Esther Rabbah Reader

“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh; that Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Esther 1:1).Rav began: “Your life will be suspended before you, and you will fear night and day, and you will not be assured of your life” (Deuteronomy 28:66). The Rabbis and Rabbi Berekhya; the Rabbis said: “Your life will be suspended before you,” that is one who purchases wheat for a year.

“And you will fear night and day,” that is one who purchases wheat for himself from the retailer. “And you will not be assured of your life,” that is one who purchases for himself from the baker. Rabbi Berekhya said: “Your life will be suspended before you,” that is one who purchases wheat for himself for three years. “And you will fear night and day,” that is one who purchases wheat for himself for one year.

“And you will not be assured of your life,” that is one who purchases wheat for himself from the retailer. The Rabbis objected to Rabbi Berekhya: What of the one who purchases from the baker? He said to them: The Torah did not speak of the dead. Alternatively, “your life will be suspended before you,” that is one who is placed in the prisons of Caesarea.

“And you will fear night and day,” that is one who is taken to judgment. “And you will not be assured of your life,” that is one who is taken out to be hanged. Rav interpreted the verse as relating to Haman:1Specifically, relating to the effect of Haman’s decree on Israel. “Your life will be suspended before you,” – on the day following the removal of the ring.2Aḥashverosh removed his ring and gave it to Haman when he authorized him to do as he saw fit to the Jews (Esther 3:10-11).

“And you will fear night and day” – when the letters were dispatched.3Haman sent written orders to all the provinces for the people to prepare themselves to kill the Jews (Esther 3:13-15). “And you will not be assured of your life” – “to be ready for that day” (Esther 3:14).

“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh; that [hu] Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Esther 1:1). Hu [appears] five [times] for evil, and five for good. Five for evil: “He [hu] was a mighty hunter”4Nimrod. (Genesis 10:9); “he is [hu] Esau, father of Edom” (Genesis 36:43); “this is [hu] Datan and Aviram” (Numbers 26:9); “he is [hu] King Aḥaz” (II Chronicles 28:22); “that [hu] Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1).

Five for good: “Abram, he is [hu] Abraham” (I Chronicles 1:27); “that [hu] Aaron and Moses…that [hu] Moses and Aaron” (Exodus 6:26–27); “David was [hu] the youngest” (I Samuel 17:14); “he [hu], Yeḥizhiyahu” (II Chronicles 32:30); “he [hu], Ezra, came up from Babylon” (Ezra 7:6). Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of the Rabbis from there: We have one that is better than all of them: “He is [hu] the Lord our God; His judgments are throughout the land” (Psalms 105:7), whose attribute of mercy is forever.

“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh…” Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis, Rabbi Levi said: Aḥashverosh is Artaḥshasta. The Rabbis say: [He was called] Aḥashverosh, since anyone who remembers him, his head hurts [ḥoshesh et rosho]. Why did Scripture call him Artaḥshasta? It is because he would anger [martiaḥ] and exhaust [vetash] [others].

Aḥashverosh – Rabbi Yitzḥak and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yitzḥak said: “Aḥashverosh” – as all the troubles came during his days, as it is stated: “there was great mourning among the Jews” (Esther 4:3). “That is Aḥashverosh” – as all the good came during his days, as it is stated: “Joy and gladness for the Jews, a banquet and a holiday” (Esther 8:17). The Rabbis say: “Aḥashverosh” – before Esther came before him; “that is Aḥashverosh” – after Esther came before him, he would no longer copulate with menstruants.

“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh; that [hu] Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.” “Who reigned” – but had not yet reigned.5This is obscure. Perhaps it means that he had not been an heir to the throne. “From India [Hodu] to Kush” – but isn’t it a short distance from Hodu to Kush?6It is unclear what places the Rabbis identified as Hodu and Kush.

The Babylonian Talmud (Megila 11a) records two opinions: one that they are at opposite ends of the earth (consistent with their identification with India and Ethiopia) and the other that they were adjacent to one another, as is implied here. Rather, just as he reigned from Hodu to Kush, so he reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces. On a similar note: “For he [Solomon] ruled over the entire region beyond the river, from Tifsaḥ to Gaza” (I Kings 5:4), but isn’t it a short distance from Tifsaḥ to Gaza?

Rather, just as he reigned from Tifsaḥ to Gaza, so he reigned from one end of the world to the other end. Similarly, “From your palace to Jerusalem, kings bring gifts to You”7The literal reading of the verse is “From Your Temple above Jerusalem, to You will kings bring gifts.” The midrash is reading the verse to mean that the kings will bring gifts from the king’s palace to the Temple in Jerusalem. (Psalms 68:30) – is it not but a short distance from your palace [i.e. the king’s palace] to [the Temple in] Jerusalem?

Rather, just as it is commonplace that the sacrificial offerings [go] from the palace to [the Temple in] Jerusalem, so too, processions with gifts are destined to be commonplace for the messianic king. That is what is written: “All kings will prostrate themselves before him” (Psalms 72:11). Rabbi Kohen, brother of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, said: Just as the Divine Presence is found between the Temple and Jerusalem, so will the Divine Presence fill the world from one end to the other end. That is what is written: “May the whole earth be filled with His glory, amen and amen” (Psalms 72:19).

“…who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.” Rabbi Eliezer in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: Are there not two hundred and fifty-two provinces in the world? David ruled over them all; that is what is written: “David’s renown went out to all the lands” (I Chronicles 14:17). Solomon ruled over them all; that is what is written: “Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms...” (I Kings 5:1).

Aḥav ruled over them all; that is what is written: “As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom [to where my lord did not send to seek you]” (I Kings 18:10). Does a person take an oath about a place that he does not rule? Additionally, from here: “He counted the young princes of the dominions, and they were two hundred and thirty-two…” (I Kings 20:15). Where were the rest?8Earlier it was said that there were two hundred and fifty-two provinces, and here there are representatives of only two hundred and thirty-two dominions.

Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis: Rabbi Levi said: They ceased to exist in the famine during the days of Eliyahu. The Rabbis said that Ben Haddad came and took them. That is what is written: “Ben Haddad king of Aram gathered his entire army, and thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots; he went and besieged Samaria, and waged war against it” (I Kings 20:1). We need twenty, and you say thirty-two?

Rather, there were provinces that were intractable, and he would take two [young princes] from them as hostages in his charge.Rabbi Berekhya and the Rabbis [related to the verse: “He pierced my kidneys with the contents of his quiver [benei ashpato]” (Lamentations 3:13)]. Rabbi Berekhya said: These were the captives [benei ukaifi] and the hostages [benei emuryai].9These were the “contents of his quiver,” with which God pierced Israel’s kidneys.

