~ Look at the description of the clothes of Aharon HaKohen, which will become the High priest, or Kohen Gadol. What do they point to? What are the symbols or messages that you can tease out? What is the function of these clothes?
ומחוסר בגדים מנלן אמר רבי אבהו אמר רבי יוחנן ומטו בה משמיה דרבי אלעזר בר' שמעון (שמות כט, ט) וחגרת אותם אבנט בזמן שבגדיהם עליהם כהונתם עליהם אין בגדיהם עליהם אין כהונתם עליהם והוו להו זרים ואמר מר זר ששימש במיתה:
The baraita continues: And the punishment for a priest who is lacking the requisite priestly vestments and who performed the Temple service is death at the hand of Heaven. The Gemara asks: From where do we derive that this is his punishment? Rabbi Abbahu says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says, and there are those who determined that this halakha is a tradition that was cited in the name of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon: It is stated: “You shall gird them with a belt, Aaron and his sons, and you shall wrap the headdresses upon them; and they shall have the priesthood as an eternal statute, and you shall inaugurate Aaron and his sons” (Exodus 29:9). From that verse it is derived: At a time when their vestments are upon them, their priesthood is upon them; but when their vestments are not upon them, their priesthood is not upon them. Therefore, priests who are lacking the requisite priestly vestments assume the status of non-priests in this respect, and the Master says earlier in the baraita: A non-priest who per-forms the Temple service is punished with death at the hand of Heaven.
The clothes quite literally make the kohen. But clothes also conceal.
וּבְבֹ֨א מֹשֶׁ֜ה לִפְנֵ֤י ה' לְדַבֵּ֣ר אִתּ֔וֹ יָסִ֥יר אֶת־הַמַּסְוֶ֖ה עַד־צֵאת֑וֹ וְיָצָ֗א וְדִבֶּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֵ֖ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר יְצֻוֶּֽה׃
Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would leave the veil off until he came out; and when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,
וְרָא֤וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֶת־פְּנֵ֣י מֹשֶׁ֔ה כִּ֣י קָרַ֔ן ע֖וֹר פְּנֵ֣י מֹשֶׁ֑ה וְהֵשִׁ֨יב מֹשֶׁ֤ה אֶת־הַמַּסְוֶה֙ עַל־פָּנָ֔יו עַד־בֹּא֖וֹ לְדַבֵּ֥ר אִתּֽוֹ׃ (ס)
the Israelites would see how radiant the skin of Moses’ face was. Moses would then put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with Him.
A face-to-face encounter changes the essence of the human being. People are so afraid that Moshe has no choice but to cover that change. People can't deal with the seeing Moshe's true essence.
וְאָנֹכִ֗י הַסְתֵּ֨ר אַסְתִּ֤יר פָּנַי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא עַ֥ל כָּל־הָרָעָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה כִּ֣י פָנָ֔ה אֶל־אֱלֹקִ֖ים אֲחֵרִֽים׃
Yet I will keep My countenance hidden on that day, because of all the evil they have done in turning to other gods.
God can hide as well. But the expression haster astir should reminds of the sound "Ester", the heroine of the book which we will celebrate on March 20th. Because Esther is mostly hidden. And in our Megillah, God's name and presence are also hidden.
לֹא־הִגִּ֣ידָה אֶסְתֵּ֔ר אֶת־עַמָּ֖הּ וְאֶת־מֽוֹלַדְתָּ֑הּ כִּ֧י מָרְדֳּכַ֛י צִוָּ֥ה עָלֶ֖יהָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תַגִּֽיד׃
Esther did not reveal her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had told her not to reveal it.
