Midrash sa Ester 1:19: Esther Rabbah & Midrash Tehillim

“Memukhan said before the king and the princes: It is not against the king alone that Vashti the queen has sinned; rather, it is against all the princes and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of Aḥashverosh the king” (Esther 1:16).
What did Memukhan see that led him to leap and offer counsel first? [One can learn] from here that the ignorant leap first. Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥilkiya in the name of Rabbi Simon, and Rabbi Elazar, and Rabbi Yoḥanan. One said: Our legal system is like their legal system, and one said: Our legal system is not like their legal system. The one who said our legal system is like their legal system, it is as we learned (Sanhedrin 32a): In monetary laws, and in matters of ritual impurity and purity, one commences from the greatest judge. In capital laws, one commences from the side.¹⁴Meaning., the lowest ranking judge. The one who said that our legal system is not like their legal system, what is the significance of “Memukhan said?” [It is comparable to:] The statement of Rabbi Yehuda appears to be correct. [Likewise:] The statement of Memukhan appears to be correct.¹⁵There is no indication who spoke first, and the reason only Memukhan’s counsel is mentioned is because his counsel was that which was accepted.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said there are three amora’im [who explained why Memukhan sought to depose Vashti]. One said: Because she would slap him with her slippers on this side and that. Another said: Because she did not invite his wife to the women’s banquet. And the other said: Because he had a daughter and he sought to marry her to royalty. The one who said: Because she would slap him with her slippers on this side and that, it is as he said: “It is not against the king alone that Vashti has committed an offense” (Esther 1:16). And the one who said: Because she did not invite his wife to the women’s banquet, it is as he said: “For the queen’s deed will get out to all the women, rendering their husbands contemptible in their eyes” (Esther 1:17); that [indicates that] she was not there. And the one who said: Because he had a daughter and he sought to marry her to royalty, as he said: “And may the king grant her queenship to another who is worthier than she” (Esther 1:19).¹⁶This opinion is alluded to by the fact that Memukhan brings up the possibility of a better queen.

“If it please the king, let a royal edict be issued before you, and let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it cannot be abrogated, that Vashti shall never [again] enter the presence of King Aḥashverosh, and may the king grant her queenship to another who is worthier than she” (Esther 1:19).
He [Memukhan] said to him: ‘My master the king, let the word emerge from your mouth, and I will bring in her head in to you on a platter.’ “And let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it cannot be abrogated…” – Rabbi Ḥanina son of Rabbi Abbahu said: It is written: “For He causes pain and He bandages; He crushes and His hands heal” (Job 5:18). In the language that [announced that] the kingdom was being taken from her [Esther’s] ancestor, as Samuel said to him [Saul]: “And has given it to another, who is worthier than you” (I Samuel 15:28), in the same language, the kingdom was returned to him [to Saul, through his descendant Esther]; that is what is written: “And the king will give her queenship to another who is worthier than she” [that being Esther].

"A Psalm of David, the conqueror. Hear, O God, my voice in my complaint. As it is written in Amos 3:7, 'Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.' The Lord informed David what should be done to Daniel and what those who could have gone up to fight with the Lord in heaven would have done. The sons of Korah also say (Psalm 74:7), 'They have burned your sanctuary with fire, and razed it to the ground.' And if they could have drilled through the firmament, they would have done so, as it is written (Psalm 18:8), 'Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.' And because they could not go up, they do it below, as it is written (Psalm 2:2), 'The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together.' And because they could not go up, they sought counsel from Daniel, as it is written (Daniel 6:8-9), 'All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree.' They said to him, 'Are you not the king? For all the kings make decrees and issue laws,' as it is written (Esther 1:19), 'According to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.' When he heard this, he made an agreement with them, as it is written (Daniel 6:10-11), 'Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.' When they caught him, he said to them, 'My Lord, the King of the Universe, sees all. Hide me from the plot of evildoers, from the tumult of those who do wrong.' When they found him, they approached him and said (Daniel 6:13-14), 'Then they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.'" As it says (Proverbs 30:30): "A lion, mightiest among beasts, recoils before none." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Let a lion come and rescue a lion from the mouth of a lion." (ibid. 30:29) "There is a king who is formidable in his retinue." (ibid. 30:28) "There are three impressive beings that stride forth, four that are stately in gait: a lion, mightiest among beasts, recoils before none." This is exemplified by the story of Daniel, in which seventy powerful men were unable to consume him. They told him that they had not eaten him because they were seventy, but if they were to increase their number, they would be able to overpower him. Daniel challenged them to spend the night with him, and if they could overpower him in the morning, they could eat him. In the end, they were devoured themselves. As it says (Psalms 7:13), "God shoots His arrows suddenly," and as a result, the lions were defeated. Therefore it is said (Proverbs 30:30), "Lions, mightiest among beasts, that retreat before none." How many were there? As it says (Daniel 6:2), "Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two. There were also one hundred and twenty satraps, of whom Daniel was one." Thus, there were one hundred and twenty-two, as it says, "They were males and females." This teaches that for each person there were four lions, and each lion had four limbs. They tried to throw them into a pit, but the lions did not descend. As it says (ibid. 6:24), "The lions had the mastery over them and broke all their bones in pieces." Therefore, it is said (Psalms 58:11), "The righteous man will rejoice when he sees revenge; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked." And it says (Psalms 64:11), "The righteous man will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him, and all the upright in heart will exult."