Purim: Holiday of Masks

PURIM: HOLIDAY OF MASKS

The Book of Esther closes with the promise that “these days of Purim shall never cease among the Jews and the memory of them shall never perish among their descendants.  (Esther 9:28)  The observance includes making this a day of festive joy.  “They were to observe them as days of feasting and merrymaking, and as an occasion for sending gifts to one another and presents to the poor.”  (Esther 9:22)

In the story of Purim nothing is as it seems.  We are saved by God, who is nowhere mentioned in the book.  The hero is vulnerable Queen Esther who never fully reveals who she is.  The setting is Persia or some such place, but the king is incompetent and the villain literally falls on his face before Esther.  The story is very sensual – so what we all heard as children is a sanitized version. 

The masks we wear for the Purim carnival echo the ways in which the story alternately hides and reveals its purpose.  Even when God is not visible, the Divine presence offers protection.  As Modecai tells Esther, “perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.” (Esther 4:13-14)  We celebrate, but need to keep an eye out as well to know the role we might play in the Divine scheme. 

Purim has three requirements:

       To make this a day of merriment.  The classic carnivals and Purim shpiels (plays) mix with costume parties to make this a day unlike any other in the Jewish year.  The synagogue has a Purim party with all of these element.  Come and join the party – but think of  a good costume to wear!

       Sending Mishloach Manot (portions of food) as gifts to friends and to the poor.  This is a time to acknowledge one’s community and one’s good fortune.  The Sisterhood sponsors a Mishloach Manot project every year.  Let them send a basket to your friends, but also ask that they deliver a basket to one of the area homeless shelters.

       Proclaim the miracle.  Though God’s name is absent from the book of Esther, Divine protection is palpable throughout the story.  As during Hanukkah the blessing for this holiday recalls the “miracles you did for us at this season in those days.”  When you tell the story, when you send the gifts of food, remind your family and friends that the occasion for these gifts is the miracle that God did for us by making Esther and Mordecai victorious.