How Old Was Vashti When She Was Beheaded?

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  • #2069956
    ujm
    Participant

    How old was Vashti when she was summarily executed?

    #2070098
    boruchbrown123
    Participant

    Where in the posuk do you see she was executed?

    #2070106
    ujm
    Participant

    Boruch: Rashi says “lefikach neherga”.

    The Yalkut Shimoni 1091:2 says Achashverus regretted killing Vashti. If he hadn’t executed her, he could have undone it.

    The Medrash in Esther Rabba 4:9 and 4:12 says that Vashi as beheaded and her head was placed on a platter.

    גמרא, מגילה יא עמוד ב — בא שטן וריקד ביניהן הורג את ושתי

    Vashti married Achasheverus as a child. She must have been pretty young when she was killed. Do we have a timeline of her age? She must have been a teenager.

    #2070110
    Reb Eliezer
    Participant

    The Yalkut Shumoni Esther 2, says that Ahashverus’ anger subsided he was looking for Vashti and was told you killed her. He asked. why did I kill her and what did she do? It looks like he was under the influence of alcohol. The Midrash concludes some say she was exiled as she is not mentioned anymore and others say she was killed because she held back the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash.

    #2070219
    Problem Solver
    Participant

    Nowhere in the megilla does it say that Vashti was killed. Some suggest that she was taken by Haman (who desired to be king) as his wife. He then changed her name to zeresh. The letters of zeresh are just one off from vashti. That’s how Zereresh knew to tell Haman that if this mordechai was m’zera yehudim, you will fall to bottom. How did she know? what experience did she have? Now if she were of royal decent, it makes sense that she knew. Zeresh/Vashti knew what happened to her grandfather Balshetzer and was tharefore able to predict what would happen to hamman.

    And gthere’s alot more…

    See Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

    #2070250
    Reb Eliezer
    Participant
    #2070283
    huju
    Participant

    She was at the end of her life; as old as she was going to get.

    #2070286

    She must have been at least 21, as Ahashverosh incited her to the drinking party, as it says that drinking was “according to the law”
    Unless you want to say that she was under 21 and that is why Vashti refused to come.

    But you would not think that the king, who did everything legally, would violate the law?! The tirutz is that she was one day before 21 and they had a healthy machloket whether to count previous night as the day, Vashti following a goyishe minhag of starting day from midnight hatzos. So she lost her head exactly at hatsos, otherwise after that she would have been able to come to the party.

    So, we know her age exactly – one hair before 21.

    #2070555
    yungerman123
    Participant

    She was 18 years old. See Peirush HaGra on Megillas Esther.

    #2070793

    I stand corrected by Gra! 18 not 21. Was this drinking age in Iran or Lithuania?

    #2070812
    ujm
    Participant

    18 was the drinking age in the United States until the 1980s.

    #2070945

    and, of course, in Iran drinking age is N/A, but in Lita it is 16! 18 seems to be the most popular choice all over the world (except where it is prohibited or no age limit).

    In US, according to Wiki, it is still 18 in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. Given that Vashti was married, she got to be a Puerto Rican! Also, in Ohio you can drink with parents and in NJ underage drinking only gets a warning. Not sure whether the latter needs to be revealed or not.

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