The Rabbis said: Benei ukaifi – as they were subjugated with manacles [arkof], and benei emuryai – as they were substitutes [temurot] for their fathers. And so it says: “And the hostages [benei hataaruvot]” (II Kings 14:14), they were guarantees [me’uravot] for their fathers.Nebuchadnezzar ruled over them all; that is what is written: “Everywhere the sons of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens dwell, [He has given into your hand and set your rule over them all]” (Daniel 2:38).

Cyrus ruled over them all; that is what is written: “The Lord…has given me all the kingdoms of the earth” (Ezra 1:2). Darius ruled over them all; that is what is written: “Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, [the nations, and the [speakers of different] languages that reside in the entire earth]” (Daniel 6:26). Aḥashverosh ruled over half of them. Why over half of them?

Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Aḥa and the Rabbis, Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: You divided my kingdom, as you said: “He is the God, who is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:3); by your life, I am going to divide your kingdom. The Rabbis say: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: You split My house, as you said: “Its height shall be sixty cubits10The height of the Sanctuary in Solomon’s Temple was one hundred and twenty cubits. and its width sixty cubits” (Ezra 6:3); by your life, I am going to split your kingdom.

Let it say one hundred and twenty-six, for what reason does the verse state “one hundred and twenty-seven provinces”? Rather, this is what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You added one ascent [aliya]11Aliya means both second floor and ascent. to My house from your own, as you said: “Any among you from His entire people, may his God be with him, and he may ascend” (Ezra 1:3); I, too, will provide you with an additional ascent from my own, so he added one province to the tally; that is what is written: “One hundred and twenty-seven provinces.”

Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: It is written: “The hair of His head like pure wool” (Daniel 7:9); that He has no debt to any creature. Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Ayevu: It is written: “I have trodden a winepress alone and from the peoples there was no man with Me...” (Isaiah 63:3). Does the Holy One blessed be He need the help of the nations, that He said: “And from the peoples there was no man with Me?”

Rather, this is what the Holy One blessed be He said: When I examine the ledgers of the nations of the world and no merit will be found for them before Me, at that moment, “I trod on them in My wrath and I trampled them in My fury” (Isaiah 63:3). Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥilkiyya said in the name of Rabbi Simon: It is written: “It shall be on that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations [that come against Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 12:9).

Will seek? Is there anyone preventing Him? Rather, this is what the Holy One blessed be He is saying: When I examine the ledgers of the nations of the world and no merit will be found for them before Me, at that moment, I will seek to destroy all the nations. Rabbi Simon in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: It is written: “Vengeance and recompense are Mine at the time that their foot will falter” (Deuteronomy 32:35).

Is it heroism for a person to say that when the enemies of Israel12“Enemies of Israel” refers to Israel. Rabbinic custom was to substitute “enemies of Israel” for Israel when referring to Israel’s evil deeds or the consequences thereof. falter, I will punish them? Rather, this is what the Holy One blessed be He said: When they cease fulfilling the mitzvot that are customary13Hebrew regilot, a play on regel, foot, in the verse. among them, and no merit will be found for them before Me, at that moment, “vengeance and recompense are Mine.”

Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Levi, and Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Levi, and Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Levi, the three of them said one verse: “Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find [timtza] Your foes” (Psalms 21:9). Your hand will be present [metzuya] to repay Your enemies, You will present [tamtze] the attribute of justice to them, You will present [tamtze] them with how few are the good deeds they performed; therefore, it says: “Your hand will find all Your enemies.”

Another matter: “One hundred and twenty-seven provinces” – Rabbi Yuda and Rabbi Neḥemya: Rabbi Yuda said: He conquered seven that were as difficult as twenty; he conquered twenty that were as difficult as one hundred. Rabbi Neḥemya said: He took troops from seven and conquered twenty; he took troops from twenty and conquered one hundred. How did he conquer them? Rabbi Yuda and Rabbi Neḥemya: Rabbi Yuda said: Like a semi-circle, you conquer the outer areas and the inner areas become conquered by themselves.

Rabbi Pinḥas said: The world is circular. Rabbi Avun said: It is like the surface of a two-kav vessel.14A kav is measure of volume. A two-kav vessel contains slightly less than three liters. Rabbi Neḥemya said: It is like an aqueduct; you conquer the outsides and the insides are conquered by themselves.

Rabbi Akiva was sitting and lecturing and his students [began] dozing. He sought to rouse them; he said: Why did Esther merit to rule over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces? Rather, so said the Holy One blessed be He: Let Esther, the daughter of Sarah, who lived one hundred and twenty-seven years, come and rule over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces. Rabbi Levi said: Everywhere that it says field, it is a town [ir]; a town, a city [medina]; a city, a province.

From where is a field a town? As it is stated: “Go to Anatot, to your fields” (I Kings 2:26); from where is a town [ir], a city? As it is stated: “Pass through the midst of the town [ir], through the midst of Jerusalem” (Ezekiel 9:4). A city [medina], a province, as it is stated: “One hundred and twenty-seven provinces [medina].”

“In those days, when King Aḥashverosh was sitting on his royal throne that was in the Shushan citadel” (Esther 1:2). This is one of the places15The reference to “places” is unclear. It perhaps refers to places in Scripture. Alternatively, it could mean non-specifically, “one of the times.” that the ministering angels were passing notes before the Holy One blessed be He, saying before Him: Master of the universe, the Temple is in ruins and this wicked man is sitting and making drinking parties.

He said to them: Set days against days; that is what is written: “In those days I saw in Judah some treading winepresses on Shabbat...” (Nehemiah 13:15). Rabbi Ḥelbo said: Alas, those were days of woe. Rabbi Bevai said: “Those [hahem] days” – ha (an expression of woe) for those days. That is what you say: “Wail, woe for the day” (Ezekiel 30:2). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Lamentations for those days. That is what you say: “A lamentation will be lamented” (Micha 2:4).

“When King [Aḥashverosh] was sitting [keshevet hamelekh].” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The nations of the world do not sit securely. They objected: Is it not written: “When King [Aḥashverosh] was sitting”? He said to them: Beshevet hamelekh [while the king was sitting] is not written here, rather, keshevet hamelekh [as if the king were sitting] – sitting that is not sitting. However, the sitting of Israel is sitting, as it is stated: “When Israel sat [beshevet] in Ḥeshbon and its environs” (Judges 11:26).

“On his royal throne” – Rabbi Kohen in the name of Rabbi Azarya: “On his royal throne [kisse malkhuto],” malkhuto is written [without the vav]. He sought to sit on Solomon’s throne but they did not allow him to do so. They said to him: Any king who is not ruler of the world may not sit on it. He arose and made a throne of his own, in his image.

That is what is written: “On his royal throne [kisse malkhuto],” malkhuto is written [without the vav].16The defective spelling symbolizes the incompleteness of his reign.What throne was it? “The king [Solomon] made a great throne of ivory” (I Kings 10:18; II Chronicles 9:17). Rabbi Aḥa said: But isn’t it written: “Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria” (II Kings 10:1). Rabbi Hoshaya said: Just as he had seventy sons in Samaria, so he had seventy sons in Yizre’el.

