חור כרפס ותכלת אחוז בחבלי בוץ וארגמן על גלילי כסף ועמודי שש מטות זהב וכסף על רצפת בהט ושש ודר וסחרת
“[There were hangings of] white cotton and blue wool, caught up by cords of fine linen and purple wool to silver rods and alabaster columns; and there were couches of gold and silver on a pavement of marble, alabaster, mother-of-pearl, and mosaics.” (Esther 1:6)
The aforementioned pasuk describes at great length the amount of money Achashveirosh spent on his grand feast. The amount he spent was absolutely ridiculous, he even spent money ensuring that the floors were covered with precious stones and diamonds. The big question is, however, why do we need to know this, what difference does it make to us?
The Gemara in Megillah (7a) tells us that Megillas Esther was written with ruach hakodesh, which means that Megillas Esther is not simply another story book. It means that every single word in the Megillah is of upmost importance, and if it is written in the Megillah, there is a lesson of upmost importance to glean from it. If so, what is the lesson we are supposed take from reading about the tremendous amount of money that Achashveirosh spent on the flooring of the room where his grand feast took place? What difference does it make to us if the floor was made from,בהט ושש ודר וסחרת , or from simple stones?
R’ Ben Tzion Felman used to say over, that he heard from R’ Gavriel Riklis, who heard from the Ponevezher Rov, who heard from R’ Asher Kalman MiKelm, that in the next few pasukim we learn the story about Vashti. On the seventh day of the feast, Achashveirosh asked that she be brought in front of him so that he could show off her beauty. The Gemara in Megillah (12b), explains that he didn’t simply ask that she be brought in front of him, he asked that she be brought in unclothed. Vashti refused, “The king got very angry, and his
