Queen Vashti is the Feminist Icon We Need Right Now

This Purim, let's take a moment to appreciate one of the great reputational rehabilitations in my Jewish lifetime: Queen Vashti. We know how the story goes: King Ahashuerus, partying with his friends and "merry with wine," called for Queen Vashti to display her beauty. Vashti refused to obey her husband and was never to be seen again. The king then threw a beauty pageant, ordered all virgins in his kingdom to appear, and selected Esther as his new queen.