Each and every one had two palaces, one for the winter and one for the summer. That is what is written: “I will strike the winter house with the summer house” (Amos 3:15). Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon said: Four, as it is stated: “And the ivory houses will be demolished” (ibid.). The Rabbis said: Six, as it is stated: “And many houses will be destroyed – the utterance of the Lord” (ibid.).

And here it says: “A great throne of ivory”? (I Kings 10:18; II Chronicles 9:17).Rabbi Hoshaya the Great said: It was made according to the specifications of the chariot of the One who spoke and the world came into existence, the Holy One blessed be He. And so it says: “There were six stairs to the throne” (I Kings 10:19; II Chronicles 9:18) – six stairs corresponding to six heavens. But aren’t there seven?

Rabbi Avun said: That where the King resides is separate. Six [stairs] corresponding to six lands [i.e., types of lands]: Land, Ground, Earth, Valley, Desert, Desolation, and World,17World is the seventh ‘land,’ and is the place from which God judges the others. and it is written: “He will judge the world in righteousness, He will administer fair judgment to the nations” (Psalms 9:9). Six corresponding to the six orders of the Mishna: Zera’im – Seeds; Moed – Appointed times; Nashim – Women; Nezikin – Damages; Kodashim – Consecrations; Teharot – Purities.Six, corresponding to the six days of Creation.Six corresponding to the six matriarchs: Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, Bilha, Zilpa.Rav Huna said: Six corresponding to the six mitzvot about which the king is cautioned and commanded, as it is written: “He shall not amass wives for himself” (Deuteronomy 17:17); “he shall not amass horses for himself” (Deuteronomy 17:16); “and silver and gold, he shall not amass greatly” (Deuteronomy 17:17); “You shall not distort judgment, you shall not give preference, and you shall not take a bribe” (Deuteronomy 16:19).When he [Solomon] ascended the first step, the herald would proclaim and say to him: “He shall not amass wives for himself.”

On the second, he would proclaim: “He shall not amass horses for himself.” On the third, he would proclaim: “And silver and gold, he shall not amass.” On the fourth, “you shall not distort judgment.” On the fifth, “you shall not give preference.”

On the sixth, “you shall not take a bribe.” And so it says [about the throne which was on the sixth step]: “There were arm rests on this side and that side of the place of the seat” (I Kings 10:19). When he came to sit, he [the herald] would say to him: Know before whom you sit, before the He who spoke and the world came into existence.They said: Once Solomon died, Shishak, king of Egypt, came and took it [the throne] from them.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Shishak is Pharaoh, and why is he called by the name Shishak? Because he came against Israel with enthusiasm [bishkikut] and said: I am taking it in payment for my daughter’s marriage contract. He waged war with Zeraḥ the Kushite and he took it from him. Asa waged war with Zeraḥ the Kushite who fell by his hand and he took it from him.

It was taught: Asa and all the kings of Judah sat upon it. When Nebuchadnezzar came up and destroyed Jerusalem, he exiled it to Babylon, and from Babylon to Media, from Media to Greece, and from Greece to Edom [Rome]. Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei said: I saw its fragments in Rome. Nebuchadnezzar sat upon it, Cyrus sat upon it, Aḥashverosh sought to sit upon it but they did not allow him to do so.

They said to him: Any king who has not become ruler of the world may not sit on it. He arose and made one of his own like it; that is what is written: “On his royal throne [kisse malkhuto],” malkhuto is written [without the vav].” “And there was a round top to the throne, at its back” (I Kings 10:19) – Rabbi Aḥa said: Like this round headrest of an armchair. “There were arm rests on this side and that side of the place of the seat” (ibid.).

He ascends the first step, and the lion extends its foreleg to him. On the second, the eagle extends its leg to him. “Of the place of the seat,” this is how they greeted him, and at the place of the seat, there was a golden scepter behind it, and a dove was set in its top with a golden crown in its mouth, so that the king would be sitting on the seat with a golden crown [suspended just above him], touching but not touching.

Rabbi Ayevu said: It is written: “For dominion belongs to the Lord; He rules over nations” (Psalms 22:29), yet you say, “when King Aḥashverosh was sitting on his royal throne”?18Isn’t it actually God’s royal throne? Rather, in the past, there was royal sovereignty in Israel. When they sinned, sovereignty was taken from them and given to the nations of the world; that is what is written: “I will sell the land into the hands of the wicked” (Ezekiel 30:12). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Into the hands of evil stewards; tomorrow, when Israel repents, the Holy One blessed be He will take it from the idolaters and returns it to Israel. When? “Saviors will ascend Mount Zion” (Ovadya 1:21).

“That was in the Shushan citadel” – Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Ḥananel: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: Cyrus referred to the name of His city and the name of His province,19The name of God’s city and God’s province.as he said: “In Jerusalem, which is in Judah” (Ezra 1:2); I, too, will refer to the name of your city and the name of your province, as it is stated: “That was in the Shushan citadel which is in the province of Elam” (Daniel 8:2).

“In the third year of his reign, he made a banquet for all his princes and his servants, the elite of Persia and Media, the nobles and governors of the provinces before him” (Esther 1:3).Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya: Rabbi Yehuda said: In the third year of the crafting of the throne. Once he completed the crafting of the throne, “he made a banquet for all his princes and his servants.” Rabbi Neḥemya said: In the third year of the cancellation of the construction of the Temple; once three years since the cancellation of the construction of the Temple were completed, “he made a banquet for all his princes and his servants.”

Rabbi Shmuel bar Eimi said: There were four good attributes in that man: He went three years without a crown and without a throne; he waited four years until he found a wife appropriate for him; and he would not do anything without consulting. Rabbi Pinḥas said: And anyone who did him a favor, he would record it; that is what is written: “It was found written that Mordekhai had told...” (Esther 6:2).

“He made a banquet for all his princes and his servants.” Antoninus made a feast for Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who said to him: Perhaps you have not fulfilled your obligation to the lamplighters? He said to him: Of what significance are they to me? He said to him: Perhaps they will put murky oil in the lamps and ruin the feast. He said to him: From where do you know this? He said to him: From Aḥashverosh, about whom it is written: “He made a banquet for all his princes and his servants.”

“The elite of Persia and Media:” It is taught in the name of Rabbi Natan about these ten measures: There are ten portions of licentiousness in the world, nine in Alexandria and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of wealth in the world, nine in Rome and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of poverty in the world, nine in Lydia20‘Lydia’ refers to the district in Asia Minor.

Alternatively, this could be Lod, the town in Judea. and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of sorcery in the world, nine in Egypt and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of foolishness in the world, nine among the Ishmaelites and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of vigor in the world, nine among the Ishmaelites and one in the rest of the world.

