“He fostered Hadassa, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother, and the girl was fair and beautiful; and with the death of her father and her mother Mordekhai took her for his own daughter” (Esther 2:7). “He fostered Hadassa” – just as myrtle [hadassa] has a sweet fragrance and a bitter taste, so was Esther sweet to Mordekhai and bitter to Haman. “For she had neither father nor mother” – Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥama bar Guryon said in the name of Rav: Was she a girl whose parents are unknown, that you say: “For she had neither father nor mother”? Rather, when her mother conceived, her father died, and when she was born, her mother died.