In the Megillah we read about how Achashveirosh called Vashti to come to his party and she didn’t want to come. It then says that Memuchan suggested to Achashveirosh that “Vashti never be again allowed in the presence of King Achashveirosh”!
If you notice, it doesn’t clearly say that Vashti was killed! Although some say that she was, the Rashbam in his peirush on the Megillah, says that Vashti was not killed, and was just sent away from the royal palace!
There was once a minister who walked into a shul on Purim and saw that everyone was banging when they read Haman. It was weird to him. He went and asked Reb Yehuda Hachasid why we do this.
He said, “Let me show you. Close your eyes.” He then saw a vision of Gehinnom, with Haman inside it. He then noticed that every time the Yidden would klop Haman, Haman would literally get banged!! Then he understood.
You may have heard the story about a Jewish man who sold his cow to a non-Jew. The cow worked and plowed the whole week until Shabbos. On Shabbos, the goy tried getting her to work, but she wouldn’t budge! He ran to the Yid who sold it to him to complain. The Yid said, “Oh, of course, she is not working. Today it is Shabbos. I will go tell her that she no longer belongs to a Yid, and is now permitted to work on Shabbos.” He came and said this in her ear, and she immediately started working on Shabbos! The Medrash says that this goy was so taken over by this, that he decided to join the Jewish nation and became a ger tzedek.
But what you probably did not know is that the great Mekubal, the Rama Mipano says that this cow was a gilgul of Vashti! Vashti didn’t let her Jewish maids rest on Shabbos, and so she had to become a cow and rest on Shabbos. The goy that bought her was a gilgul of Achashveirosh, and when he became a Yid, Vashti got her tikun!!
A LITTLE DEEPER
What can we learn from the mitzvah to drink on Purim?
Perhaps you might think that we are only connected to Hashem as we are doing a Mitzvah, but on Purim we show that we are a Yid, and therefore our neshama has a connection with Hashem even if we have no idea what’s going on. Rav Tzadok says “On Purim we show that the hearts of the Jewish people are attached to Hashem even when they don’t know their right from their left!”
Once on Purim morning, the son of the heiligeh Apter Rov watched his father picking up some money and gleefully looking at it, almost hugging it. He curiously turned to his father and said, “Tatty, don’t you always tell us how we should not respect money?”
His father answered him, “True, I have a disgust for money, but then when I will give matanos levyonim, it will be as if I am giving them something worthless. This is why I am now filling my heart up with love for money. When I really feel that money is valuable, I will promptly go and give it to the poor!
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Nekuda Tova Listing.