Purim, which commemorates the Jewish people’s deliverance from near destruction in ancient Persia, is celebrated from sundown Feb. 25 to sundown on the 26th. It’s a joyous holiday celebrated with ...

“Is Vashti the evil queen of the Purim story?” my daughter asked me after a recent Hebrew school class. Vashti, of course, was the erstwhile queen of Persia, according to the Bible’s Book of Esther.

The Biblical Book of Esther tells of Queen Vashti, wife of King Xerxes of Persia. At the height of a grand banquet filled with drunken nobles and courtiers, the king ordered Vashti to appear before ...

Queens Vashti and Esther are not polar opposites but opposite sides of the same coin, says a New York City writer and journalist. (JTA) — Purim is often filled with boisterous celebrations, drinking ...

In the Purim story as told in the Book of Esther, Vashti was ordered to show off her beauty to the king and his drunken pals (meaning, apparently, that she would be naked). She refused. The king’s ...

When it comes to the story of Purim, Queen Esther has received lots of attention. All the little girls want to play her in the Purim spiel. She’s brave, beautiful, loving and heroic: the ...