The Hidden Secrets of Vashti’s Fate: A Possible Connection to Ancient Persian Customs

by Rabbi Yair Hoff,am

While Americans today debate our President’s defiance of Supreme Court rulings regarding alleged MS-13 gang members, an even more shocking governmental practice may lie hidden within the ancient Persian empire—one that could revolutionize our understanding of Megillat Esther’s most mysterious event.

Herodotus: A Potential Window into Persia’s Past

Herodotus—the pioneering 5th century BCE Greek historian born in what is now Bodrum, Turkey— had a different emphasis when he wrote history:  His chronicles of the Greco-Persian Wars blend factual reporting with cultural observations. His writings might provide an intriguing lens through which to examine one of the Megillah’s most perplexing passages.

A Royal Decree’s Curious Redundancy

The Megillah at the end of the first perek tells us: “The proposal (to dispose of Vashti) was approved by the king and the ministers, and the king did as Memucan proposed.” This apparent repetition—first approval, then implementation— Could this be more than mere redundancy? Might it reflect a two-stage decision process particular to Persian governance?

Drunken Deliberations: A Fascinating Persian Custom

Herodotus reveals a stunning Persian practice in his writings (1:133):

“They are very partial to wine. No one may vomit or urinate in another’s presence: this is prohibited among them. Moreover, it is their custom to deliberate about the gravest matters when they are drunk; and what they approve in their deliberations is proposed to them the next day, when they are sober, by the master of the house where they deliberate; and if, being sober, they still approve it, they act on it, but if not, they drop it. And if they have deliberated about a matter when sober, they decide upon it when they are drunk.”

This extraordinary custom might explain the two-step process mentioned in the Megillah. Perhaps Achashverosh first approved Memucan’s proposal while intoxicated, only to confirm it when sober before implementation?

The Birthday Connection: When History Aligns with Tradition

The context becomes even more compelling when we consider the nature of Achashverosh’s feast. The Talmud in Avodah Zarah 10a concludes it was a birthday celebration—a detail that aligns perfectly with Herodotus’s observation that Persians valued their birthdays above all other days, serving extravagant feasts with animals “roasted whole in ovens.”

This remarkable convergence between Talmudic tradition and ancient Greek historical accounts suggests Herodotus may be a surprisingly reliable source for understanding the cultural context of the Purim story.

A Compelling Historical Possibility

If Herodotus accurately documented Persian birthday customs, his account of their peculiar two-stage, sober-drunk decision-making process might also offer valuable insights. This perspective suggests a different understanding of the narrative mechanics behind Vashti’s removal—possibly revealing a king bound not merely by his own whims, but by the established institutional processes of ancient Persian governance.

What emerges is a potentially more historically nuanced reading of the Megillah, and a fascinating reminder that even in seemingly arbitrary royal decrees, cultural context may have played a significant role. The fate of queens—and nations—might have been influenced by customs that seem strange to modern readers but were integral to ancient Persian society.

The author can be reached at [email protected]