There are ten portions of lice in the world, nine among the Persians and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of attractiveness in the world, nine in Media and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of ugliness in the world, nine in the East and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of power in the world, nine among the Chaldeans and one in the rest of the world.

There are ten portions of courage in the world, nine in Judah and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of beauty in the world, nine in Jerusalem and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of wisdom in the world, nine in the Land of Israel and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of Torah in the world, nine in the Land of Israel and one in the rest of the world.

There are ten portions of hypocrisy in the world, nine in Jerusalem and one in the rest of the world; that is what is written: “…for from the prophets of Jerusalem hypocrisy has gone out to all the land” (Jeremiah 23:15).

Another matter: “The elite of Persia and Media” – sometimes Media precedes Persia and sometimes Persia precedes Media. When the throne is in Media, Persia is secondary to it; when the throne is in Persia, Media is secondary to it. [Regarding] Persia, why do they call it Persia [Paras]? Because it received hegemony in pieces [perusot] [non-consecutively], once in the days of Terada, once in the days of Adarkian, and once in the future; that is what is written: “This shall be peace: When Assyria will come into our land and when it will tread in our palaces...”21The midrash understands Assyria in the verse to refer to Persia. (Micah 5:4). [Regarding] Media, why do they call it Media [Madai]?

Because they acknowledge [modaya] the Holy One blessed be He. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: The kings of Media were upright, and the Holy One blessed be He has nothing against them other than the idolatry that was bequeathed to them by their ancestors.

The nobles – Rabbi Elazar said: The nobles are the king’s two legions, as the king is not called Augustus (i.e. emperor) until they call him that first, and these are they. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The Decumanians and the Augustans [legions].22These are clearly Latin terms and presumably based on Roman units that were close to the emperor. Some have suggested that these are the Praetorian Guards, transplanted here to a Babylonian/Persian context.

It was they who counseled Nebuchadnezzar and he went up and destroyed the Temple. The Holy One blessed be He destroyed them utterly and established others in their stead, and these were they. Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: They were the capable and the literate; Rav Huna said: Those possessing reason and their deputies; Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Those possessing reason were his counselors; that is what you say: “Then Daniel responded with counsel and discretion” (Daniel 2:14).

“And governors of the provinces before him.” Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: Rabbi Elazar said: Like the court in Geder, where the king sits in judgment above, and all the people sit before him on the ground. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Like the great basilica filled with people, with the king sitting on his couch and all the people prostrated before him; that is why it says: “And governors of the provinces before him.”

“In the morning you will say: Would that it were evening, and in the evening you will say: Would that it were morning – from your heart’s fear that you experience and your eyes’ sight that you see” (Deuteronomy 28:67).“In the morning you will say: Would that it were evening” – in the morning of Babylonia you will say: ‘Would that it were its evening.’ In the morning of Media, you will say: ‘Would that it were its evening.’

In the morning of Greece, you will say: ‘Would that it were its evening.’ In the morning of Edom, you will say: ‘Would that it were its evening.’Alternatively, “in the morning you will say: Would that it were evening,” in the morning of Babylonia you will say: Would that it were the evening of Media. In the morning of Media, you will say: Would that it were the evening of Greece. In the morning of Greece, you will say: Would that it were the evening of Edom. Why? “From your heart’s fear that you experience and your eyes’ sight that you see” (Deuteronomy 28:67).

The fool vents all his spirit, and the wise will soothe it, restraining it” (Proverbs 29:11). “The fool vents all his spirit” – this is Aḥashverosh; “and the wise will soothe it, keeping it back” – this is the Holy One, blessed be He, who soothes Aḥashverosh. That is what you said: “Who stills the raging seas, the raging waves, and the tumult of the peoples” (Psalms 65:8).“With his display of the wealth of his glorious kingdom, and the honor of his splendid majesty for many days, one hundred and eighty days” (Esther 1:4).

“Of the wealth of his glorious kingdom” – the school of Rabbi Yannai and Ḥizkiyya both said that he [Aḥashverosh] would open [his treasury] and display six treasures each day.1The verse lists six words that relate to Aḥashverosh’s wealth: Osher, kevod, malkhuto, yekar, tiferet, gedulato. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: He showed them various types of expenditures. Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon said: He showed them the feast of the Land of Israel.

Rabbi Levi said: He showed them the vestments of the High Priest. Here it is stated: “His splendid [tiferet] majesty” and there it is stated: “You shall make holy vestments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for splendor [tiferet]” (Exodus 28:2). Just as tiferet stated there refers to the vestments of the High Priest, so does tiferet stated here refer to the vestments of the High Priest.Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Ḥelbo: The raven flaunts both what is its own and what is not its own.

From where did that wicked one become wealthy? Rabbi Tanḥuma said: Nebuchadnezzar, may he be crushed and obliterated, gathered all the riches of the world, and he was possessive of his riches. When he was dying, he said: Shall I leave all these riches to Evil [Merodakh, his son]? He immediately decreed that great bronze ships be built; he filled them with riches, dug and buried them adjacent to the Euphrates, and diverted the Euphrates over them.

On the day that Cyrus arose and decreed that the Temple will be built, the Holy One blessed be He exposed them; that is what is written: “So said the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I held to subdue nations before him…and gates will not be shut” (Isaiah 45:1), and it is written thereafter: “I will give you treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places…” (Isaiah 45:3).

“Many days” – days of suffering, and similarly: “It was during those many days…the children of Israel sighed due to the work, and they cried out, and their plea rose to God from the work” (Exodus 2:23). Were they, in fact, many days? Rather, because they were days of suffering, Scripture related to them as though they were many days. Similarly: “Many days passed, and the word of the Lord was with Elijah in the third year...”2The third year of a drought decreed by Elijah. (I Kings 18:1).

Were they, in fact, many days? Rather, because they were days of suffering, Scripture calls them many days. How many were they? Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Ḥelbo in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: One month in the first year, one month in the last year, and twelve months in the middle, for a total of fourteen months.

And similarly: “[And a woman, if her bloody discharge shall flow] many days” (Leviticus 15:25). Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: Days – two, many – three. Are they, in fact, many? Rather, because they are days of suffering, Scripture calls them many days.

“One hundred and eighty days” – the last day was like the first day. There was an incident involving a certain man whose name was Barbohin. Our Sages went to him regarding matters of fundraising for the Sages. They heard his son saying to him: ‘What are we eating today?’

He said to him: ‘Endives.’ ‘From those sold at one per maneh3A small silver coin. or from those sold at two per maneh?’ He said to him: ‘From those sold at two per maneh, as those are withered and inexpensive.’ They said: ‘What are we doing going to this [person]? Let us go and do our business in the city and afterward we will come to him.’

