Post date: Feb 21, 2011 3:45:18 AM
בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי
Bayom hashevi’ih
(1:10)
Vashti wasn’t just an innocent victim at the hands of evil planning by Achashveirosh and Haman. The decree against her was no less than a classic case of “מדה כנגד מדה” (midah k’neged midah).
Vashti used to force the B’nos Yisroel to work on Shabbos fully disrobed. In kind, her punishment was meted our also on a Shabbos after having been ordered to appear before the king in a similarly immodest manner. What is the significance of having the punishment on Shabbos?
Vashti was the queen for two years and 187 days. Since a lunar year is 354 days, another way of describing the length of her rein was that it lasted 895 days. Or we could describe it as 127 weeks and six days.
For each Shabbos that she forced the Bnos Yisroel to be Mechalel Shabbos, she potentially lost control over one of her provinces. On her 128th Shabbos as queen (and the 128th Shabbos on which she forced the B’nos Yisroel to work), having no more provinces remaining to lose, she lost her head!
(Artscroll Purim)