Death of a Queen
The Megillah’s opening chapter is enigmatic.

Here’s the story in brief: the Persian Emperor Achashverosh throws a party in his capital city Shushan to celebrate the establishment of his kingship. On the seventh day of the feast, "when the heart of the king was merry with wine," he orders his chamberlains to bring Queen Vashti "to show off her beauty."

Vashti refuses to appear. The king becomes furious and has her executed.

The Talmud explains that when Achashverosh offered to show his wife's beauty, the guests wanted her to appear without clothes. Vashti, a wicked queen who delighted in torturing and humiliating Jewish girls on the Sabbath, was punished with leprosy on her skin, and refused to expose herself.

But if so, why didn’t Vashti send her husband a private message explaining that it would be humiliating for her and him to expose herself before the guests. Though the king was intoxicated, it is hard to imagine that he would kill his wife who spared him shame!

And why is this story so prominent in opening the Megillah? True, it is a prelude to how the Purim heroine Esther became the queen. Yet, the detailed description of the cause of Vashti's death seems superfluous in the overall Purim story.

The Evil Appeal
According to the Kabbalah, all biblical figures and episodes are parables for metaphysical realities.

The mighty monarch Achash-verosh represents the King of Kings, Creator of the universe, while the wicked Vashti symbolizes the reign of evil.

Naked evil has no appeal or power to attract. In order for evil to gain popularity among the masses, it must be "packaged" well; it must be "dressed" in nice garments to cover its ugly face.

Take as example the two evil monsters of the last century, Hitler and Stalin. Both presented their colossal murderous strategies as moral and noble endeavors to heal the world of disease. They were thus embraced by millions, creating the bloodiest century in history.

This was true throughout all of history: The inventors and implementers of brutal massacres usually presented their schemes as ethical and humane programs.

This is also valid concerning the evil we perpetrate in our personal lives. Many of our destructive and immoral temptations package themselves outstandingly well. The glittering veneer of comfort and happiness that these temptations display lure us into their trap. If every unhealthy craving we experience presented itself without any masks, we would immediately cast it away.

Thus, the Kabbalah teaches that our daily challenge consists of choosing substance over packaging, inherent value over good PR. When one feels an urge to eat something, to engage in a certain intimate act or to say something, he or she ought to reflect whether this is an inherently healthy and moral thing to do, or is indeed hollow and empty, merely exhibiting itself as promising and enjoyable.

The hallmark of a spiritual life is one that always seeks to be in tune with the true essence of things, and not merely with their external appearance.

The Clothes Have No Emperor
This is how Jewish mysticism interprets the symbolism of the Megillah’s opening.

Vashti, symbolizing the power of evil, can only retain her power and glory dressed in garments that conceal her real identity. If Vashti removes all her masks, she loses her appeal and charm.

Therefore, when the King of Kings insists that Vashti appear at His feast in her bareness, she must refuse Him. Because the "clothes" of evil have no "emperor" within them.

This caused the end of Vashtinian rule. When evil appears naked, it is exposed and its power lost.

War in Israel
This insight, culled from a teaching of the great spiritual master the Baal Shem Tov, sadly reflects the nature of the current Arab-Israeli conflict.

Half a century ago, Arab leaders created in their minds a plan of enormous evil: to exterminate the Jews living in the Land of Israel. The Arab nations initiated five wars against Israel, and the PLO charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.

Yet as all representatives of evil must do, Arab leaders learned to skillfully package this program of destruction in a grab of morality and justice. For example, "granting three million refugees the right to return to their homes," or "liberating Palestinian land from occupation," sound like meritorious things to do.

If blowing up a bus in Tel Aviv were presented as an attempt to kill as many Jewish men, women and children as possible — as it is indeed designed to do — it would not sell well with the world.
But when it is exhibited as "an expression of deep frustration coming from an oppressed people," the act of sheer and horrific evil assumes a sophisticated veneer.

Sadly, many Jews, in their earnest craving for peace, passionately embraced the masked story of the Arab leaders. By Israel deceiving itself that evil was not evil and hate was not hate, it empowered the evil and gave it additional momentum, causing the deaths of innumerable Jews and Arabs. Making peace with evil could never work, for the evil only comes back to haunt you and destroy you.

If we would acknowledge the evil that exists in its midst and treat it as such, thousands of lives — from both sides — could be saved.