Vashti's Refusal: A Power Struggle Between Sovereigns

This shiur examines Megillah 12b's aggadic account of why Queen Vashti refused to appear before King Achashverosh. Rabbi Zweig challenges the surface reading of the story, asking why Vashti would refuse to do something she normally would have been comfortable doing, and why she escalated the situation by insulting the king rather than simply explaining her refusal. The Gemara (גמרא) offers two explanations for her refusal: either she developed tzaras (a skin condition) or she grew a tail. Rabbi Zweig questions why such miraculous interventions would be necessary when simpler explanations (like a broken leg) would suffice. He argues that these weren't merely physical impediments but divine messages about sovereignty and power.