(יב) וַיַּגִּ֣ידוּ לְמָרְדֳּכָ֔י אֵ֖ת דִּבְרֵ֥י אֶסְתֵּֽר׃ (פ) (יג) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר מָרְדֳּכַ֖י לְהָשִׁ֣יב אֶל־אֶסְתֵּ֑ר אַל־תְּדַמִּ֣י בְנַפְשֵׁ֔ךְ לְהִמָּלֵ֥ט בֵּית־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ מִכָּל־הַיְּהוּדִֽים׃ (יד) כִּ֣י אִם־הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִישִׁי֮ בָּעֵ֣ת הַזֹּאת֒ רֶ֣וַח וְהַצָּלָ֞ה יַעֲמ֤וֹד לַיְּהוּדִים֙ מִמָּק֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר וְאַ֥תְּ וּבֵית־אָבִ֖יךְ תֹּאבֵ֑דוּ וּמִ֣י יוֹדֵ֔עַ אִם־לְעֵ֣ת כָּזֹ֔את הִגַּ֖עַתְּ לַמַּלְכֽוּת׃ (טו) וַתֹּ֥אמֶר אֶסְתֵּ֖ר לְהָשִׁ֥יב אֶֽל־מָרְדֳּכָֽי׃ (טז) לֵךְ֩ כְּנ֨וֹס אֶת־כָּל־הַיְּהוּדִ֜ים הַֽנִּמְצְאִ֣ים בְּשׁוּשָׁ֗ן וְצ֣וּמוּ עָ֠לַי וְאַל־תֹּאכְל֨וּ וְאַל־תִּשְׁתּ֜וּ שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת יָמִים֙ לַ֣יְלָה וָי֔וֹם גַּם־אֲנִ֥י וְנַעֲרֹתַ֖י אָצ֣וּם כֵּ֑ן וּבְכֵ֞ן אָב֤וֹא אֶל־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־כַדָּ֔ת וְכַאֲשֶׁ֥ר אָבַ֖דְתִּי אָבָֽדְתִּי׃
(12) When Mordecai was told what Esther had said, (13) Mordecai had this message delivered to Esther: “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace. (14) On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.” (15) Then Esther sent back this answer to Mordecai: (16) “Go, assemble all the Jews who live in Shushan, and fast in my behalf; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will observe the same fast. Then I shall go to the king, though it is contrary to the law; and if I am to perish, I shall perish!”
The closest we have of God's name is "Place". The 4-lettered name of God will be found in some verses, when you read the first letter of the words. But never explicit.
And if we read carefully the megillah, we realize that all characters are playing with masks. Ahashverosh wants to be the though ruler, but he is ruled by his advisors. Haman, who wants glory above all, is shown as an insecure man who ends parading Mordechai on a horse. Mordechai sits in sackcloth and ashes, but is brought into the palace and is dressed in royal clothes. Zeresh reveals herself as wiser than Haman. Vashti begins as queen and ends as nothing.
The Hebrew language conveys a deep suspicion of clothes in the word beged.
Beged means clothes but bagad, as a verb, means to cheat.
בֶּגֶד ~ article of clothing, garment
בָּגַד ~ to engage in treason; to betray; to cheat on (a spouse)
אֱלֹקֵ֥י מַסֵּכָ֖ה לֹ֥א תַעֲשֶׂה־לָּֽךְ׃
You shall not make molten gods for yourself.
מַסֵּכָה - mask, disguise; (cosmetics) face mask
מָסָךְ - screen; (theater) curtain
So we could re-read this verse in several ways:
"Do not make masks your G-d" ~ meaning, do not make what is most external, the masks that we use to deal with others, a G-d. Do not forget that masks are just that, masks. What is superficial is not supposed to take over your life.
"Do not use your G-d as a mask" ~ meaning, do not use religion as a curtain to disguise who you are.
וַיִּקַּ֣ח מִיָּדָ֗ם וַיָּ֤צַר אֹתוֹ֙ בַּחֶ֔רֶט וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֖הוּ עֵ֣גֶל מַסֵּכָ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹקֶ֙יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
This he took from them and cast in a mold, and made it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
The molten calf, the Golden Calf, is a mask: a mask that hides the fear of the Israelites of having been abandoned by Moshe and G-d.
י״ח) בני, כשתכנס לפני יוצרך תכנס באימה וביראה וכשאתה מתפלל דע לפני מי אתה עומד.
My child, when you come before your Creator, come with fear and trembling, and when you pray, know before Whom you stand.
דע לפני מי אתה עומד
"Know before who you stand" can be reread as
דע לפני: מי אתה עומד
before approaching G-d, the Utmost Conscience, know who you pretend to be? Who are you enacting? This is the deeper question that Purim, with its masks and disguises, poses to us.
Know beforehand: who you pretend to be?
Rabbi Mishael Tzion:
Purim invites us to set aside a time in which we completely reverse our wardrobe, which in turn reverses our identity. It is an invitation to cross dress, but not only to cross genders (the classic Purim costume, mentioned in many collections of Rabbinic customs), but to cross and reverse all the other dichotomies and uniforms of our lives as well. On Purim we are using clothes against themselves, to deny their power to box us in, and simultaneously to redeem us from needing redemption. At its scariest hours, Purim, like the good carnival that it is, makes us wonder if there is an "authentic self" at all, or whether it is all just endless masks upon masks.
Purim questions us as whether we have a true essence or just a bunch of masks. The Torah points out to our tendency to create such masks. May we at least be aware of the masks.