אחשורוש … בא לישב על כסא שלמה ולא הניחוהו
The first thing that the book of Esther reports is about a party (mishte) that King Ahashverosh offered to entertain all the rulers, the ministers and the subjects (‘abadav) of his 127 provinces Empire. This feast was celebrated in the third year of his Kingdom , once Ahashverosh finished quelling all the rebellions against him and felt established on his throne.
After the Megilla gives us the technical details of this feast (Chapter 1: 1-3) it explains the purpose of the big celebration (1: 4): Ahashverosh wanted to “show off his wealth and the honor [or glory] of his Kingdom (‘osher kebod malkhuto) in front of all his guests. “
On the last day of the party, the King gets drunk and sends for his wife Vashti to appear before the men. The Megilla delicately and euphemistically explains why Ahashverosh called Vashti. “To show off her beauty in front of the people and the nobles, as she was beautiful “. Vashti refused to fulfill the order of the King, and at this point begins the plot that will conclude not only with the dethronement of Vashti, but also with the humiliation of King Ahashverosh, due to his impulsiveness, and his lack of wisdom.
Last week we explained that the book of Esther contains two parallel narrations: the official version, Persian friendly; and the hidden version, the Jewish narrative, which conveys the Jewish point of view on the events narrated in the common text. We also said that to “discover” this second text we must find the key words that direct our attention to similar contexts ion the Tanakh that deepen our understanding of what the Megilla superficially says.
The book Meguilat Setarim, by Bar Ilan Bible professor Yonatan Grossman, explains that in this text the text very subtly compares Ahashverosh with King Solomon.
Let’s see. The book Melakhim Alef (Kings I) writes that during the third year of his Kingdom (2:39), once king Solomon exacted justice from the last of his father’s enemies, Shim’i ben Guera, and he felt safe in his throne (2:46), the King held a party (mishte) and invited all his subjects (‘abadav, 3:15). So far everything looks the same. Except for the meaning of two similar words: “עושר וכבוד”, wealth and glory. On this point King Ahashverosh and King Solomon are at two different extremes.
When King Solomon was about to occupy his throne he had a dream. And in that dream HaShem offered to fulfill any of his wishes. Solomon, who could have opted to have wealth or fame, asked God to grant him “wisdom”, an intelligent heart to guide his people with righteousness and justice. God granted Solomon wisdom, and as we know, King Solomon became for the Jewish people the wisest man that ever existed. The biblical text also records that God appreciated what King Solomon did NOT ask for, and rewarded him with it (3:12): “Also what you did NOT ask of me, I will grant you: wealth and honor.”
Now we can close the circle. The author of the Megilla assumes that we will identify those two words “wealth and honor”, and connect the dots between Ahashverosh and King Solomon.
1. Ahashverosh held a party to celebrate his wealth and honor. Solomon, to celebrate his God-given wisdom.
2. The honor of Ahashverosh depended on his subjects noticing his wealth, and praising him for that. This is why he so desperately needed to show off his riches, his trophy wife, etc. For the Jewish King, on the other hand, wealth and glory were dispensable. He did not care about his own image. Solomon wanted wisdom for the benefit of his subjects.
3. At the end of the party, Ahashverosh gets drunk, makes some grotesque mistakes and ends up making a fool of himself, in front of his entire empire. His wealth and glory did not help to enhance his image because he lacked wisdom. King Solomon, on the other hand, asked for wisdom, and God, in the end, also grants him wealth and honor.
We see now how the author of Esher subtly tells us what he thinks of Ahashverosh, by directing our minds to King Solomon story. Our Sages noticed all this and said with few but very significant words, that Ahashverosh wanted to sit on the throne of King Solomon, but he never succeeded to do so (Esther Rabba 1:11).
