The Biblical Book of Esther tells of Queen Vashti, wife of King Xerxes of Persia. At the height of a grand banquet filled with drunken nobles and courtiers, the king ordered Vashti to appear before ...

This Purim, let’s take a moment to appreciate one of the great reputational rehabilitations in my Jewish lifetime: Queen Vashti. We know how the story goes: King Ahashuerus, partying with his friends ...

In the Purim story as told in the Book of Esther, Vashti was ordered to show off her beauty to the king and his drunken pals (meaning, apparently, that she would be naked). She refused. The king’s ...

(RNS) — It’s sad to see a carefully preserved Jewish historical tradition sacrificed on the altar of a contemporary ism. On Purim, observant Jewish men, to varying degrees, imbibe strong drink. And ...

Call it the “Esther/Vashti Complex” — the perennial Purim impulse to define Esther and Vashti against each other as foils, opposites, rivals, or enemies. They were none of these. This false dichotomy ...

Consider the book of Esther in the Bible’s Old Testament where the story of two women is expounded in the early chapters: Queen Vashti and Esther. From Met Gala power suits to dreamy Smurfs premiere ...

Consider the book of Esther in the Bible’s Old Testament where the story of two women is expounded in the early chapters: Queen Vashti and Esther. Vashti was a queen married to King Xerxes, and as a ...