They went and did their business and came to him. They said: ‘Give us a donation for charity.’ He said to them: ‘Go to the one who is in the house and she will give you a modius4A Roman measure of volume, around nine liters. of dinars.’ They went to the wife and said to her: ‘Your husband said that you should give us a modius of dinars.’

She said to them: ‘What did he say to you, heaping or level?’ They said to her: ‘He did not specify.’ She said: ‘I will give you heaping, and if my husband asks why, I will say that I gave it from the account of my marriage settlement.’They came to him and said to him: ‘May your Creator fill all you lack.’ He said to them: ‘What did she give you, level or heaping?’

They said to him: ‘We said to her that you did not specify, and she said: I will give you heaping, and if my husband says why, [tell him] I gave the extra from my marriage settlement.’ He said to them: ‘Indeed, that is what I intended to give to you. Why didn’t you come to me before?’They said to him: ‘We heard your servant, who said to you: What are we eating today? You said to him: Endives.

He said to you: From those sold at one per maneh or from those sold at two per maneh? You said to him: From those sold at two per maneh, as those are withered and inexpensive. We said: A person who has all this money, would he eat endives sold at two per maneh?’ He said: ‘For myself, I am permitted [to be frugal]; however, regarding the commandments of my Creator I am unable and I am not permitted.’Bar Lofyani was marrying his daughter [and the procession was] from Tzippori to Akko.

He established stands dispensing wine from Tzippori to Akko and with golden lamps on either side. They said: They did not move from there until he fed them lentils from the threshing floor and gave them wine from the winepress to drink. Rabbi Avun said: And only in charred pots.5They had already finished all the other food and wine, and all he had left to use were charred pots to serve the last of the food. However, here [at Aḥashverosh’s banquet], the last day was like the first day.

Rabbi Ḥiyya had a gentile friend in Ashna, who prepared a feast for him, during which he served him everything that had been created in the six days of Creation. He said to him: ‘What is your God going to prepare for you in the future that is more than this?’ He said to him: “Your feast has a limit; however, the feast that our God is going to prepare for the righteous in the future has no limit, as it is written: “No eye has seen, besides You, God, what will be done for one who awaits Him”’ (Isaiah 64:3).Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai had a friend who lived near his residence in Tyre.

One time he came to him and he heard his servant saying to him: ‘What are we eating today, [thin] lentil soup or [thick] lentil stew?’ He said to him: ‘Lentil soup.’ He began speaking to him [the servant], and he [the friend] sensed him [that Rabbi Shimon overheard the conversation]. He sent and told the members of his household: ‘Set for me all these fine vessels.’

He said [to Rabbi Shimon]: ‘Will the Rabbi agree to drink with us today?’ He [Rabbi Shimon] said: ‘Yes.’ When he entered the house, he saw the fine vessels and wondered; he said to him: ‘Does a person who has all these possessions eat lentil soup?’ He said to him: ‘Rabbi, you, your Torah accords you honor; however, we, were it not for our belongings, there would be no person who would honor us.’Bar Yoḥani sought to make a feast for the prominent people of Rome.

Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei was there; he said: Let us consult with the resident of our city [Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei]. He came to him and said to him: ‘If you wish to invite twenty, prepare for twenty-five. And if you wish to invite twenty-five, prepare for thirty.’ He went and prepared for twenty-four and invited twenty-five.

It was found that there was a portion missing from before one of them; one said it was a kindas [an edible thistle], and one said it was unripe dates.6Both of these are particularly inexpensive, low-quality foods. He brought gold and placed it before him [the guest who had not received his portion]. He took it and cast it in his face; he said to him: ‘Do I eat gold; do I need your gold?’ He [Bar Yoḥani] came before Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei and related the incident to him.

He said to him: ‘By your life, Rabbi, I shouldn’t have related it to you, as I did not do what you told me. For this reason I told you – to determine whether the Holy One blessed be He revealed to you [only] the intricacies of Torah, or perhaps the intricacies of feasts as well.’ He said to him: ‘Yes, even the intricacies of feasts He revealed to us.’ He said to him: ‘From where do you know this?’

He said to him; ‘From David, as it is written: “Avner came to David, to Hebron, and with him were twenty men. And David made for Avner, and for the men who were with him, a feast” (II Samuel 3:20). He made a feast is not written here, but rather: “for the men who were with him a feast.”’7He made the feast for all the men who might come with Avner. Here [at Aḥashverosh’s banquet], however, the last day was like the first day [and no one lacked for anything].“Upon the completion of those days, the king made for all the people who were present in the Shushan citadel, great and small, a banquet for seven days, in the courtyard of the garden of the king's palace” (Esther 1:5).

“Upon the completion of [uvimlot] those days” – it is written uvimlot [plene, with the extra vav],8It is not clear if this is merely a textual note or somehow related to the following dispute between Rav and Shmuel. “the king made for all the people who were present…a banquet for seven days.” Rav and Shmuel: One said: Seven, besides the one hundred and eighty. And Shmuel said: Seven, included in the one hundred and eighty.

Rabbi Simon said: This Shushan citadel was like a royal court,9Alternatively, the Hebrew word komititon, which comes from the Latin commesatio, meaning a drunken revel. stocked with food and drink. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: The great men of the generation were there and they fled.10The Jewish dignitaries fled because they heard that the king was displaying the Temple vessels and demeaning them.

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Atal said: Jews were there at that feast. That wicked one [Aḥashverosh] said to them: ‘Is your God capable of preparing more than this for you?’ They said to him: ‘“No eye has seen, besides You, God, what will be done for one who awaits Him” (Isaiah 64:3). Were He to make a feast like this for us, we would say to Him: We already ate this at the table of Aḥashverosh.’

“In the courtyard of the garden of the king's palace” – Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya: Rabbi Yehuda said: The garden was on the outside and the courtyard on the inside. Rabbi Neḥemya said: The garden was on the inside and the courtyard on the outside. Rabbi Pinḥas said: I sustain both of your statements; when he wanted, he made it a courtyard, and when he wanted, he made it a garden. How so?

He would unfurl the curtain and render it a courtyard, furl the curtain and render it a garden. Alternatively, “in the courtyard of the garden of the king’s palace” – that it cost a lot of money.11Apparently, this reading is based on the word bitan (palace) being read as a form of the verb natan, meaning give. Accordingly, the expression “the courtyard of the garden of the king’s palace [bitan] should be understood as “the courtyard of the garden for which the king gave [a lot].”

“Hangings of white [ḥur], green [karpas] and blue [tekhelet], fastened with cords of fine linen and purple wool on silver rods and marble pillars, couches of gold and silver, on a floor of alabaster, marble, mother-of-pearl, and onyx” (Esther 1:6). “Ḥur, karpas, and tekhelet” – Akelas translated it: White [ḥur] and green [karpas] linen. Rav Beivai said: sky-blue [tekhelet]. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Like garments that free men wear.

