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When Ester was in the harem, and presumably after she became queen, Mordechai was constantly around to see how she was doing.

וּבְכָל־י֣וֹם וָי֔וֹם מָרְדֳּכַי֙ מִתְהַלֵּ֔ךְ לִפְנֵ֖י חֲצַ֣ר בֵּית־הַנָּשִׁ֑ים לָדַ֙עַת֙ אֶת־שְׁל֣וֹם אֶסְתֵּ֔ר וּמַה־יֵּעָשֶׂ֖ה בָּֽהּ׃ (2:11)‏

בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔ם וּמָרְדֳּכַ֖י יֹשֵׁ֣ב בְּשַֽׁעַר־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וגו' (2:21)‏

The thing is, Mordechai himself told her not to reveal her nationality.

לֹא־הִגִּ֣ידָה אֶסְתֵּ֔ר אֶת־עַמָּ֖הּ וְאֶת־מֽוֹלַדְתָּ֑הּ כִּ֧י מָרְדֳּכַ֛י צִוָּ֥ה עָלֶ֖יהָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תַגִּֽיד׃ (2:10)‏

However, if Mordechai, who was presumably known to be the leader of the Jewish community, was constantly wondering about her, wouldn't that be suspicious? People might figure out that they're related.

What did Mordechai claim to be doing when he was checking in on her, and staying by the king's gate?

mevaqesh
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    Isn't the king's gate just a big open public square with lots of people? Seems like a rather normal place to be. – Double AA May 19 '15 at 14:46
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    http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/34941/how-did-achashveirosh-not-know-that-esther-was-jewish – Gershon Gold May 19 '15 at 15:42
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    ^^^ seems like a dupe – Double AA May 19 '15 at 20:31
  • I'm not completely following the concern in the question. Where does the text imply that anyone even asked Mordechai any question that he had to answer to even make an excuse to anyone? How would anyone know who Mordechai was interested in? And, weren't there other people who passed by the gate also wondering what was happening with the pageant? Perhaps he inferred how Esther was doing via other discussions people had with each other and he overheard the conversations. – DanF May 19 '15 at 20:58
  • Hanging at the gate was equivalent to reading Us weekly (or any other Hollywood rag): it's how you learned what was happening with royalty and in the palace. – Isaac Kotlicky May 20 '15 at 11:28
  • @IsaacKotlicky I think you meant to say "hanging OUT..". Interesting that you mentioned this angle, anyway. This may explain why Esther did not know about Haman's decree until she sent Hatach out to Mordechai to inquire why he was in rags. – DanF May 20 '15 at 15:03

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