Why purim masks

Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights. Texts Topics Community Donate. Log in Sign up. Site Language. Prefer to see German translations when available? Yes No. The entire Book of Esther can be defined as a story of masks. The Book begins with a wine-drinking banquet. From that point on, the atmosphere of a drinking feast continues to reign in all the events and episodes of the story. Some of the masks in the Book of Esther are explicitly described, while others are supplemented with Midrashic stories.

The king and his ministers see only her mask. None of them knows who she really is. Mordechai, too, is a masked figure, partially revealed and partially hidden.

Haman, too, is a two-faced figure. Our Sages explain his relationship with Mordechai by positing that the two had known each other much earlier in their lives, when both were insignificant. They also tell us that Haman was a hairdresser and bath attendant in a small village. At first, this Midrash seems quite odd. However, as we examine our history, we discover that many Jew-haters began as small, unimportant figures.

Once they reached positions of power, they could reveal what had always been seething within them: Jew-hatred. Haman could not contain his own greatness, and was therefore insulted by a person who should have meant nothing to him. That was why he was so eager for a royal decree giving him the right to rule over her. Of all the protagonists of the Book of Esther, perhaps the only one whose outer appearance matches his inner essence is King Ahasuerus.

The Book of Esther tells us that he knew the contents of this scroll. For many American Jews, Purim went on largely as normal, perhaps with some joking about elbow-bumps instead of handshakes during megillah readings and synagogue festivities. In some communities, the holiday is thought to have helped spread the virus — and in many, it was the last time people gathered in large groups.

Nearly a year into the global pandemic, with American deaths inching closer to , and the U. Those innocent in-person celebrations seem far more than a year ago. Social distancing, once anathema to Jewish observance, became de rigueur; many congregations are offering a panoply of virtual services and events this year.

And masks that mark the costumes of the day have taken on new meaning, speaking volumes for the mouths they cover. Everyone is now an epidemiologist and an exposure scientist. Purim of began at sundown on Monday, March 9.

Global stock markets were tumbling and a population lockdown was enforced in northern Italy where the virus was quickly getting out of control. In the early days of the pandemic, Andrea Markewitz left and her neighbor donned gloves and served buffet style at their Purim meal in The adults wore gloves and served the food, tacos and chili, buffet style.