“Fastened with cords of fine linen and purple wool” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Come and see what the clothing of that wicked one was like; everyone hangs [curtains] with cords of [simple] wool and cords of [simple] linen, and this wicked one [hangs curtains] with cords of fine linen and purple wool. “On silver rods” – Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great and Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta: One said: They were furled like the curtain of a cabinet.

The other said: They were folded like the sails of a ship. “And pillars of marble,” – the quarry [from which the marble came] was not revealed to any creature other than to [those from] this wicked kingdom. They objected: But is it not written [regarding the materials assembled for the construction of the Temple]: “And all precious stones and marble stones in abundance” (I Chronicles 29:2)? Solomon would place a gem on one side and a gem on the other side with the marble stones between them.

It was easier for Aḥashverosh to craft pillars of silver and gold than to bring pillars of marble from Perak Onsin to Media. If you say that they were cut [into small pieces and reassembled], Rabbi Mattana said: I slept on the capital of one of them, and it was the width of my height with arms and legs extended.

“Couches of gold and silver” – Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya: Rabbi Yehuda said: For one [for whom] silver was fitting, silver, and for one [for whom] gold was fitting, gold. Rabbi Neĥemya said to him: If so, you would be instigating jealousy at the feast of that wicked one. Rather, they were gold, and their clasps were silver. Shmuel said: The outer side facing was gold and the inner side was silver.

“On a floor of alabaster, marble, mother-of-pearl, and onyx.” Rav Naḥman said: Come and see what the comfort of that wicked one was like. His house was paved with precious stones and pearls. “Alabaster [bahat], marble [shesh], mother-of-pearl [dar], and onyx [soḥaret]. Rabbi Nisa of Caesarea said: Bahat is like a pearl whose owner is particularly fond of it. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: [Dar] is like a pearl that sets its owner free; that is what you said: “Proclaim liberty [deror]” (Leviticus 25:10). “Mother-of-pearl [dar]” – Rav Huna said: There is a place where they call a pearl dura. “Onyx [soḥaret]” – Rav Beiva bar Avuna said: Ready merchandise; that is what you said: “Ready currency [over lasoḥer]” (Genesis 23:16).

“Drink was served in vessels of gold and vessels of diverse kinds, and abundant royal wine, in keeping with the king’s bounty” (Esther 1:7).“Drink was served in vessels of gold” – all the drinks served by that wicked one were only in gold vessels. They objected: But is it not written: “All the drinking vessels of King Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of the Lebanon were of pure gold”12The question lies in the fact that drinking out of gold vessels does not appear to have been unique to Aḥasheverosh’s court (Etz Yosef). (I Kings 10:21)?

Rabbi Pinḥas says in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Is it not disgusting to drink wine in a gold vessel? Rather, these were goblets of finely-crafted crystal, in which their images were mirrored, and they were as beautiful and valuable as gold vessels.

“And vessels of diverse kinds” – he brought his vessels and vessels of Elam, and his were more beautiful than those from Elam. He brought his vessels and the Temple vessels, and they were found to be finer and more beautiful than his. [This is comparable] to a woman who had a beautiful maidservant; whenever she would look at her maidservant, her face would change color. So too, whenever the Temple vessels would be shown with his vessels, his vessels would change and appear like lead.

Rabbi Taḥlifa bar bar Ḥana said: [“Vessels of diverse kinds”] – vessels whose form changes after a few days.13Meaning that were extremely fragile and frequently broke (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Naḥman: Vessels that destroy those who use them while they [those using the vessels] persist in their corruption. Who caused Belshatzar’s foundations to be undermined, was it not because he used the Temple vessels?

That is what is written: “Belshatzar said, as he tasted the wine, to bring the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had removed…” (Daniel 5:2). What is written? “During that night, Belshatzar the Chaldean king was killed” (Daniel 5:30).

“And abundant royal wine.” Later it is written: “[King Belshazzar made a great banquet for his thousand nobles,] and before the thousand he drank wine” (Daniel 5:1); however, here it is written: “And abundant royal wine, in keeping with the king’s bounty [keyad hamelekh],” – like the number of goblets in the hand of the king [beyad hamelekh].14Aḥashverosh, in contrast to Belshatzar, allowed his nobles to drink as much as he did.

“The drinking was as customary, without coercion, for so did the king establish with all the stewards of his house, to do as every man desired.” (Esther 1:8). “The drinking was as customary, without coercion” – in accordance with the custom of each place. There is a place where people wish to eat and then to drink, and there is a place where one drinks and then eats. According to the custom of every nation; like those Kutites, who do not drink wine from wineskins, they brought them wine in earthenware vessels.

“Without coercion” – undiluted wine; Rav said: “Without coercion” – [no one was coerced] to drink wine of libation. Rabbi Binyamin Bar Levi said: There was no coercion [to drink] with a large goblet, because there [in Persia] they would drink excessively; therefore, there was no coercion to drink from a large goblet.15It was customary for Persians to drink from an unusually large cup. “For so did the king establish [yissad]” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Come and see the comfort of that wicked one, as his house was ornamented [meyusad] with jewels and pearls.

“With all the stewards of his house” – to arrange for the prominent subjects of the kingdom, so each and every one of them would be able to enjoy himself with his children and the members of his household.

“To do as every man desired.” The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I do not fulfill the wishes of all My creatures, and you seek “to do as every man desired?”’ The way of the world is that if two men seek to marry one woman, can she marry them both? Rather, it is either to one, or to the other.

Likewise, if two ships were waiting in harbor, one seeking a north wind and one seeking a south wind, can one wind propel both of them together? Rather, it is either for one or for the other. Tomorrow, two people will come before you for judgment, a Jewish man, and an adversary and enemy, can you satisfy both of them? Rather, you elevate one and hang the other.

Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Binyamin bar Levi: Because in this world, when the northern wind blows, the southern wind does not blow, and when the southern wind blows, the northern wind does not blow. However, in the future, with the ingathering of the exiles, the Holy One blessed be He will say: ‘I am bringing an unusual wind to the world, in which two winds serve simultaneously.’ That is as it is written: “I will say to the north: Give, and to the south: Do not withhold; bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 43:6).

Who is it who does the will of those who fear Him? It is the Holy One blessed be He about whom it is written: “He performs the will of those who fear him, and He hears their cry and delivers them” (Psalms 145:19).

“The Lord will return you to Egypt in ships [baoniyyot], by the route of which I said to you: You will never see it again; and you will offer yourselves for sale there to your enemies, as slaves and as maidservants, and there will be no buyer” (Deuteronomy 28:68).Rabbi Yitzḥak said: “In ships” [baoniyyot] – in poverty [baaniyyut] of good deeds. Why to Egypt? Because a slave experiences humiliation and mistreatment when he returns to his original master.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: In three places, the Holy One blessed be He cautions Israel not to return to Egypt. The first, as it is stated: “For as you saw Egypt [today, you shall not see them ever again]” (Exodus 14:13). The second, it is written: “The Lord said to you: You shall not return again on that way anymore” (Deuteronomy 17:16). This is the third, as it is written: “The Lord will return you to Egypt in ships” (Deuteronomy 28:68).They [Israel] contravened all three of them and were punished for all three of them.

