Q:
How did Esther manage to conceal her identity from people for so long? What did she say every time Achashveirosh asked her?
A:
How did Esther manage to conceal her identity? That’s part of the lesson that Mordechai had taught her. Mordechai had taught her, don’t talk. It’s a tremendous shleimus not to talk. Another girl would have babbled, and sooner or later, blabbed it out. But not Esther; she was trained not to talk.
Now, nobody would ask questions unless the king asked the question; there was a derech eretz that people had towards her. And the king wasn’t interested. The king was a ba’al ta’avah; he was half drunk when he was in contact with his wives. So he wasn’t thinking about his wife; he was only thinking about his own business. And the other people around wouldn’t have the boldness to question her. Nobody would do that. You can’t just ask the queen questions like that.
So nobody bothered her and she didn’t confide in anybody. She kept her mouth closed. And that was one of the great perfections of shleimus that she was taught by Mordechai. כי הגיד לה מרדכי that she shouldn’t say. Mordechai told her not to tell. It’s a great perfection of character to learn to not say things that are not necessary.
TAPE # R-34