Megillah 12b (יב:) — the Talmud in English

As people say: He is involved with large pumpkins -

large gourds,

and his wife

with small pumpkins -

small gourds. That is, they were both engaged in the very same type of matter, as both of them intended the same thing. He wanted to display her beauty, and she too intended the same thing. .

It is written:

“On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine

he said, etc., to bring Queen Vashti before the king, etc.”

And we raise a difficulty:

“Does this mean that until now,

until the seventh day -

his heart had not been merry with wine?!”

Rava said: The seventh day

of the feast -

was Shabbat .

For when Jews

when

eat and drink -

they begin with words of Torah and words of praise.

But the nations of the world,

when

they eat and drink -

they begin only with words of frivolity.

And so

it was

at the feast of that wicked man,

where they spoke words of frivolity:

Some said: Median women are beautiful! And others said: Persian women are beautiful!

Ahasuerus said to them: The vessel that I use is neither Median nor Persian -

but Chaldean. Do you wish to see her?

They said to him: Yes—but only if she is naked .

The Ketav Sofer wrote that this matter is hinted at in the verse, which says, “To display her beauty to the peoples and the officials.” “Her beauty” implies intrinsic beauty, rather than external beauty produced by clothing and jewelry.

By the measure with which a person measures -

by it he is measured. This teaches that the wicked Vashti would bring Jewish women,

and strip them naked ,

and make them perform labor on Shabbat.

And by that same measure she was measured, as Ahasuerus decreed that she come before him naked on Shabbat .

And

this is what is written: “After these events, when the anger of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.”

For

just as she had done -

so was it decreed against her .

The Vilna Gaon wrote that this is derived from the wording “what had been decreed,” which implies that the decree against her came from Heaven, although it would not have been proper to do this to her. Why, then, was it decreed against her? They therefore explained that “what she had done” refers to Israel: just as she had treated Israel, so was it decreed against her from Heaven.

It is written:

“But Queen Vashti refused.”

Now

Vashti

was licentious, as the master said

earlier:

both of them intended a transgression.

If so,

why did she not come

to him?

Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: This teaches that leprosy erupted upon her .

Rashi wrote that in the Jerusalem Talmud this is derived by means of a gzera shava. Here it is written, “what had been decreed against her,” and there, in Chronicles, it is written: “And he dwelt in the house of freedom, a leper, for he was cut off from the House of the Lord.”

In a baraita it was taught: Gabriel came -

and made her a tail .

It is written:

“And the king became exceedingly angry.”

And we raise a difficulty:

Why did he burn with such overwhelming anger ?

This requires explanation: what difficulty does the Gemara see? Surely he was angry because Vashti had not fulfilled his request! The Vilna Gaon explained that the Gemara’s difficulty was this: a person’s way is that if he becomes angry and expresses the matter that angers him, his anger subsides and no longer burns within him. Here, however, although he spoke and became exceedingly angry, nevertheless “his wrath burned within him.” The Gemara therefore asks: “Why did he burn with such overwhelming anger?” Rava answered that she sent him the message, “Son of the stablemaster of my father,” etc. That is why his wrath burned within him: he could not say this to the officials, as it would humiliate him. He could say only that she had not come. Thus, “the king became exceedingly angry” over what the eunuchs said publicly—that she did not wish to come; while “his wrath burned within him” over the insulting words that the eunuchs conveyed privately.

Rava said:

for

she sent him

Vashti:

“Son of the stablemaster [

stable keeper ]

of my father!

My father [

Belshazzar, who was Vashti’s father],

drank wine equal to that of a thousand men -

and did not become drunk [

he did not become intoxicated ],

whereas that man,

Ahasuerus,

went mad in his wine [

became insane through his wine ]!

Immediately -

“And his wrath burned within him.”

“And the king said to the sages,

those who knew the times .”

Who were the sages?

They were the Rabbis.

For

“those who knew the times”

means

those who knew how to intercalate years and establish months.

He said to them

Ahasuerus said to the Rabbis:

“Judge her for me!”

The Rabbis said

:

“What shall we do?

If

we say to him: ‘Kill her!’

then

tomorrow, when his wine wears off, he will demand her from us [

his wine will wear off, and he will demand her from us ].

And if

we say to him: ‘Leave her’ [

let her be ], then

she is belittling the monarchy,

and she must be punished!”

The Rabbis said to him

to Ahasuerus:

“Since the day the Temple was destroyed and we were exiled from our land, counsel has been taken from us, and we do not know how to judge capital cases.

