אסתר א׳:ט״ז-כ״ב

עותה. לשון עון:

Has aggrieved. An expression of iniquity [עָו‍ֹן].²⁹From the root עוה. However, according to the Ibn Ezra the root is עות meaning to act perversely.

כי יצא דבר המלכה על כל הנשים. זה שביזתה את המלך על כל הנשים להבזות אף הן את בעליהם:

For the affair of the queen will extend to all women. That she showed contempt for the king, [this will cause] all the women to show contempt for their husbands as well.

תאמרנה שרות פרס ומדי. לכל שרי המלך את הדבר הזה והרי זה מקרא קצר:

The noblewomen in Persia and Media will say, etc. This thing to all the king’s ministers. This is an abbreviated verse.

וכדי בזיון. ויש בדבר הזה הרבה בזיון וקצף:

Causing enormous disparagement and rage. And in this matter there is much contempt and wrath.³⁰Esther Rabbah 4:8. “Contempt” because she had insulted him, and “wrath” because she had disobeyed him. The Gra explains the difference between the two terms חמה (fury) and קצף (anger). The latter [קצף] is displayed outwardly for all to see, and the former (;חמה one keeps to himself.

דבר מלכות. גזרת מלכות של נקמה שצוה להורגה:

A royal edict. A royal decree of revenge, i.e., that he commanded to execute her.³¹And let it become a law that any woman guilty of a similar offense against her husband shall be executed.

ויכתב בדתי פרס ומדי. בספרי חוק ומנהג המלכות:

To be recorded in the bylaws of Persia and Media. In the books of the statutes and the customs of the kingdom.

ולא יעבור. חוק זה מביניהם שיהא זה חוק ודת לכל הבוזה את בעלה:

Never to be revoked. This statute from among them;³²ממוכן is another name for Haman (Maseches Megillah 12b). Haman was concerned that Achashveirosh might reconsider and take back Vashti, leaving him vulnerable to her vengeance. Haman therefore requested that the decree be irrevocable. this should be a statute and a law for anyone who shows contempt for her husband.

אשר לא תבוא ושתי. ולכך נהרגה:

That Vashti must never again appear. And therefore she was executed.

ומדבר כלשון עמו. כופה את אשתו ללמד את לשונו אם היא בת לשון אחר:

And his people’s language be the one spoken. He can compel his wife to learn his language if her native tongue is different.³³Ibid. 4:12. The purpose for this law was to make wives show respect and subjugation to their husbands.