits, and revelry.

The holiday’s central message is clear: The Persian Jews of the 5th century B.C. faced physical annihilation because of Haman, a murderous Jew-hating prime minister. Happily, the Jews were saved from genocide, not by God’s direct intervention, but rather through the efforts of Esther, a beautiful Jewish queen, and Mordecai, her wise uncle.

For the past few years the blatant sexism of the Purim story has been receiving increased attention. One aspect is the shrewd way Queen Esther deliberately used her considerable sex appeal to influence her weak and malleable husband, King Ahasuerus.

The queen’s endeavor paid off when the king rescinded Haman’s lethal order to kill all the Jews within the Persian Empire.

As a result of her successful efforts, Queen Esther became a permanent Jewish heroine and her name, even though it stems from a pagan goddess, has been lovingly bestowed upon millions of Jewish women for over 2,000 years.

But there is another beautiful queen in the story who is also receiving increased notice. In the opening chapter of Esther we learn that Vashti was Ahasuerus’ first wife. During an especially boisterous palace party, the king,”merry with wine,”commanded his servants”to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown to show the people and the princes her beauty.” Jewish biblical commentators have interpreted the verse to mean that Vashti was ordered to appear naked before a group of drunken men; wearing only her crown. Incredibly, Vashti refused her royal husband’s order, but the Bible does not reveal her reasoning.

Some commentators believe that Vashti objected to being lewdly exhibited: no belly dancing, no striptease, no go-go gyrations. Instead, the queen stubbornly remained in her quarters.

Not surprisingly, the king, perhaps vexed that he could not display the carnal assets of his trophy wife,”was very angry and his rage burned in him.”Ahasuerus’ ministers, disappointed they would not see their queen doing dirty dancing, warned the king that Vashti’s actions would have a negative influence upon”all women and will make their husbands contemptible in their eyes.” Vashti’s action was perceived not as a defiant act of personal self-respect, but, rather, as a clear threat to the empire. After all, if wives rebel against their husbands, the very foundations of the state are in danger of collapse.

When the Persian officials wanted to thoroughly castigate Vashti’s action, they immediately invoked”national security”and royal”executive privilege”to justify the scathing condemnation of their queen.

Naturally the king resonated to this dire warning and he”sent letters into all the provinces”commanding that”every man should rule in his own house.”And because he was so enraged, or perhaps humiliated, by Vashti’s refusal to entertain the intoxicated men, the king promptly removed Vashti from the throne and began a search for a new beauty to share his empire.

The Bible does not reveal the final fate of the disobedient Vashti. Did the king merely divorce her or was she executed for gross insubordination?

My daughter, Jennifer, has recently written a one-act play,”Slashing the Crown,”that offers a disturbing third possibility: suicide. Jennifer’s Vashti refuses to”let them touch me where I don’t want to be touched … I’ll take no more of it”and realizes she will lose not only her crown but her life as well.

Jennifer believes Vashti was one of the first feminists in recorded history. Vashti takes charge of her own destiny, and her fate is not dependent upon the capricious whims of her royal husband and his drunken advisers. The stage Vashti asserts if”survival means taking my clothes off … I will not dance … I will not be compromised … My job is not to parade in front of them …” Instead, she ends her life on her own terms, and by so doing she will become”… a legend … a proud corpse.” Was it divorce, execution, or suicide? The Vashti story proves once again that the Bible remains forever relevant in its eternal themes and forever demanding of its readers.

DEA END RUDIN