Megillah 13 - What's in a name?

The names influence their bearer. Esther had another name, Hadassah (myrtle), because she was righteous. Righteous are compared to myrtle. "Esther" means "to hide" because she did not tell anybody of her Jewish origins, as Mordechai had instructed her.

Esther was a complete orphan. Her father died before her birth, and her mother died while giving birth. Mordechai, her uncle, raised her as his daughter. The word "bat" - "daughter" hints at "bait" - "house." When Esther grew up, Mordechai took her as his wife, usually referred to as house. 

Esther knew the rule that idleness acts negatively on the person's psyche. She was industrious on weekdays and did not work on Shabbat. Esther had seven maids. Since the maids would come for only one day a week, they did not notice that her behavior on Shabbat was different from weekdays and did not figure out that she was Jewish.

"And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won more grace than all the other virgins." This tells us that the king experienced the taste of a virgin in Esther. He could also experience the taste of a non-virgin, at will.

Two servants of Achashverosh - Bigtan and Teresh - complained between themselves. "Since the day that woman came, we never had a good night's sleep."  They had to bring drinks to the king all night long. They decided to poison the king. They spoke a rare language of Tarshish between themselves. However, they did not know that Mordechai knew that language. In fact, as a member of the Sanhedrin, he had to be fluent in seventy languages. Mordechai reported the plot to Esther. In this way, he saved the king.

Art: Mistress and Maid  by Johannes Vermeer