Re-Crown Queen Vashti
Esther 1:1-2:1
Jewish feminist scholar, Tamar Kadari, provides a glimpse of the Midrashic handling of Vashti. On the one hand, the Erez Israel Rabbis portray Vashti in a positive light but “they find a flaw in her, for which she is punished by God and is deposed. They assert that Ahasuerus wanted to rebuild the Temple, but Vashti stayed his hand.“ On the other hand, Kadari states, “the Babylonian Rabbis tend to cast Vashti in an extremely negative light, as wicked, a Jew-hater and wanton.”[1] Despite the rabbinical traditions, Vashti has become a symbol of integrity and strength for modern women of faith, Jewish and Christian.
Women can relate to Vashti because she, like many women who say ‘no’, to men in power, find themselves ousted from their positions.
Renita Weems writes: “The story of Vashti’s reign stands as a valuable lesson about the enormous pressures, demands, and responsibilities upon women who live public lives. It is a memorial to the price often extracted of public women when they step outside of their prescribed roles.”[2]
I interpret ‘public lives’ broadly in our times because the situation affects the livelihoods of women from all strata of society. The “Me Too” movement has finally brought the prevalence of this to public attention. Vashti’s story exposes that, while powerful, patriarchy is also filled with insecurity. Jasmine O. Fernando writes, “It is telling that the spokesman views Vashti’s behavior as an insult both to the king and to all other men." Because they are afraid that their own wives may follow Vashti’s defiant example. Fernando continues, “We note with resigned fascination that the decision-making process of the leadership is governed by their insecurity rather than their expertise.” [3]
Although she is banished Vashti’s stands as an example for women to be strong and true. Fernando writes,
We are Vashti when we don’t comply with a superior’s request because it goes against our conscience, knowing that this effectively puts us out of the running for our next promotion, or perhaps even puts our job in jeopardy. We are Vashti when we break ranks from our tightly knit groups — family, friends, church, or community — and refuse to speak and act as they do when we feel it isn’t right, causing our group to feel uncomfortable and angry or even feel that they’ve lost face.
A current example is in the Roman Catholic Church’s refusal to ordain women. Insecurity rather than spiritual or theological discernment is the only logical reason for their perennial objection. In saying ‘no’ to the king’s request, Vashti preserved not only her honour but that of the king. She demonstrated dignity, modesty and wisdom in contrast to the king’s foolish demand. Could it be the challenge to clericalism and its lack of transparency that the hierarchy fears? Is the patriarchal hierarchy afraid of losing face?
I say we re-crown Queen Vashti. She serves as an inspiration to women to say ‘no’ to patriarchal statutes that prevent them from serving God and God’s people as priests and activists for social justice. Vashti serves as a model to all women who speak truth to power in the church and in the world.
[1] Kadari, Tamar. "Vashti: Midrash and Aggadah." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 20 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on April 26, 2020) https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/vashti-midrash-and-aggadah
[2] Meehan, Bridget Mary . Praying with Women of the Bible . Kindle Edition.
[3] Fernando, Jasmine Obeyesekere (2019). “Queen Vashti: Choosing to be Honorable at Personal Cost”. Intervarsity: Women in the Acacemic Professions. Accessed 17 April 2020 from https://thewell.intervarsity.org/spiritual-formation/queen-vashti-choosing-be-honorable-personal-cost
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