The masks of Purim are no joke. The Rama (646:8) mentions them as a bona fide minhag of Purim. This means that wearing a mask somehow fulfills the essence of this unique Yom Tov. This year, especially, when we struggle to balance the Purim seudah with our Shabbos preparations, it has become even more obvious that there are many layers to the inner meaning of Purim. In light of Purim, which occurs on Friday, let’s explore this powerful custom and metaphor.
Let us begin with a ruling by Rav Chaim Kanievsky that he issued for his alma mater, so to speak, the Lomza Yeshiva, where he learned as a young man. The famed Petach Tikvah Yeshiva was excited to have received a bequest in the form of a donation from a Jew whose children were sadly not religious and didn’t appreciate losing a large sum of their inheritance to an institution they didn’t appreciate or understand. They fought the will in court, and the extended debate wasn’t going well for the yeshiva. The hanhalah approached Rav Chaim, who always exhibited his hakoras hatov for his early years there, asking if they should hire an expensive lawyer to represent the yeshiva.
To the yeshiva leadership’s surprise, Rav Chaim responded with a laugh. Asking respectfully, but in utter shock, the menahel asked what was so funny. Rav Chaim patiently explained, “What do you think is happening at this moment up in Shomayim? The deceased is being judged up in Heaven to decide if he is worthy of having his funds used for Torah or perhaps he doesn’t have enough merits, causing the money to go to the irreligious heirs. Obviously, the matter is complicated, since no decision has yet been rendered. Do you think that wasting money on an expensive barrister will change the Heavenly verdict? Wait patiently. If in Shomayim it is decided that he is proven worthy, the yeshiva will receive the money. If not, the heirs will waste it, because the man was not zocheh, but a lawyer down here has nothing to do with it.”
As one of the rabbonim involved pointed out, “To one who lives with the Ribono Shel Olam, Rav Chaim knew instantly that our power is limited to our tefillos, teshuvah, and tzedakah. Decisions are not up to us at all. Purim is the ultimate example of what should be our realization that the official storyline about anything, all the more so about the fate of Klal Yisroel, is hidden in details that merely conceal what is actually happening in the real world.
As Rav Eliyohu Eliezer Dessler points out in his Michtav M’Eliyohu, the events of the Megillah span nine years. After Klal Yisroel “enjoyed the feast of the wicked Achashveirosh” (Megillah 12a), years went by, and most of Klal Yisroel forgot about this iniquity that they transgressed. However, Mordechai did not. He decided that he would help atone for the apparent lack of bitachon and emunah on the part of many Jews by refusing to bow down to Haman. Now, many Jews blamed Mordechai for this unnecessary endangerment of the nation. They contended that bowing to the most powerful man in the world was actually not forbidden, since Haman was not exactly an idol and was merely an egomaniac.
On the surface, one conflict was happening, but in Heaven, Klal Yisroel was being judged, as Rav Chaim taught the hanhalah of the Lomzah Yeshiva. But the metaphor goes much deeper. Chazal (Megillah 12a) tell us that there was kosher food at the king’s feast and it was, in fact, dangerous not to attend. Imagine, they claimed, if all other nationalities from Hodu to Kush – the entire ancient world – attended and gave honor to the despot king and the Jews were visibly absent. The ramifications could have been disastrous, and they couldn’t understand Mordechai’s seemingly extremist position.
So what, in fact, was Klal Yisroel supposed to do? We had to attend the party, and we were allowed to eat. What did we do so wrong that there was an edict of extinction upon all the Jews in the world?
We must remember that Achashveirosh had wickedly brought forth the holy vessels of the Bais Hamikdosh and dressed in the vestments of the Kohein Gadol. Today we read the words (Megillas Esther 1:7) with the tune of Eicha because their appearance at the feast in fact celebrated the destruction of the Bais Hamikdosh, but at the time, we not only attended but enjoyed the party.
What should we have done?
