From the Head of Jewish Life
Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life
Unmasking Purim
It seems ironic that Purim has become a masquerading event when the Purim story is about unmasking one’s true self.
Recently, in our Jewish studies class on Freedom, the students were asked – Do masks allow us to be more or less free/ourselves? The responses were varied, reflecting the sense that this might not be an either/or proposition. Speaking to the Purim story, the students considered, as well, whether court Jews, and there were quite a few in Jewish history, had greater or lesser freedom in being themselves than their fellow non-court Jews.
The root meaning of the name אסתר/Ester, our Purim heroine, is סתר/hidden. The root meaning of the word מגילה/megillah is גלה/reveal. מגילת אסתר/Megillat Ester, the Scroll of Ester, therefore, is also understood to connote the unmasking or revealing of Ester.
Hidden as a non-Jew within the court of Achashveirosh, she reveals her true self, and risks her life, to rescue her fellow non-court Jews who are facing destruction due to their unmasked Jewishness.
It has often been pointed out that there is no mention of God in the Purim Megillah.
The Rabbis note that the story of Ester/Purim is foreshadowed in the Torah when God says:
הסתר אסתר פני/Haster Aster Panai – “I will certainly hide My face”. As we are in God’s image, God is hidden when our unmasked self is not present. The Divine concealed is revealed when Ester discloses herself.
Below are some posters created by the students of our class as we prepared for our Purim celebration and revelation of self.