The first, during the reign of Sanḥeriv, as it is stated: “Woe! Those who descend to Egypt for aid” (Isaiah 31:1), and what is written thereafter: “Egypt is man, not god […and all of them will perish together]” (Isaiah 31:3). Second, during the days of Yoḥanan ben Kare’aḥ, as it is stated: “It shall be that the sword which you fear [will overtake you there in the land of Egypt]” (Jeremiah 42:16). The third, during the reign of Trajan, may his bones be crushed: His wife gave birth on the Ninth of Av when all Israel was mourning.

The baby died on Hanukkah. Israel said: Shall we light [Hanukkah lamps], or not light? They said: We shall light, and anything that he seeks to inflict upon us, let him inflict. They lit.

They went and slandered them to Trajan’s wife: Those Jews,4The reference is possibly to the Jews of Egypt who participated in the Kitos War (115-117), a rebellion against the Romans during Trajan’s reign. when you gave birth, they were mourning, when the baby died, they lit lamps. She sent a missive to her husband: Before you conquer the barbarians, come and conquer these Jews who have rebelled against you.

He boarded the ship and expected to arrive in ten days, and the wind brought him in five days. He arrived and found them engaged in this verse: “The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle will swoop” (Deuteronomy 28:49). He said to them: I am the eagle, as I expected to arrive in ten days and the wind brought me in five days. His legions surrounded them and killed them.“And there is no buyer [koneh]” (Deuteronomy 28:68).

Why is there no buyer? Rav said: It is because you did not impart the words of the covenant, as there is no one among you who is a buyer [koneh] of [i.e., one who learns] the five books of the Torah, the numerical value of koneh.5The word koneh – kof, vav, nun, heh – can be read as koneh heh, i.e. ‘buyer of heh.’ The numerical equivalent of heh is five. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: Because I went around to all the nations of the world and there was no one acquiring [no buyer of] the words of the Torah like you [Israel] did.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzhak said: You have acquisition of [members of] the nations of the world [i.e. the ability to buy them as slaves], as it is stated: “Also from the children of the resident aliens who reside with you, from them you shall acquire” (Leviticus 25:45); but the nations have no acquisition of you. Why do you have acquisition of the nations of the world? It is because you imparted: “These are the words of the covenant” (Deuteronomy 28:69).

Why don’t the nations of the world have acquisition in you? It is because they did not acquire: “These are the words of the covenant.”Rabbi Yonatan said: You have patrons, and what are they? They are the words of the covenant. Rabbi Yuda said: You are property of the crown; Isn’t the life of one who takes a slave from the property of the crown forfeit?

And so Aḥashverosh said to his wife: “Behold, I gave the house of Haman to Esther [and they hanged him on the gibbet]” (Esther 8:7), and Rabbi Yuda bar Rabbi Simon said: It is because he extended his hand to harm the property of the crown, so it befell him.Rabbi Yitzḥak said: There was an incident in Protzefya involving a certain woman who would redeem captives. One captive woman came, and she redeemed her.

A second, and she redeemed her. When her means failed her and she was unable to redeem any more, soldiers immediately surrounded her and killed her. Why did they go to that extreme? In order to motivate future captors.6The local soldiers killed her in order to motivate future captors to kill their prisoners rather than hold them for ransom.

Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yitzḥak. Rabbi Levi said: Who acquires a friend, and the next day he is executed? Who acquires a wife, and the next day she is executed? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: You will not be acquired as slaves and maidservants, but you will be acquired to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be eliminated, as Esther said to Aḥashverosh: “For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be eliminated; had we been sold as slaves and as maidservants, I would have been silent” (Esther 7:4).

And so Moses wrote about us in the Torah: “And you will sell yourselves there to your enemies as slaves and as maidservants, and there will be no buyer” (Deuteronomy 28:68); perhaps to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be eliminated? When everyone saw, they began screaming: ‘Woe!’ “It was [vayhi],” woe [vai] for what transpired during the reign of Aḥashverosh.7The first verse of Esther begins Va-yhi bi-mei Aḥashverosh, “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh.”

Rav began: “Woe! He gives drink to his neighbor, amplifies your wrath, and intoxicates him, so that you may look upon their nakedness” (Habakkuk 2:15). “Woe! He gives drink” – that is Nebuchadnezzar; “his neighbor” – that is Zedekiah.

The Holy One blessed be He said to him [Nebuchadnezzar]: ‘Wicked one, is he not a king like you? Is he not a shepherd like you?’ “Amplifies your wrath” – ‘why are you leveling accusations against him in your wrath?’ He [Nebuchadnezzar] said to him [Zedekiah]: ‘Had you rebelled against me and not rebelled against your God, your God would have stood beside you.

Had you rebelled against your God and not rebelled against me, I would have stood beside you. However, you rebelled against your God and rebelled against me,’– that is what is written: “He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had administered an oath to him by God” (II Chronicles 36:13). Upon what did he administer the oath? Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Ḥanina said: He administered the oath on the horns of the inner altar.

What would that wicked one [Nebuchadnezzar] do to him [Zedekiah]? He would feed him warm barley bread and give him wine from the winepress to drink. Why did he do so? He did so to empty his bowels; that is what is written: “So that you may look upon their nakedness.”Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: Your honor and the honor of your ancestors: You became royalty only because your grandfather respected his grandfather; that is what is written: “At that time Merodakh Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent scrolls and a gift to Hezekiah; he had heard that he had become ill and recovered” (Isaiah 39:1).

They said: Merodakh Baladan was a sun worshipper, and he was accustomed to eat at the sixth hour and sleep until the ninth hour. On that day, when the sphere of the sun reversed its course during the days of Hezekiah, he slept until the ninth hour and awakened at the fourth hour. Once he awoke from his sleep, he sought to kill all his servants. He said to them: ‘You allowed me to sleep the entire day and the entire night.’

They said to him: ‘No, rather, the sphere of the sun reversed its course.’He said to them: ‘Is there a god who is greater than my god, who is capable of reversing it?’ They said to him: ‘Hezekiah’s God is greater than your god.’ Immediately he arose and sent [letters]: Peace to Hezekiah, peace to the God of Hezekiah, and peace to Jerusalem. Once the letters and messengers were on their way, he was calmed and he said: ‘I have honored Hezekiah only because of his God, and I offered salutations to Hezekiah, who is flesh and blood, before [I offered] salutations to his God?’

