Female Supremacy Articles - Page 28

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3/21/2008

Queen Esther is the religious girl's superhero. There is no prettier Purim costume than a pale blue dress tinged with gold. But it isn't just because of Esther's glamorous dress that she outnumbers Vashti at the Purim parade. Esther is the undisputed heroine of Jewish mythology. She represents the ultimate observant woman; her beauty and righteousness is hailed in Jewish literature.

In contrast, Vashti, who did not obey her husband King Ahasuerus, was excluded from the scroll and from Jewish history. However, despite the ridicule heaped on her, for the past several years the religious feminist movement has adopted the intriguing figure as a role model for women.

The story of Vashti's punishment at the beginning of the Scroll of Esther is misleading. It appears to be marginal drama designed to push forward the real plot: Esther and Mordechai's victory over the evil Haman.

However, on second reading, it is impossible to ignore the important social debate surrounding Vashti. Vashti's tragedy takes place during a feast at Ahasuerus' Shushan palace. On the seventh day of the feast, "when the king's heart was merry with wine", Vashti is invited "to show the nations and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on" the scroll states. Vashti refuses, sentencing herself to death. The king's anger burned in him, but it is his advisers who consider her representative of her sex.