This year, the holiday of Purim begins the evening of Saturday, March 23. To many Jews, the holiday is a fun celebration that includes costumes and noisemakers and lots of laughter, while reading from the book of Esther. In opposition to this joyous undertanding of Esther, the 1st century Jews of Qumran—also known as the Dead Sea Sect—would have found themselves in agreement with the 16th century theologian Martin Luther, who, according to Katie Benjamin of Duke Divinity School, “hated it. He absolutely hated it. He called Esther ‘less worthy of being held canonical’ than any other writing of the Old Testament . . . [as it contained] ‘much pagan naughtiness’ ” (Lutheran Forum, Fall 2014).
The festival of Purim is one that was created by humans, not God, and God is never mentioned in the story. The story itself is historically implausible, but the setting is plausible. We should consider it to be well-presented historical fiction that reflects truth of the time in which it is set. The original audience were Jews of the diaspora; those who emigrated, either forcibly or voluntarily, after the Babylonian conquest (6th century BCE) and were now living under Persian rule (end of 6th century until 4th century BCE) or possibly Greek rule (end of 4th century until 2nd century BCE).
Cyrus the Great of Persia (c. 600 BCE–530 BCE) ruled a vast empire, the largest in human history at the time, which included the ancient Near East. Cyrus allowed communities to rebuilt shrines that had been destroyed by prior conquerors, and he allowed the people to worship their gods and to self-govern—as long as they swore fealty to Cyrus and paid their taxes. After years of living under the thumb of prior conquerors, Cyrus seemed like a godsend. In fact, the book of Isaiah refers to Cyrus as an “anointed one,” or, more commonly, a “messiah” (Isaiah 45:1-2). Although Cyrus is the king that the Israelites must serve, both Isaiah and the later priest/scribe Ezra give credit to God for inspiring Cyrus to deliver the Israelites from oppression, and for allowing the rebuilding God’s Temple in Jerusalem (Isaiah 45:1-2, Ezra 1:1-3).
Although Jews were allowed to return home and rebuild, many Jews had settled in their adopted homelands. We have evidence that Jews remained in Egypt (especially in the Jewish community at Elephantine) and in Babylonia, and only a very small percentage of Jews chose to return to Judah. The diaspora audience, toward whom the book of Esther is directed, was familiar with the customs of the other cultures and would have nodded knowingly at the descriptions found in the text.
This week, Rabbi Jaech led our group in the start of a multi-week look at the book of Esther. By comparing extra-biblical sources—additional texts from sources other than the Bible—with the biblical text, scholars can identify the plausibility of our stories. As we go forward, keep in mind the following information about the dominant cultures of the region:
The Babylonians, like the Assyrians before them, were known to throw elaborate banquets. This was a way for the ruler to show-off his might and glory, and to host the people he wanted supporting him—and maybe even his enemies, whom he may have wanted to keep a close eye on. The Assyrian Banquet Stele of Ashurnasirpal II (c. 9th-6th century BCE, destroyed by ISIL in 2015) relates detail of a 10-day feast including nearly 70,000 guests!
The Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–c. 425 BCE; “The Father of History”) tells us most of what we know about the Persians. He claims they were “extremely fond of wine, and . . . it is usual for them to be drunk when they are debating the most important issues” (Histories 1.133).
The Greek philosopher Plutarch (c. 46–c. 110) tells us that Persian kings, who typically dined with their wives, would dine separately from their wives when they planned to “be merry and get drunk.” By this division, the wife would retain her modesty and would not “share in [the king’s] licentiousness and debauchery” (Moralia 140 B 16).
The book of Esther begins by telling us that King Ahasuerus, the ruler of 27 provinces, flamboyantly displayed his wealth for all to see, and then hosted a 7-day banquet for the residents of his city. During the banquet, “the rule for the drinking was, ‘No restrictions!’ ” Meanwhile, in another part of the palace, Queen Vashti hosted a banquet for women.
After seven days of drinking, the king wanted to show-off his beautiful wife to his guests. He called for Vashti to put on her diadem and join his party. Vashti refused! Angered by her rejection, he asked his advisers what to do. The advisers pointed out that, since Vashti refused her husband, perhaps wives throughout the kingdom would begin to refuse their husbands. This would lead to “scorn and provocation” by all the king’s officials. The advisers advised that the king replace his headstrong queen with someone else, before the other women in the kingdom got such rebellious ideas. In this way, “every man [will] wield authority in his home” (Esther, chapter 1).
As has been said before in Torah Study, the Judaism we practice today is not the Israelite religion of the Bible with its animal sacrifices in the Temple. Rabbi Jaech acknowledges the great debt we owe our ancient Talmudic Rabbis for the Judaism we know today. But that does not mean that we must agree with everything they did.
Plutarch has told us that Queen Vashti was following the established custom of dining separately from her husband during the feast, while also preserving her own modesty. Our ancient Rabbis suggest otherwise. They claim that Vashti was throwing her own licentious and debauched party, during which she “wished to fornicate with men. This explains the folk saying that people say: He with pumpkins and his wife with zucchinis” (Megillah 12a/b).
The biblical text tells us that, in addition to appearing at the party, Vashti should wear her diadem. We know she does neither. Our ancient Rabbis make a leap and claim that the king wanted Vashti to appear wearing only her diadem (Esther Rabbah 3:13). Taking the “naked” scenario further, the Rabbis claim that it was God who gave the king the idea that Vashti appear naked as retribution, because Vashti used to make Israelite girls strip naked and work on Shabbat (Megillah 12b). Neither of these fallacious concepts can be found in the biblical text.
In trying to ascribe a reason for why Vashti would refuse to appear when called, a Rabbi offered two possibilities: 1) Vashti had broken out with leprosy—a known punishment from God, or 2) the angel Gabriel gave her a tail. As with the other, these scenarios are not found in the biblical text.
The ancient Rabbis had their own agenda. We can imagine the group of men—they were all men—sitting and laughing as they discuss the naked ladies, and the pumpkins and zucchinis. The Talmud has many examples of this type of locker-room talk.
In biblical times, women were prophets who could be sought out to relays God’s messages. Our ancient Rabbis had misogynistic ideas that women were simply vessels to serve men. In completely shutting women out of powerful roles in Jewish society, the Rabbis told the Jews of their time that there were no more prophets. If people wanted answers to questions, they should speak with their Rabbis.
Today, Queen Vashti is sometimes hailed as a feminist for refusing her husband’s command. Join us next week as we continue this fresh look at the book of Esther.
The blog is Tara Keiter’s interpretation of the Temple Israel of Northern Westchester Torah Study session. Misquotes or misunderstandings in what Rabbi Jaech taught are the responsibility of Tara Keiter.