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אשר לא תבוא ושתי לפני המלך אחשורוש ומלכותה יתן המלך לרעותה הטובה ממנה (אסתר א:יט).

“Vashti cannot appear again before the king and she will be replaced…” (Esther 1:19).

If I were to ask you: what happened to queen Vashti? You would respond of course that she was executed! Everyone knows that! Now please allow me to ask you one more simple question: can you please prove it?! How do you know that she was killed?

The Question

You will quote me the Gemara in Megillah (11b), the Midrashim (Ester Rabbah 5:2 etc.) or all of the commentators like Rashi (Esther 1:19), but one source will not be quoted… the text of the Megillah itself! Nowhere in the entire narrative of Megillas Esther is there any direct reference to Vashti’s death sentence! This is very surprising, especially considering that it is one of the most vital points in the entire story as it allowed Esther to be installed in the palace in her stead! What is going on here; why was it left out?

My Search

I spent a large part of this past Purim discussing this question with any person willing to lend me their ears. Most agreed that it is truly a most intriguing and perplexing observation.

At first I came up with one simple answer, which my Rosh HaYeshiva, Reb Aharon Feldman shlit”a also answered to me, after which I showed him a proof for the concept which he approved of. However, I feel that the answer is not enough and after I explain this answer I will tell you what bothers me about it and then I hope to offer what I feel is a stronger resolution, while expressing a central theme of Purim.

Purely Anticlimactic

Achasveyrosh planned that his extravagant party was to show his power and grandeur. For six months straight he flaunted his wealth and honor. The people were awed and impressed. Everything was going smoothly as hoped until a bitter confrontation with his wife occurred. His honor and power were then laughed at! All that he had worked for, was lost! Vashti refused to join the party in the degrading manner  which he demanded of her and she sent strong insulting words expressing her refusal to come. Achasveyrosh was fuming, his honor had been crushed and his hard earned prestige had been challenged. He was determined to restore his power. And so in a moment of rage and foolishness, following of an out-of-line and lowly advisor, he had his wife killed! This would show the world! Now they would see who was in charge!

The response? The people were outraged by this terrible act of brazenness! So strongly did they oppose this impulsive and savage act that Midrash Tehillim (22:26) states that the entire world which he had controlled until then, rebelled against him, gaining their independence and cutting off all ties with him! They would not tolerate such a harsh and insensitive dictator.

What happened after that is that eventually the act was forgiven and then forgotten and when Achashveyrosh appointed Eshter as his new queen, half of his kingdom returned. When Mordechai was made second-in-command the entire kingdom willingly came back under his hand.

The Simple Answer

Why was the killing of Vashti omitted from the text? Very simply, so as not to bring back memories of a brazen, inappropriate act which caused the king so much embarrassment and trouble.

This is the simplest understanding of the entire manner. However, as we have seen time and again, there are many layers of depth that must be uncovered behind the events contained in the Megillah. Thus, I felt that there must be an even deeper and relevant message waiting to be uncovered from all of this. What is that?

Probing Deeper

When one reads the entire story, it is clear to see how every piece fits in the puzzle. Every dot connects and every “natural occurrence” plays a vital role in the Jewish people’s collective salvation. Achashveyrosh made a party, he killed his wife, Esther entered the palace, Haman rose to power and wanted to kill us, Esther and Mordechai devised a plan to intercede on the Jew’s behalf, Haman ended up hanging on the gallows which he made for Mordechai and the Jews won the war!

The danger is that one can read the story and think that many lucky natural coincidences made everything come together in the benefit of the Jews. However, our job is to contemplate each event and see Hashem’s phenomenal and precise guiding Hand orchestrating every single event, down to the finest detail! We must savor how each “natural occurrence” was brought about by Divine providence and kindness, for our sake.

Hashem’s Hand

This I believe is the complete explanation as to why the Megillah perplexingly omits such a vital fact of the story. The very first “natural happening” that began the salvation of the Jews is the killing of Vashti. This allowed for Esther  to replace her and gave her the power to help us in our time of need. Thus, the Megillah purposely omits this opening link in the chain of events, in order to stress to us, that indeed we should not think that Achshveyrosh coincidentally killed his wife, rather we should acknowledge that Hashem killed her and it was precisely for our benefit! It is important to establish starting from the beginning of the amazing storyline that Hashem is the only One behind all of the events transpiring here! When we see this missing fact, we question why it is left out of the story. The answer is that Megillas Esther is not a story! It is a recounting of Hashem’s exact planning  and caring for us!

Hence, the absence of Vashti’s execution from the actual text, begs for us to rethink our approach to life. As faithful Jews we do not look at events as happenstance, rather they are brought by Hashem and at His whim!

Funny Plot

In fact, Chazal (Esther Rabbah 1:1) describe how ludicrous Achashveyrosh’s actions were. “He killed his wife (Vashti) upon the urging of his advisor (Haman) and he killed his advisor (Haman) upon the urging of his wife (Esther)!” How odd indeed!

The Alter of Kelm explains that this demonstration of “Vinahapoch, reversal”, shows that humans were not dictating the show, rather it was Hashem who was calling the shots. Hashem showed just how much He was controlling everything in an almost comical manifestation of contradictory actions according to what He wanted done. It is clear that He was running the show.

This is the entire greatness of our Nation. We strive to see and appreciate how Hashem is acting for our benefit every day.

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Hashkafah, Machshuvah Hashgachas Hashem, Vashti