אסתר ב׳:ה׳-י׳

איש יהודי. על שגלה עם גלות יהודה כל אותן שגלו עם מלכי יהודה היו קרויים יהודים בין הגוים ואפילו משבט אחר הם:

There was a Yehudite man. Because he was exiled with the exile of Yehudah.⁵Rashi offers this explanation to reconcile the contradiction at the end of this verse where Mordechai is described as a Binyaminite man. Targum renders איש יהודי, “a pious Jew.” Alternatively, יהוד is similar to יחוד [=unification], i.e., Mordechai publicly unified God’s Name by refusing to bow before Haman, who wore an idolatrous image. (Esther Rabbah 6:2 and see Maseches Megillah 12b-13a) All those who were exiled with the kings of Yehudah were called יְהוּדִים [Yehudites] among the nations, even if they were from another tribe.⁶Maseches Megillah 12b.

איש ימיני. מבנימין היה כך פשוטו, ורבותינו דרשו מה שדרשו:

A Binyaminite man. He was from Binyamin, that is the plain meaning. But our Rabbis expounded what they expounded.⁷Ibid.

לו לבת. רבותינו פירשו לבית לאשה:

As a daughter. Our Rabbis explained, “for a house” [i.e., לְבַת=לְבַיִת, meaning, as a wife.⁸Maseches Megillah 13a. Apparently בת here does not mean [lit.] daughter, because Esther was not his child.

ויבהל את תמרוקיה. זריז וממהר בשלה משל כולן:

He eagerly delivered her cosmetics. He was more expedient and quicker with bringing her [cosmetics] than with all the others.⁹To avoid eating non-kosher food Esther had Hagai provide her with natural uncooked food. See Maseches Megillah 13a.

הראיות לתת לה. לשרתה וכן עושין לכולן ורבותינו דרשו מה שדרשו:

Assigned to her. To serve her, and so they would do for all of them; and our Rabbis expounded what they expounded.¹⁰Ibid. By having seven maidservants Esther was able to know when it was Shabbos. She called each one on a different day of the week and when the one that was assigned for Shabbos would come, she knew it was Shabbos. Another reason for having seven maidservants, one for each day of the week, so that the maidservants for weekdays would not observe her resting on Shabbos and detect that she was Jewish. According to Targum, each maidservant’s name corresponded to a specific day’s part of creation.

וישנה. שינה אותה:

He favored her. I.e., he changed her וַיְשַׁנֶּהָ=שִׁנָּה אוֹתָהּ.

אשר לא תגיד. כדי שיאמרו שהיא ממשפחה בזויה וישלחוה שאם ידעו שהיא ממשפחת שאול המלך היו מחזיקים בה:

Not to reveal it. So that they should say that she was from an ignoble family and dismiss her, for if they knew that she was of the family of King Shaul, they would keep her.¹¹According to Targum, Mordechai feared for Esther’s and the Jews’ safety.