Compiled for the Minnesota JCC's Purim 5782 gallery exhibit, this source sheet is an invitation to delve into the themes of Purim. Read, reflect, and discuss with your friends and family. Chag sameiach / have a happy Purim!
(יח) וְאָנֹכִ֗י הַסְתֵּ֨ר אַסְתִּ֤יר פָּנַי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא עַ֥ל כָּל־הָרָעָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה כִּ֣י פָנָ֔ה אֶל־אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֲחֵרִֽים׃
(18) And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
(י) לֹא־הִגִּ֣ידָה אֶסְתֵּ֔ר אֶת־עַמָּ֖הּ וְאֶת־מֽוֹלַדְתָּ֑הּ כִּ֧י מָרְדֳּכַ֛י צִוָּ֥ה עָלֶ֖יהָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תַגִּֽיד׃
(10) Esther had not made known her people nor her kindred; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not tell it.
Ancient Hebrew texts love a good play on words! According to the story of Purim, Esther’s given name was “Hadassah”. The name “Esther”, which she took to conceal her identity as a Jew before marrying the King, may be related to Old Persian “stāra”, meaning “star”. Other scholars suggest “Esther” comes from “Ishtar”, the Babylonian goddess of love. Multiple meanings are possible, and the Talmud states that Esther’s name is connected to the Hebrew word ahs-teer, “I will hide”. The rabbis of the Talmud see this not only as a description of Esther’s act of self-preservation, but as a key to understanding G-d's apparent absence in the story (see Deuteronomy 31:18).
"The Scroll of Esther is all about revealing and concealing. On the deepest theological level, even God is concealed; God's name is never mentioned. Ironically, however, the Rabbis (Chullin 139b) stress that the very name of Esther (Ester) reveals God's absence, applying God's own promise to Moses prior to his death.... The circumstances alluded to in this verse from Deuteronomy are applied to the days of Esther and Mordechai, perhaps implying God's abandonment of the Jewish people and their eventual destruction. Similarly, much of what is apparent on the surface of the narrative masks a different reality."
-Cohen, D. N. J. (2012). Masking and Unmasking Ourselves: Interpreting Biblical Texts on Clothing & Identity (1 edition). Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights.
Isaac Sender, The Commentators' Al Hanissim: Purim
Masquerading also alludes to the miracle of Purim, which was "masked" within the laws of nature...Even the name of the Megillah and its heroine, Esther, allude to what is "hidden" or "masked". The Gemara asks: 'Where is Esther's name alluded to in the Torah? And the answer given is that it is alluded to in the verse: "And I will surely hide My face." For this reason we wear masks to emphasize the symbolism of camouflage.
Masquerading also alludes to the miracle of Purim, which was "masked" within the laws of nature...Even the name of the Megillah and its heroine, Esther, allude to what is "hidden" or "masked". The Gemara asks: 'Where is Esther's name alluded to in the Torah? And the answer given is that it is alluded to in the verse: "And I will surely hide My face." For this reason we wear masks to emphasize the symbolism of camouflage.
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How do you find courage and inspiration when what normally gives you strength or joy appears to be absent?
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How important is it for you to "see" something to believe it?
Ba'al Shem Tov - Tzedakah in Costume
“It is a mitzva...to dress up on Purim” - Indeed, it is a great mitzva, because in this way one cannot tell the noble man from the poor. And therefore they [the rabbis] instituted the mitzvah of gifts to the poor on Purim, because when people dress up, the mitzvah of tzedakah may be performed in its most appropriate manner [כתיקונה]. One does not know then to whom they give, and the one who receives does not know from whom they receive, and thus no one is embarrassed to appear needy and dependent on human kindness. This is the best manner of anonymous giving, when one gives while in costume to someone else in costume.
“It is a mitzva...to dress up on Purim” - Indeed, it is a great mitzva, because in this way one cannot tell the noble man from the poor. And therefore they [the rabbis] instituted the mitzvah of gifts to the poor on Purim, because when people dress up, the mitzvah of tzedakah may be performed in its most appropriate manner [כתיקונה]. One does not know then to whom they give, and the one who receives does not know from whom they receive, and thus no one is embarrassed to appear needy and dependent on human kindness. This is the best manner of anonymous giving, when one gives while in costume to someone else in costume.
- How does it feel to give or receive in anonymity? Do you agree that this is the "most appropriate manner" (alternative translation: fullest expression) of charitable giving?
Masking and Unmasking Ourselves
"On Purim, Jews dress up and wear masks that change faces etched in pain and suffering into joy and frivolity. On the surface, it seems that Purim involves an escape from reality, one moment in which we can mask the pain and difficulties we experience and don fanciful carnival masks and costumes.
...Yet, we may ask what lies beneath a story that intimates the absence of God and meaning, and the holiday of Purim, which is about frivolity and play. Underneath the garment of the story is perhaps a glimpse of the existence of a force in the universe that can help us move beyond who we are and what our lives presently are, and enable us to become who we aspire to be.
What may be necessary is for us to recognize that, unlike the Exodus story, in which God is recognized through redemptive miracles, the Purim story demands that we come to recognize the Presence of the Divine through the ability to hear the hidden voice of God. The redemptive paradigm of Esther is to see the camouflaged Divine in the darkness of our lives."
-Cohen, D. N. J. (2012). Masking and Unmasking Ourselves: Interpreting Biblical Texts on Clothing & Identity (1 edition). Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights.
"On Purim, Jews dress up and wear masks that change faces etched in pain and suffering into joy and frivolity. On the surface, it seems that Purim involves an escape from reality, one moment in which we can mask the pain and difficulties we experience and don fanciful carnival masks and costumes.
...Yet, we may ask what lies beneath a story that intimates the absence of God and meaning, and the holiday of Purim, which is about frivolity and play. Underneath the garment of the story is perhaps a glimpse of the existence of a force in the universe that can help us move beyond who we are and what our lives presently are, and enable us to become who we aspire to be.
What may be necessary is for us to recognize that, unlike the Exodus story, in which God is recognized through redemptive miracles, the Purim story demands that we come to recognize the Presence of the Divine through the ability to hear the hidden voice of God. The redemptive paradigm of Esther is to see the camouflaged Divine in the darkness of our lives."
-Cohen, D. N. J. (2012). Masking and Unmasking Ourselves: Interpreting Biblical Texts on Clothing & Identity (1 edition). Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights.
Dr. Pnina G. Feller
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 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...Purim...makes us wonder if there is an "authentic self" at all, or whether it is all just endless masks upon masks.
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 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...Purim...makes us wonder if there is an "authentic self" at all, or whether it is all just endless masks upon masks.
Oscar Wilde
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Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. |
Questions for reflection and discussion:
- What do these texts spark for you?
- What "masks" do you wear in daily life? How do you feel about them?
- Are there times when you find “wearing a mask” helpful or empowering?
- Are there parts of yourself that you long to express? What do you wish people understood about you?
- Do you think there is an "authentic self" or just "endless masks upon masks", as suggested by Dr. Feller?
- Who do you aspire to be? What masks might you need to shift, shed or take on to become that self?