By Valerie Brown
Esther is regarded as one of the greatest heroines in the Jewish canon. The Megillah tells the story of how, through her beauty and bravery, she is able to save her people from Haman’s evil plan to destroy them. But through a feminist lens, the story is a bit more complicated.
Read Moreby Sarah Barasch-Hagans
After Esther 4:16
“Go, assemble all the Jews who live in Shushan, and fast in my behalf; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will observe the same fast. Then I shall go to the king, even though it is against the law; and if I am to perish, I shall perish!”
Read Moreby Sheila Katz
Now is the time to reclaim the history of these two women, recognize them as the community organizers and activists they were, and give them the credit they deserve. We must see Queen Esther’s decisions as intentional and courageous and embrace the bravery of Queen Vashti’s disobedience.
Read Moreby Rabbi Richard Hirsh
What an odd moment in American cultural history surrounds this coming season of Purim. The opening chapters of the Megillah are replete with narratives that resonate in contemporary terms. A husband orders his wife to appear wearing her royal diadem — and, in the midrashic imagination, “nothing else” — for the amusement of his banquet guests, none of whom speak to the inappropriate and degrading demand.
Read Moreby Stephanie Black
I can feel my cheeks flush again. I can remember it like it is still happening. I can still feel the weight of hundreds of women’s eyes on me, wide and shocked, waiting for me to respond. Weeks later, though I am alone, their eyes have not left me.
Read Moreby Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum
Will we as women, not to mention as role models for girls, be able to extricate ourselves from the cultural framework into which we’ve been born, built for competition among women rather than mutual support?
Read Moreby Naomi Ragins Senser, Executive Board Member of SHALVA, the Jewish Domestic Abuse Counseling Center in Chicago
The Talmud teaches that anyone who has the ability to correct a situation and is derelict in doing so bears the responsibility for whatever results. If abuse is not acknowledged, it is tolerated. Standing by while a sin is being committed is a violation of Jewish law. Abuse is happening in our neighborhoods. Women and their children are being harmed. We cannot stand by.
Read Moreby Sarah Tuttle-Singer, New Media Editor at The Times of Israel
So this Purim I’m teaching my daughter another lesson. I’m teaching her that Vashti was a hero, too.
Read Moreby Anita Silvert, www.anita.silvert.wordpress.com
About twenty years ago, my 7 or 8 year old daughter and I were discussing Purim costumes. She said, "Mom, what's the difference between Vashti and Esther's costume? They were both queens." I was stumped.
Read Moreby Rabbi Andrea Steinberger, Hillel at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Vashti's bravery differs from Esther's, but she was brave, too. She stood her ground. It’s time for Jewish tradition to venerate Vashti for her bravery.
Read MoreHow the couples in the Book of Esther communicate—or not—speaks volumes about the quality of their relationship.
Read MoreInstead of using Vashti and Esther as foils for each other, let us amplify their voices as unique and independent responses to their challenging circumstances.
Read MorePurim is one day we’re supposed to be moderate in our moderation, even abandon ourselves to excess. But will moderation soon be a relic from a more innocent time?
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