“Esther refused to disclose her nationality or her lineage, as Mordechai had commanded her.” (Esther 2:20)
When Esther was initially brought to the royal palace under the charge of Hegai, she found favor in his eyes, yet the Megillah records (2:10) that she refused to disclose her nationality or her lineage, as she had been commanded by Mordechai. A short while later, after Achashveirosh selected her as Vashti’s replacement, the Megillah again emphasizes that Esther would not reveal her people or her background. As this information was already conveyed a mere 10 pasukim earlier, why does the Megillah repeat this point, and why would we think that her conduct would change in such a short period of time?
The Vilna Gaon explains that the reason Mordechai told Esther not to reveal her identity was because he was afraid that he and all of the Jews would be killed for attempting to hide her instead of willingly turning her over like loyal subjects of the king. At this point, Esther had now been selected as queen and there had not been any backlash. In fact, the king was so infatuated with her that he threw extra parties and gave tax cuts to show his love for her. Seeing this, Esther could have easily concluded that Mordechai’s concern was misplaced, and if she told Achashveirosh that she was a Jew, not only would he not hold it against her people, but he would shower them with favorable decrees. Nevertheless, Esther decided that if Mordechai instructed her not to divulge this information, she would follow his orders with complete faith.
The Gemara in Megillah (13b) teaches that due to Rochel’s tznius [modesty], she merited having the modest King Shaul descend from her, and in the merit of Shaul’s tznius, he was rewarded with the modest queen Esther being descended from him. The Gemara explains that Rochel’s tznius was that she gave over the simonim [signs] to her sister Leah and did not reveal Lovan’s trickery, and Shaul’s modesty was that he did not tell anybody that he had been chosen by Shmuel as the first Jewish king (Shmuel 1 10:16). As for Esther’s tznius, the Gemara cites the fact that she did not reveal her nation or her lineage. In what way do these three episodes demonstrate the attribute of tznius?
Although today tznius has become associated with clothing, the Maharal explains (Nesivos Olam, Nesiv HaTznius 1) that the quality of keeping something hidden within oneself instead of publicly sharing it with others is also considered a form of modesty. Since the Gemara teaches that the trait of tznius is passed on to one’s descendants, he adds that somebody who can keep a secret and knows when to keep quiet is revealing himself to be meyuchas [of distinguished lineage].
Taking this one step further, the Maharal writes: ולא תמצא בכל המדות שהדומה יוליד הדומה כמו שתמצא אצל הצניעות שהצנוע מוליד צנוע - “You will not find in any character trait that a person gives birth to somebody similar to him with regards to that trait, as you find regarding the attribute of tznius”. One who learns biology will learn that certain genes are dominant, while other genes are recessive. The Maharal teaches us that the most dominant gene of all, and the gene which is most likely to be given over to our children is that of modesty, a lesson that we learn from Rochel, Shaul, and Esther.
