ובהגיע תר נערה ונערה ... ובהגיע תר אסתר בת אביחיל
“When the turn of every maiden arrived [to come to the King] ... And when the turn came of Esther daughter of Avichayil [to come to the King].” (Esther 2:12, 15)
Why is the trop [cantillation] on נערה ונערה — “every maiden” [whose turn arrived to come to the King], a kadma ve’azla, while the trop for Esther’s turn to come to the King, is a munach?
The Gaon and Manos HaLevi explain: “Kadma ve’azla” means to get up early and move. “Munach” means “resting.” All the other girls were excited and ran eagerly for the chance to be chosen as Queen. Esther, on the other hand, had absolutely no interest in this, and she went slowly and without any excitement.
In fact, the Megillah says twice: ותלקח אסתר - “Esther was taken” (2:8,16) - by force, against her will.
Originally, when it became known that the King wanted to appoint the most beautiful woman in his country to be Queen, Esther hid and was forcefully brought to the harem. After she had gone through the year-long procedure of preparation and her turn came to be with the King, she had no desire to go and again ותלקח אסתר - “she was taken by force.”
