Post date: Feb 16, 2012 2:26:21 AM
בכתר מלכות להראות העמים והשרים את יפיה
“B’cheser malchus l’haros ho’amim v’hasorim es yofyoh”
(1:11)
Achashveirosh’s motivation for having Vashti parade before everyone at his party was to make all in attendance desirous of her. But, for his plan to have the desired effect on everyone present, she also needed to don her crown.
The Ibn Ezra tells us that an ordinary/simple person wouldn’t desire a woman of the royal family because he realizes that he is not anywhere close to being in her social status. It would be a fruitless thought for such a person to even ponder the possibility. The “Amim” mentioned in our Pasuk refers to the simple people. Therefore, the royal crown was placed on Vashti’s head to impress those people. Even if Vashti was out of their league, so to speak, they would nonetheless be impressed by her crown.
The “Sarim” mentioned in our Pasuk are ministers—people who are on a higher social level. The Sarim wouldn’t have had the same psychological disconnect from Vashti as the Amim. As such, they were in a position to enjoy the beauty of Vashti whether she had her crown or not.
[Zvi Fleisher @ shemayisrael.com]