Shiurim
USCJ EC Staff Meeting Shiur - March 2008
When Vashti is called to come to the king clad only in her crown (and, readers are to assume, nothing else), she refuses. The king is convinced by his advisors that all other women will learn to refuse their husbands as she did if he allows her to get away with it so he has her removed. Her time on stage is completed in less than a chapter.
Since the 1970s, feminists have taken Vashti to heart as the first proto-feminist: She is the first woman in the Bible who refuses to be objectified as a sex object, instead naming such behavior as inappropriate...
What a contrast to Esther, who is quite meek in comparison. When brought to the palace, she passively goes along with whatever the head eunuch plans for her. When she finally approaches the king, she wines and dines him before beseeching him, using every traditional feminine wile in the book, and rather effectively at that.
In many ways, Vashti is the paradigmatic woman who won’t take any garbage from the men around her, even if it costs her, which it does. In comparison, I always thought of Esther as the ideal of the savvy female business exec who learns how to make it in the top tier of a man’s world and bring her people along with her….. These have been the two models for how women have negotiated their lack of real power throughout history.
- blog posting by Rabbi Susan Grossman
Questions for Discussion:
- What do you know about Vashti and Esther from the Purim story? As a group, share what you all know to get a full picture. You can always check your facts in Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther).
- Do you see yourself as more of a Vashti or more of an Esther? Why? Think about the children in your class. Which of them have the “take the bull by the horns” approach, and which use different resources and strategize?
- Traditional commentators accused Vashti of not wanting to appear before the king because she had grown a tail or contracted leprosy. The rabbis of old were not big Vashti fans, to put it mildly. But in recent decades Vashti has been recast as a feminist, a strong woman with her head and her heart in the right place. Esther, on the other hand, works within the system, but also takes matters into her own hands when the going gets tough. How might you defend Vashti’s actions, or not? Do you approve of Esther’s tactics?
- Do you include Vashti in your telling of the Purim story with your children? At what age do you believe it is appropriate to introduce children to Vashti? Remember, it is important never to teach children things they must unlearn later. This means you can edit the story but never change it. Make sure you have school-wide agreement about who is telling which version of the story. Both Vashti and Esther have valuable lessons for children – Vashti is an example of always standing up for what is right; Esther pays attention, she understands the people around her and she is wise, and brave, enough to use this understanding to shape events to her purposes. How can you give the children in your class lessons from both of Purim’s heroines?
Maxine Segal Handelman
Consultant for Early Childhood Education,
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
