28 Feb TETZAVEH: KNOWING WHEN TO KEEP QUIET

The Megillah introduc-
es Mordechai as an איש

יהודי and also as an איש

ימיני .The Gemara ex-
plains this to mean that

from his mother’s side,
Mordechai descended
from the tribe of Yehudah (יהודה ,(and from his
father’s side, he descended from the tribe of
Binyamin (בנימין .(And so he is called both an
יהודי איש and an ימיני איש – a man from the tribe

of Yehudah and also from the tribe of Binyam-
in.

Why is this significant? Why do we need to
know that Mordechai descended from both
these tribes?

One commentator answered that this is im-
portant because Mordechai had a special qual-
ity – he knew how to blend the characteristic

of Yehudah and the characteristic of Binyam-
in.

Yehudah excelled in leadership, in commu-
nication. When he made a mistake, he spoke

up and admitted he did something wrong.
When the family was in crisis, Yehudah
stepped up and took responsibility for his
younger brother, speaking to Yosef as a strong,
capable leader.
Binyamin, however, excelled in silence.
The Torah does not once tell us anything that
Binyamin ever said. And his mother, Rachel,
kept silent when her sister was being brought
in her place to marry Yaakov, in order not to
embarrass her. Mordechai’s ancestor, King
Shaul, also from the tribe of Binyamin,
learned that he was being anointed as king,
and he kept quiet about it, not saying a word.
Mordechai was an יהודי איש and an ימיני איש.
He understood the importance of maintaining
this balance – that sometimes we need to
speak, and sometimes we need to keep silent.

When Ester was brought to the king’s pal-
ace, Mordechai gave her strict instructions, to

keep silent about her background. He realized
that this is what she needed to do. But when it
came time for Ester to speak up, after Haman
issued his edict, Mordechai urged her to
speak.
This is the balance we need to maintain –
knowing when to speak, and when to remain
silent.
There are many reasons why this quality, of

not talking too much, is so vital and so valu-
able.

For one thing, when we train ourselves to

keep quiet, we become accustomed to think-
ing before speaking. The less we talk, the

more we think – and the more we think, the
more intelligently we speak and act.
Additionally, when we talk too much, we
are bound to make fools out of ourselves.

Keeping quiet significantly lowers the chanc-
es of saying something foolish and silly, and

embarrassing ourselves. And, when we keep

quiet, we appear more composed, more digni-
fied, more intelligent, and more confident.

Another reason to limit our talking is that it
helps us show concern and sensitivity. If we
are always talking, then we are not listening.
In order to show somebody that we care, we
need to be able to patiently and quietly listen
to what the person has to say, without jumping
in to talk about ourselves.
And, when we listen instead of talk, we

open our minds to new ideas and new opin-
ions. People who talk excessively are often

closedminded, uninterested in hearing other
people’s viewpoints or insights. By keeping
quiet, we are able to hear what people have to
say, and this is how we become smarter and

more intelligent.
The Purim miracle happened because a
courageous, humble and wise woman had the
strength to remain silent, until she needed to
speak – and when she did, she was listened to,
precisely because she had kept quiet. When

Ester finally came before Ahashverosh and
spoke, he was eager to hear what she had to
say, and this ended up saving the Jews.
Let us learn from her example, and strive to
maintain this delicate balance, to know when
we need to speak, and when we need not to.