Post date: Feb 24, 2013 6:54:17 AM
[Purim Vorts] No exoneration
Vayomer hamelch lachachamim yodei ha’itim
ki chein divar hamelech lifnei kol yodei das va’din
Then the king conferred with the experts who knew the times
for such was the king’s procedure to turn to all who knew law and judgment
(1:13)
Exactly who did Achashveirosh turn to when he sought counsel regarding how to handle the Vashti incident, and why does the pasuk find the need to be so verbose by seemingly twice naming the group that Achashveirosh consulted with?
The Ibn Ezra tells us that the Chachmei yodei ha’itim were sages who were highly knowledgeable in royal history. Achashveirosh asked them if anything of a similar nature had ever happened so that he could simply follow the precedent with regard to how Vashti should be appropriately punished. But once they told him that such an occurrence had never happened, Achashveirosh was forced to establish a law on his own for this situation, and he thus consulted the Yodei das va’din.
The Peirush HaGra explains it differently. He says that the Chachmei ha’itim were wise men who were able to take into account all of the factors of the situation, including the particular place and time when it took place, before coming up with their decision. Achashveirosh was hoping that they would be able to find a reason to exonerate Vashti of her guilt because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to find anyone comparable to replace her. To simply pardon her was out of the question, as doing so would have made a mockery of his honor. Since the Chachmei ha’itim couldn’t provide Achashveirosh with the legal gymnastics required to release her, he turned to the Yodei das va’din.
According to the Yosef Lekach and Rishon Letzion, Achashveirosh took a completely different angle at Vashti’s defense. At that time it was common practice to consider the affect that astrological forces might have played in someone’s actions. Achashveirosh had his Chachmei ha’itim check the zodiac sign under which Vashti had committed her crime. He was hoping to find that she had acted while under the influence of stars and not that her actions where done of her own free will. But once they informed Achashveirosh that she had in fact acted fully under her own control, he knew he had no choice but to consult with the Yodei das va’din.
[Al Hanissim]
[Purim Vorts] Why, what have you heard?
Al asher you asisah es ma’amar hamelech Achashveirosh
For not obeying the bidding of the king Achashveirosh
(1:15)
The charge that Achashveirosh made against Vashti was that she refused to come when she was summoned. No mention was made of the myriad insults she included in her refusal to him. As far as Achashveirosh knew, he was the only one who actually knew of the insults since the chamberlains relayed Vashti’s message directly to him. To include her insults in the formal charges would have further added to his disgrace as the embarrassing details would, at that point, have become public record. As such, the charges he pressed against Vashti appeared to be purely in defense of the honor of the throne and not a personal vendetta of his against her.
[Al Hanissim]
[Purim Vorts] Not in my house
Umidabeir kilshon ammo
And speak the language of his own people
(1:22)
The Gemara (Megillah 12b) tells us that Vashti sent a very strongly worded response to Achashveirosh’s summons that she present herself to his party. Part of her message was as follows: “To the stable keeper of my father: My father could remain sober after a thousand glasses of liquor, yet you are intoxicated after just the smallest amount of drinking.” How did the messengers have the audacity to repeat such a message to the king?
The Chasam Sofer explains that the messengers spoke Sursi, and Vashti spoke Kasdi. They didn’t understand the content of Vashti’s message. They simply parroted her response back to Achashveirosh. They assumed that she was excusing herself, but were unclear of the details of the message. When the messengers presented Vashti’s response to the king, they made no attempt to soften the message or speak in a hushed tone. They repeated her response word-for-word in the queen’s native Kasdi. Achashveirosh understood exactly what they were saying, and anyone within earshot of them who also understood Kasdi heard exactly what Vashti’s message to Achashveirosh was, which was incredibly embarrassing to him.
Had the messengers understood the message they were given, they might have pleaded with Vashti to reconsider her stance, or at the very least, they might have even attempted to soften the harshness of the message when they made their delivery. This is why Achashveirosh proclaimed that all wives must speak in the native language of their husbands—so that that the elements that brought on that humiliating scene would never present themselves ever again.
[Zvi Fleisher @ ShemaYisrael.com]
[Purim Vorts] Here we go again
V’hamelech v’Haman yushvu lishtos v’ha’ir Shushan navocha
And the king and Haman sat down to drink, and the city of Shushan was perplexed
(3:15)
What is the connection between the two phrases in this pasuk? What does Achashveirosh and Haman sitting down to drink have to do with the inhabitants of Shushan becoming perplexed?
Achashveirosh was unpredictable while intoxicated. He was drunk when Vashti displeased him, so he had her eliminated. But once he stopped drinking he missed her. R. Shlomo Kluger explains that now that Achashveirosh was back to drinking again, everyone was concerned about what would happen.
[Zvi Fleisher @ ShemaYisrael.com]
[Purim Vorts] Esther approaches Achashveirosh
Avo el hamelech asher lo chadas
I will go to the king though it’s unlawful
(4:16)
Esther knew that approaching the king uninvited was taking a huge risk, despite being the queen. She knew that she wasn’t risking a tongue lashing or even just being rebuffed. She knew that she was risking losing her head. After all, Achashveirosh had eliminated his beloved Vashti when she upset him! Esther’s grasp of the risk involved becomes evident when realize that the Gematria of the words ‘Lo chadas’ is the same as the Gematria of the word ‘misah,’ death.
[Zvi Fleisher @ ShemaYisrael.com]
[Purim Vorts] Why didn’t you say so
Vayomer hamelech Achashveirosh vayomer l’Esther hamalka
And king Achashveirosh exclaimed and he said to Esther the queen
(7:5)
Why is there a double expression of ‘saying’ in this pasuk? The pasuk would seem to flow just find without the second expression. So what is added by including it?
The Gemara (Megillah 16a) tells us that until Esther revealed her nationality, Achashveirosh assumed that she was just a commoner of lowly lineage. Therefore he always addressed her, and was replied to, through an intermediary. But once she identified herself as a Jew from the tribe of Binyamin and a descendent of Shaul the king, the intermediary was no longer needed as Achashveirosh could speak directly with royalty.
The double language in our pasuk indicates the immediate change in protocol once Achashveirosh became aware Esther’s royal lineage.
[Inside Purim]