Post date: Feb 25, 2015 5:3:40 AM
Viyafkeid hamelech pikidim b’chol medinos malchuso v’yik’bitzu es kol na’arah visulah tovas mar’eh
And let the king appoint commissioners in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together every beautiful young maiden
(2:3)
There are many understandings of how the pageant and selection of Esther was an embarrassment to, and to the detriment of, the local population of eligible girls within Achashveirosh’s empire.
According to the Manos Levi, the commissioners were appointed from each of the locales under Achashveirosh’s control. Because the commissioners were scouring the land that they were most familiar with, they were able to identify and select girls that they felt were the most beautiful in their land.
The Mei’am Loez adds that despite a girl’s protest, if the commissioner selected a girl, she had no choice but to accompany the commissioner back to Shushan for the pageant.
Finally, the Midrash tells us that ultimately, the selection of a Jew to become the next queen was a tremendous source of shame to the girls of Persia. That the king rejected all of them in favor of Esther was something that they had much difficulty stomaching. But this was Midah k’neged midah (measure for measure) for the abuse that they meted out to the Jewish girls. The Persians women used to torment the Jewish girls telling them how unappealing they were and that no man would ever want to even look at them (let alone choose them to be wives).
[Artscroll Megillah, p. 53]