ahashverosh

Our Mishnah is not like the view of the following Tanna, as it has been taught: R. Joshua b. Korha says: Cities which have been walled since the days of Ahashverosh read on the fifteenth.”.

What is the reason of R. Joshua b. Korha? [They must be] like Shushan: just as Shushan has been walled since the days of Ahashverosh and reads on the fifteenth, so every city that has been walled since the days of Ahashverosh reads on the fifteenth.

What is the reason of R. Joshua b. Korha? [They must be] like Shushan: just as Shushan has been walled since the days of Ahashverosh and reads on the fifteenth, so every city that has been walled since the days of Ahashverosh reads on the fifteenth.

We can understand according to the view of our Tanna, for that is why it is written, “city and city, town and town” (Esther 9:28) “city and city” to distinguish between those which were walled in the days of Joshua son of Nun and those which were walled in the days of Ahashverosh; “town and town” likewise to distinguish between Shushan and other towns.

Rava said: They can all be refuted except that of Shmuel, which cannot be refuted. Against the proof of R. Elazar it may be objected that it is reasonable [to suppose that Haman would think so] because there was no one who was so high in the esteem of the king as he was, and that when he spoke at length [to Ahashverosh], he was only speaking concerning himself.

And it came to pass in the days of Ahashverosh. R. Levi, or some say R. Yonatan said: The following remark is a tradition handed down to us from the Men of the Great Assembly: Wherever it says vayehi [and it was, and it came to pass], it indicates [the approach of] trouble.

Vayehi in the days of Ahashverosh (Esther 1:1) — there was Haman. Vayehi in the days when the judges judged (Ruth 1:1) — there was a famine. Vayehi when man began to multiply (Genesis 6:1) — then God Saw that the wickedness of man was great.

Five times we find the expression: “Vayehi in the days" “Vayehi in the days of Ahashverosh” (Esther 1:1), “Vayehi in the days when the Judges judged” (Ruth 1:1), “Vayehi in the days of Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1), “Vayehi in the days of Ahaz” (Isaiah 7:1) “And it came to pass in the days of Yehoiakim” (Jeremiah 1:3).

Resh Lakish began his discourse on this section with the following text: “As a roaring lion and a ravenous bear, so is a wicked ruler over a poor people” (Proverbs 4:7). “A roaring lion”: this is the wicked Nebuchadnezzar, of whom it is written, “A lion is gone up from his thicket” (Jeremiah 4:7). “A ravenous bear”: this is Ahashverosh, of whom it is written, “And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear,” (Daniel 7:5), and R. Joseph taught: These are the Persians, who eat and drink like bears, and are coated with flesh like bears, and are hairy like bears, and have no rest like bears. “

“And it came to pass [vayehi] in the days of Ahashverosh: Rav said, [The word vayehi means] There was “voi” [trouble]. This is what is written, “And there you shall sell yourselves to your enemies for slaves and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you” (Deuteronomy 28:68).

Ahashverosh: Rav said The brother of the head and the counterpart of the head — “The brother of the head”: the brother of Nebuchadnezzar the wicked who was called head, as it is written, “You are the head of gold” (Daniel 2:38). “The counterpart of the head”: the one slew, the other sought to slay; the one laid waste, the other sought to lay waste, as it is written, “And in the reign of Ahashverosh, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem” (Ezra 4:6).

Ahashverosh: Rav said The brother of the head and the counterpart of the head — “The brother of the head”: the brother of Nebuchadnezzar the wicked who was called head, as it is written, “You are the head of gold” (Daniel 2:38). “The counterpart of the head”: the one slew, the other sought to slay; the one laid waste, the other sought to lay waste, as it is written, “And in the reign of Ahashverosh, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem” (Ezra 4:6).

Shmuel said: The face of Israel was blackened (hushcharu) in his days like the sides of a pot. R. Yohanan said: Everyone who thought of him said “alas for my head (ah lerosho).” R. Hanina said: That all became poor (rash) in his days, as it says, “And the king Ahashverosh laid a tribute” (Esther 10:1).

“That (hu) is the Ahashverosh. — [this means that] he persisted in his wickedness from beginning to end. [Similarly] “This is [hu] Esau”: he persisted in his wickedness from beginning to end. [Similarly] “This is [hu] Dathan and Aviram”: they persisted in their wickedness from beginning to end. [Similarly], “This is [hu] king Ahaz”: he persisted in his wickedness from beginning to end.

Our Rabbis taught: There were three who ruled over the whole globe: Ahab, Ahashverosh and Nebuchadnezzar. Ahab, as it is written, “As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom which my Lord has not sent to seek you” (I Kings 18:10) etc. Now if he was not king over them, how could he make them take an oath?

Nebuchadnezzar, as it is written: “And it shall come to pass that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and will not put their neck under the yoke of the King of Babylon” (Jeremiah 27:8). Ahashverosh, as we have pointed out above.

He [Ahashverosh] said: He calculated and made a mistake, I will calculate and make no mistake. Is it written, “seventy years for the kingdom of Babylon?” It is written, “Seventy years for Babylon.” What is meant by Babylon? The exile of Babylon. How many years [is this reckoning] less [than the other]? Eight. So in place of them he inserted one of Belshazzar, five of Darius and Cyrus, and two of his own, which made seventy. When he saw that seventy had been completed and they were not redeemed, he brought out the vessels of the Temple and used them. Then the Satan came and danced among them and slew Vashti.

Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house. It should have said, “the women’s house”? Rava said: Both of them [Ahashverosh and Vashti] intended to transgress. This is what people say, He with large pumpkins and his wife

And so at the feast of that wicked one. These said, The Median women are the most beautiful, and others said, The Persian women are the most beautiful. Ahashverosh said to them, The vessel that I use is neither Median nor Persian, but Chaldean. Would you like to see her? They said, Yes, but she must be naked.

For man receives measure for measure [rewards and punishments]. This teaches that the wicked Vashti used to take the daughters of Israel and strip them naked and make them work on Shabbat. So it is written, “After these things when the wrath of the king Ahashverosh abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what was decided against her.” As she had done so it was decreed against her.

“But a fool exposes his folly’: this refers to Ahashverosh, of whom it is written, and “Let the king appoint officers: whoever had a daughter hid her.

“And Esther found favor” (Esther 2: 15). R. Elazar: said This teaches that to everyone she looked like a member of his own people. “So Esther was taken to king Ahashverosh into his royal house in the tenth month, which is the month Tevet” (Esther 2: 16). The month when a body benefits from being close to another body.

"For Esther did the commandment of Mordecai" (Esther 2:20). R. Jeremiah said: [This means] that she used to show her menstrual blood to the Sages. "As when she was brought up with him" (Esther 2:20). Rabbah b. Lema said in the name of Rav: [This means] that she used to rise from the lap of Ahashverosh and bathe and sit in the lap of Mordecai.

“There is one people” (Esther 3:8): Rava said: No one was ever as skillful at evil language as Haman. He said to Ahashverosh: Come, let us destroy them. He replied: I am afraid of their God, lest He do to me as He did to my predecessors. He replied: They are “negligent” (yashu) of the precepts.

To what can we compare Ahashverosh and Haman? To two men one of whom had a mound in the middle of his field and the other a ditch in the middle of his field. The owner of the ditch said, I wish I could buy that mound, and the owner of the mound said, I wish l could buy that ditch.

R. Nahman said: The reading of the Megillah is equivalent to Hallel. Rava said: There is a good reason in that case [of the Exodus from Egypt] because it says [in the Hallel], “Praise you O servants of the Lord,” and not servants of Pharaoh. But can we say in this case, “Praise you, servants of the Lord” and not servants of Ahashverosh? We are still servants of Ahashverosh.

R. Nahman said: The reading of the Megillah is equivalent to Hallel. Rava said: There is a good reason in that case [of the Exodus from Egypt] because it says [in the Hallel], “Praise you O servants of the Lord,” and not servants of Pharaoh. But can we say in this case, “Praise you, servants of the Lord” and not servants of Ahashverosh? We are still servants of Ahashverosh.

“Now when Mordecai knew all that was done” [etc.] (Esther 4:1). What did he cry out? Rav said: He said: Haman has raised himself above Ahashverosh. Shmuel said: The upper king has prevailed over the lower king.

“Go, gather together all the Jews . . . which is not according to the custom” (Esther 4:16). R. Abba said: It was not according to the custom. For every other day she was forced [to be with Ahashverosh], but now it was willingly. “And if I perish, I perish.” As I am lost to my father’s house so I shall be lost to you.

“On that night the sleep of the king was disturbed” (Esther 6:1). R. Tanhum said: The sleep of the King of the Universe was disturbed. The Rabbis say: Those above were disturbed and those below were disturbed. Rava said: It means literally “the sleep of king Ahashverosh”.

Haman said to him: For him [the tribute] of one village or one river is sufficient! Ahashverosh said: Give him that too; “Let nothing fail of all that you have spoken.”

“Then King Ahashverosh said, and he said to Esther the queen.” Why “said” and again “said”? R. Abbahu said: He first spoke to her through an intermediary. When she told him that she came from the house of Saul, he immediately,”said to Esther the queen.”

“And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, this wicked Haman.” R. Eleazar said: This informs us that she was pointing to Ahashverosh and an angel came and pushed her hand so as to point to Haman.

He came into the house, and there “Haman was falling upon the couch.” “Falling”? It should say, “had fallen”? R. Elazar said: This teaches us that an angel came and made him fall on it. Ahashverosh then said: Trouble inside, trouble outside! “And the king said, Will he also try to overcome the queen with me in the house?” (Esther 7:8)

“Then the king’s wrath was assuaged.” (Esther 7:10) Why are there two assuagings? One of the King of the Universe, and the other of Ahashverosh. Others say, one on account of Esther and the other on account of Vashti.

For Mordecai the Jew was second to king Ahashverosh, and great among the Jews and accepted by most of his brother” (Esther 10:3) Most of his brothers but not of all his brothers; this informs us that some members of the Sanhedrin separated from him.

R. Yohanan said: All these rabbis derived their rule from the same verse: “Then Esther the queen and Mordecai the Jew wrote all the acts of power” (9:29). He who says the whole Megillah, this refers to the power of Ahashverosh;

He who says that the whole of it must be read [interprets thus]: What did Ahashverosh see to make him use the vessels of the Temple? “In that matter”, in that he reckoned seventy years and they had not yet been redeemed; “And what came upon them?” That he killed Vashti.

He who says that it is to be read from “On that night” interprets thus: What did Ahashverosh see to make him order them to bring the Chronicles? “In that matter” that Esther invited Haman with him. “And what came upon them”? A miracle occurred.