The Flame of Femininity

Vashti was the first recorded feminist. Achashveirosh makes a party. Well, what do you know, she makes her own! Midrash Rabbah (Esther 3:9) makes it very clear: Just as Achashveirosh opened six treasuries, so did Vashti… Just as he went to all kinds of expense, so did she… Just as he feasted after the style of Eretz Yisrael, so did she… Just as he wore the high-priestly garments, so did she…

Anything a man can do, a woman can do. And she can do it better! What follows is gender war. He commands her to come, she insults him terribly, and he burns with rage. Haman steps in. He ends Vashti’s feminist movement and enacts oppressive laws against women.

Haman represents evil. Evil is anti-feminine because the feminine represents the Shechinah, Hashem’s presence which dwells on earth.

The Megillah continues with the story of another woman, Esther. In contrast to Haman, Mordechai doesn’t try to keep her small; he raises her to maturity. But she still looks up to Mordechai as her guide. Whatever direction he offers, she follows.