Immediately, he arose from his throne and took three steps, and sent messengers to recall the letters and wrote other scrolls: Peace to the great God of Hezekiah, peace to Hezekiah, and peace to Jerusalem. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: You arose from your throne and took three steps for the glory of My name; by your life, I will establish from you three kings, who will rule the entire world from one end to the other end, and these are they – Nebuchadnezzar, Evil Merodakh, and Belshatzar.

That is why The Holy One blessed be He said [to Zedekiah, the last king of Judah]: ‘Your honor and your honored grandfather and father became kings only because he [Merodakh Baladan] honored this king’s grandfather [Hizkiyyahu], and you are dishonoring him?’ “You are sated with more shame than glory; you too, drink and be exposed! The cup in the right hand of the Lord shall come around to you, and disgrace upon your glory” (Habakkuk 2:16).

“More shame than glory” – Zedekiah my son is being dishonored in the manner that anyone is dishonored, but you [Nebuchadnezzar], “disgrace [kikalon] upon your glory” – vomiting [ki] above and shame [kalon] below. Rabbi Yirmeya in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav said: When the two commanders of his legions saw that he was vomiting above and being shamed below, they stood him from his throne, removed his crown from upon his head, and removed his royal cloak from upon him; that is what is written: “They removed his honor from him” (Daniel 5:20), and they stood him in his nakedness; the nakedness of shame.Who were the commanders of his legions?

Cyrus and Darius. Rabbi Menaḥem, son-in-law of Rabbi Eliezer bar Avina, said in the name of Rabbi Yaakov bar Avina: The entire household of that wicked one are only judged naked. “You too, drink and be exposed naked” (Habakkuk 2:16), this is Nebuchadnezzar; “you too,” this is Belshatzar, “and be exposed naked,” this is Vashti.

“Also, Vashti the queen made a women’s banquet in the royal palace of King Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:9). Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon began: “My people, its oppressors are babes and women govern them” (Isaiah 3:12). “My people, its oppressors are babes [meolel]” – they are exacting with them, as you say: “Do to them [veolel lamo] as You did to me” (Lamentations 1:22). Another interpretation: “Meolel” – they pick their unripe grapes [olelot]; that is what you say: “Your vineyard you shall not harvest completely [teolel]” (Leviticus 19:10).

They come against them with false accusations [alilot]; that is what you say: “He made a false accusation [alilot devarim] against her” (Deuteronomy 22:14). Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: There are [male] cult prostitutes among them; that is what you say: “There shall not be a cult prostitute from the daughters of Israel, and there shall not be a cult prostitute from the sons of Israel” (Deuteronomy 23:18); that is what you say: “They abused her [vayitallelu] all night”1The word vayitallelu is used to the refer to the raping of the concubine in Giva, showing that this word can refer to licentiousness. (Judges 19:25).

“And women govern them” – four women assumed dominion in the world: Jezebel and Atalya from Israel, and Shemiramit and Vashti from the nations of the world.

Another interpretation: “Also, Vashti the queen” – Shmuel began: “When they are inflamed, I will set out their banquet [and get them drunk, that they revel and then sleep an endless sleep, never to awake, says the Lord]” (Jeremiah 51:39). The Holy One blessed be He said: When they come to inflame themselves with their monarchy, “I will set out [ashit] their banquet [mishteihem]” – I will cut down their foundations [mishtoteihem]; “and I will get them drunk” – with their troubles; “that they revel” – because they rejoiced over the destruction of the Temple. The Holy One blessed be He said: The Temple is in ruins and this wicked man is making drinking parties. Wicked Vashti is also making drinking parties, as it is written: “Also, Vashti the queen, made a women’s banquet.”

Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “But you did not call Me, Jacob, for you wearied of Me, Israel” (Isaiah 43:22). Rabbi Yoḥanan understood it [the verse in Isaiah 43:22] from this, as it is written: “A prophecy of Damascus: Behold, Damascus is removed from being a city and it will be a heap of ruins. Abandoned are the cities of Aroer; [they will be for flocks, and they will lie down, and none will threaten]” (Isaiah 17:1–2).

What is it that stands in Damascus and evokes Aroer? Isn’t Aroer within the region of Moav? Rather, there were three hundred and sixty-five houses of [different types of] idolatry in Damascus, and they would worship [in] each one of them on its day. They had one day when they would go around to all of them on that day and worship [all of] them, and Israel assembled them together and worshipped them; that is what is written: “The children of Israel continued to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, and they served the Be'alim, and the Ashtarot, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moav, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; they forsook the Lord, and they did not serve Him” (Judges 10:6), not even in conjunction with other gods.Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Shall a priestess not be like an innkeeper?2“Shall a priestess not be like an innkeeper” was apparently a popular saying.

Here it means: Should not God be worshipped as much as other gods? Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Ḥanina: The Holy One blessed be He said: My children did not even make me like the dessert that comes at the end. Rabbi Levi said: [This is comparable] to a king’s servant who prepared a feast for his soldiers and invited all the king’s legions and did not invite his master. The king said to him: ‘If only you had treated me like all of my soldiers.’

So too, The Holy One blessed be He said: If only My children had treated me like the dessert that comes at the end; rather, “but you did not call Me, Jacob, for you wearied of Me, Israel” (Isaiah 43:22). Regarding the Baal, what is written? “They called in the name of the Baal from the morning until noon, saying: ‘The Baal, answer us.’ But there was no voice, and none responded” (I Kings 18:26).

He sits and talks all day and does not tire, but when standing to pray, he tires; he sits and talks all day and does not tire, but when sitting to study,3The verb refers specifically to the practice of reviewing the Oral Torah. he tires. That is: “But you did not call Me, Jacob” – if only I had not known you, Jacob – “for you wearied of Me, Israel” (Isaiah 43:22). “You did not bring Me the sheep of your burnt offerings” (Isaiah 43:23) – these are the two daily offerings, as it is stated: “The one lamb you shall offer in the morning” (Numbers 28:4).

“And you did not honor Me with your offerings” (Isaiah 43:23) – these are the portions of the offerings of sacred sanctity that are burned on the altar. “I have not burdened you with a meal offering” (Isaiah 43:23) – this is the handful of flour taken from the meal offering. “And I have not wearied you with frankincense” (Isaiah 43:23) – this is the handful of frankincense.“You did not buy a cane [kaneh] for Me with silver” (Isaiah 43:24).

Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: Cinnamon [kinamon] grew in the Land of Israel and goats and deer would eat it. “And with the fat of your offerings you did not satisfy Me,” (Isaiah 43:24) – these are the portions of the offerings of lesser sanctity that are burned on the altar. “Rather, you burdened Me with your sins, you wearied Me with your iniquities” (Isaiah 43:24) – look what your sins have caused me, Jacob.

Isn’t it enough that you count the days for the banquet of the men, but even made a banquet for the women; that is what is written: “Also, Vashti the queen made a women’s banquet.”