The Gemara tells us that בא גבריאל ושעה לה זנב, the Angel Gavriel came and made her a tail. Many people understand this to be taken literally, that Vashti actually grew a tail, but the Gaon of Vilna understands it differently.
He bases his explanation on a Gemara in Sanhedrin that tells the story of a young Nevuchadnezzar who was a scribe in the court of the Assyrian king Biladan ben Biladan. When the king heard that the King of Israel, Chizkyahu, had miraculously recovered from illness he ordered his scribes to send a letter to Chizkiyahu. The letter was addressed to Chizkiyahu King of Israel and to the Great God of Israel.
Nevuchadnezzar was not in the office when the letter was written. When he returned and heard about it he felt that it was disrespectful to put the name of Chizkiyahu before the name of God in the letter. He began to run after the messenger who had taken the letter, but after three steps, the Angel Gavriel came along and stopped him. In the merit of those three steps, the Gemara says, he became Emperor of Babylon for three generations. Has the angel not stopped him, his dynasty would have lasted for ever.
Vashti represents the last generation of his descendants who were rulers. With her death came the end of the line for Nevuchadnezzars family. It was because Gavriel had stopped Nevuchadnezzar a century earlier that Vashti now became the tail end of the dynasty.
As you see, the Gaon does not take this line to be literal, but metaphorical. It is also interesting that he understands the Gemara to be using idiomatic language that was used two thousand years ago, two hundred years ago, as well as today.
He bases his explanation on a Gemara in Sanhedrin that tells the story of a young Nevuchadnezzar who was a scribe in the court of the Assyrian king Biladan ben Biladan. When the king heard that the King of Israel, Chizkyahu, had miraculously recovered from illness he ordered his scribes to send a letter to Chizkiyahu. The letter was addressed to Chizkiyahu King of Israel and to the Great God of Israel.
Nevuchadnezzar was not in the office when the letter was written. When he returned and heard about it he felt that it was disrespectful to put the name of Chizkiyahu before the name of God in the letter. He began to run after the messenger who had taken the letter, but after three steps, the Angel Gavriel came along and stopped him. In the merit of those three steps, the Gemara says, he became Emperor of Babylon for three generations. Has the angel not stopped him, his dynasty would have lasted for ever.
Vashti represents the last generation of his descendants who were rulers. With her death came the end of the line for Nevuchadnezzars family. It was because Gavriel had stopped Nevuchadnezzar a century earlier that Vashti now became the tail end of the dynasty.
As you see, the Gaon does not take this line to be literal, but metaphorical. It is also interesting that he understands the Gemara to be using idiomatic language that was used two thousand years ago, two hundred years ago, as well as today.
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