Vashti

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Pronunciations

Vashti (VAHSH-tee) listen

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Definitions

Example Sentences

  • "It's an interesting development I've noticed in the last few years, that Vashti is touted as a feminist role model while wholly ignoring her (admittedly Midrashic) deliberate abuse of Jewish women (I'm fairly sure the midrash is something to do with her forcing Jewish maidservants to work on Shabbat, or something). I was on a cross-denominational panel discussion about this before Purim last year, and I pointed out that while Vashti's refusal to submit to the lecherous whims of Achashverosh are noteworthy, the granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar is not necessarily the greatest role model to take on." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • וַשְׁתִּי‬

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

      Alternative Spellings

      Queen Vashti

Notes

  • "Legend says that [Vashti] displeased the king by refusing to show off her beauty at a banquet and was deposed and replaced by the heroine of the Purim story, Esther. Vashti is now thought to be the original feminist for standing up to the king and defending her rights as an independent woman." (JPS)

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