Go to Ammon and Moab, who sit in their places like wine settled on its lees [

who remain settled in their place, like wine resting on its lees ].

And

the reason for the

wise words they said to him

is that this is indeed so: when a person is tranquil, his mind is settled.

As it is written: “Moab has been tranquil from his youth, and he has rested on his lees; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel, and he has not gone into exile,”

and it is written afterward:

“Therefore his taste has remained in him, and his fragrance has not changed.”

Immediately -

“And the closest

to him were Carshena, Shetar, Admatha, Tarshish.”

Rabbi Levi said: This entire verse was stated with reference to offerings.

“The closest” is an expression referring to bringing an offering; the ministering angels mentioned the offerings that Israel brought before the Holy One, blessed be He, so that through this they would bring retribution upon Vashti, and Esther would come and reign in her place.

And this is how he expounded the verse:

“Carshena” -

The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the universe! Did the nations of the world ever offer

before

You yearling rams ,

as Israel offered before You?!

“Shetar” -

Did they ever offer before You two turtledoves?!

“Admatha” -

Did they ever build an earthen altar before You?!

“Tarshish” -

Did they ever serve before You in priestly garments, concerning which it is written: “Tarshish, shoham, and yashfeh”?!

“Mars” -

Did they ever stir the blood before You

as Israel stirred the blood of offerings so that it would not coagulate?!

“Marsena” -

Did they ever stir [

memares—an expression of stirring ]

the meal-offerings before You?!

“Memukhan” -

Did they ever prepare a table before You?!

“And Memukhan said” .

It was taught: Memukhan -

this is Haman .

And why was he called Memukhan? Because he was prepared

he was

for calamity ,

as he was destined to be hanged.

Rav Kahana said: From here,

this verse, it is proven

that the commoner jumps to the front .

For Memukhan was listed last among the officials, which shows that he was the least important of them all, yet he spoke first .

It is written: “And letters were sent, etc.:

so that every man should be master in his own house

and speak in the language of his people.”

Rava said: Had it not been for the first letters,

in which this matter was written, and through which Ahasuerus was established in the eyes of the nations as a fool,

not a remnant or survivor of the enemies of Israel would have remained .

For the nations would have hastened to kill them, and would not have waited until the appointed day written in the later letters .

For

the nations

who had received the letters

said: What is this that Ahasuerus has sent us,

Ahasuerus,

“so that every man

should be master in his own house”? It is obvious! Even a bald-headed man [

a weaver] ,

in his own house is an administrator and ruler

in his home he is an official and leader!

It is written:

“And the king appointed officials.”

Rav said: What

is this

that is written: “Every cunning person acts with knowledge, but a fool spreads folly”?

“Every cunning person acts with knowledge”—

this is David. As it is written

concerning him:

“And his servants said to him, ‘Let them seek for my lord the king a young virgin,’”

for he asked that only one maiden be brought to him. Therefore,

whoever had a daughter—

he brought her to him,

showing her to David’s emissaries, in case she found favor in their eyes.

“But a fool spreads folly”—

this is Ahasuerus. As it is written

concerning him:

“And the king appointed officials,”

for he commanded that all the maidens be gathered to him, and they knew that he would have relations with all of them but would choose only one. Therefore,

whoever had a daughter—

she hid herself [

concealed her]

from him .

It is written:

“There was a Jewish man in Shushan the capital, etc.,

the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish ,

a Benjaminite.”

And we raise an objection:

What is the verse saying

the verse?

If it comes to establish his lineage, let it continue tracing it]

so that the verse would continue tracing his lineage

until Benjamin!?

Rather, what is different about these

names? The tanna taught: All of them—

they were called by reference to him.

“The son of Jair”—

the son who illuminated the eyes of Israel through his prayer.

“The son of Shimei”—

the son whose prayer God heard.

“The son of Kish”—

because he knocked on the gates of mercy, and they were opened to him.

And we raise an objection:

It calls him “

a

Jew”—

apparently he came from Judah .

And it also calls him

“the son of

a Benjaminite”—

apparently he came from Benjamin!?

Rav Naḥman said: Mordecai was distinguished by his names [

by fine names. “Nimus” is a word in the Greek language]

he was.

Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: His father was from Benjamin

was,

and his mother—

from Judah.

And the Sages say: The families

of Judah and Benjamin

were competing with one another. The family of Judah said: I am responsible for Mordecai’s birth,

through

David’s not killing [

who was one of the kings of Judah]

Shimei son of Gera,

from whom Mordecai descended.