B"H, I just heard a wonderful shiur about Purim, the special traits of silence and speaking, and the whole Purim scenario as a replay of the scene of Adam, Chavah and the snake.
What is the trait of silence? It is not about being shy, neither is it about not having anything to say. It is about being able to speak, but choosing not to speak.
אִישׁ יְהוּדִי הָיָה בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה וּשְׁמוֹ מָרְדֳּכַי בֶּן יָאִיר בֶּן-שִׁמְעִי בֶּן-קִישׁ אִישׁ יְמִינִיThe Gemara tells us that Mordechai was from the tribe of Binyamin (from his father) and also from the tribe of Yehudah (from his mother). Esther was also from the tribe of Binyamin. She inherited her traits of silence from her ancestors, Rachel Imeinu and (King) Shaul son of Kish who were known for their traits of silence. When was Esther silent?
A man of Yehudah was in Shushan, the city, and his name was Mordechai son of Yair, son of Shimi, son of Kish, a Binyaminite (Megillah Esther 2:5)
לֹא-הִגִּידָה אֶסְתֵּר אֶת-עַמָּהּ וְאֶת-מוֹלַדְתָּהּ כִּי מָרְדֳּכַי צִוָּה עָלֶיהָ אֲשֶׁר לֹא-תַגִּידWhen she was in the palace of Achashverosh, she guarded her Jewish origins from him. When was Rachel Imenu silent?
Esther did not reveal about her nation or her lineage since Mordechai commanded to her that she should not reveal it. (Megillah Esther 2:10)
וַתֹּאמֶר לָהּ הַמְעַט קַחְתֵּךְ אֶת אִישִׁי וְלָקַחַת גַּם אֶת דּוּדָאֵי בְּנִיWhen Reuven, the son of Leah, returned from the fields with "dudaim" (mandrake/jasmine flowers) for his mother, Leah, Rachel approached him and bought it from him. Leah went out to talk to Rachel about it, and accused her of taking her husband. Rachel could have lectured Leah about this accusation, since it is not true that Rachel took Leah's husband, in fact, it was Rachel, who gave Yaakov Avinu to Leah as a husband, and also gave her the signs so that Leah would not be embarrassed. But Rachel chose to remain silent about this, and not made her sister feel bad about it. For that trait of silence, Rachel Imenu is great.
And she (Leah) said (to Rachel), "Is it a small matter that you took my husband, and you also want to take my son's dudaim (jasmine/mandrake)?"
"When two quarrel, he who keeps silence first is more praiseworthy" (Talmud Kiddushin 71b)When was Shaul silent? When he was crowned the King of Israel, by Shmuel HaNavi, he was humble about it and didn't publicize it, not even to his family.
וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶל-דּוֹדוֹ הַגֵּד הִגִּיד לָנוּ כִּי נִמְצְאוּ הָאֲתֹנוֹת וְאֶת-דְּבַר הַמְּלוּכָה לֹא-הִגִּיד לוֹ אֲשֶׁר אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵלSince Mordechai was both descended from Yehuda and Binyamin, he inherited both traits of "dibur" (speech) and "shtikah" (silence) from his ancestors.
And Saul said to his uncle, "He told us that the she-asses had been found," and the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him. (Shmuel 1 10:16)
וּמָרְדֳּכַי יָדַע אֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשָׂה וַיִּקְרַע מָרְדֳּכַי אֶת-בְּגָדָיו וַיִּלְבַּשׁ שַׂק וָאֵפֶר וַיֵּצֵא בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר וַיִּזְעַק זְעָקָה גְדֹלָה וּמָרָהMordechai knew when to not keep silent and when to keep silent. But where in the Megillah did we learn that Mordechai kept silent? For that, I'm keeping silent, because I want you to listen to the shiur, as Rabbi Mansour can explain it much better than I ever would.
And Mordechai knew about everything that was done and Mordechai tore his clothes and he wore sackcloth and ashes, and he went out amidst the city and he cried out a loud and bitter cry.
Source: Purim - Time to Speak, Time to be Silent