The answer is simple. We should have worn an invisible mask. Yes, one must smile at the king and compliment his occupation of the throne. But inside, we should have been crying. The masks of Purim are the antidote and kapparah for the lack of a mask at the party that got us into so much trouble. Mordechai, who attended the party, in effect as the mashgiach, making sure that the food was kosher, perceived this failing on our part and responded by risking his own life to be moser nefesh for Klal Yisroel’s forgiveness.
But the masks, far from superficial disguises, represent an essential aspect of our relationship with Hashem. The Gemara (Chulin 139b) asks, “Where is Esther hinted at in the Torah?” It answers with the posuk of “Ve’anochi hastir astir Ponai – I will hide My face” (Devorim 31:17). Far from a mere play on words and names, the posuk references the essence of Purim. Unlike the majority of our national miracles such as Pesach and Chanukah, on Purim we celebrate Hashem when He is hidden from us, but retrospectively we realize that He was controlling events all along. While the Megillah may seem like an ordinary story with heroes, heroines, and villains, it is actually an annual reminder and commemoration of Hashem’s constant presence and providence in our lives.
At the end of the nine years of the Megillah, Hashem’s role and control may have been all but invisible. But Mordechai, Esther, and the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah gave us the great gift of the Megillah and Purim to remind us that Hashem is always with us.
I vividly remember the Novominsker Rebbe relating that his mother-in-law, a survivor of Churban Europa, was often asked, “Where was Hashem in the Holocaust?” Her simple but profound answer was, “In yeder vinkel – In every corner.”
To some, the presence of the Hamans, Chemeilnickes, Hamans, and other vile enemies obscure the presence of a loving Creator. But to others, especially perceptive survivors, He is always there.
To plumb even deeper, both Yaakov and Eisov engage in masquerades. At his mother’s behest, Yaakov impersonates Eisov, but Eisov is the one who approaches his father under totally false pretenses. He asks religious questions, designed to fool his father into believing his religiosity, but in truth, he is a counterfeit and charlatan. Rashi (Bereishis 26:34) notes that Eisov is likened by Dovid Hamelech (Tehillim 80:14) to a “chazir m’yaar – a boar of the forest,” because, unlike virtually all other non-kosher animals, he does not chew his cud, but does extend his cloven hooves (see Vayikra 11:7; Vayikra Rabbah 13:5), attempting to prove his propriety. Rav Tzadok Hakohein of Lublin (Resisei Laylah) reminds us that Eisov’s falsehood is generic to his essential hypocrisy. However, Yaakov is who he is and only resorts to disguise when absolutely necessary to save his future progeny from falling into the murderous hands of Eisov. But Eisov doesn’t only occasionally put on a costume. He is a living lie throughout his own life and those of his descendants who follow in his ways. At Achashveirosh’s depraved party, we should have followed our father Yaakov’s ways and worn the mask of smiles concealing our inner weeping. Unfortunately, this time, our inner and outer emotions were in sync with each other, nearly leading to tragedy.
Today, we don the masks that remind us that our inner selves must always be measured by absolute truth, while our face to the world can sometimes hide that absolute emes.
This distinction between Yaakov and Eisov is embodied in the famous cry of Yitzchok Avinu: “The voice is Yaakov’s voice but the hands are Eisov’s hands” (Bereishis 27:22). The hands represent the external, but the voice comes from within. Yaakov, the last of the avos, is genuine and authentic, whereas Eisov and his descendants are shams and imposters.
If we need a current dramatic example of this hoax and deception, we need only reflect upon the recent condemnation of our nation as the aggressors and genocidal villains against Hamas and their hordes of savages. Eisov tries to ingratiate himself with his father and others with his fulfillment of kibbud av v’eim, even as he plots his father’s demise.
Now that we have struggled to balance Shabbos and Purim, we can realize more vividly how every one of our actions must be carefully calibrated to the level of respect and sanctity we are seeking to honor. Indeed, we learn from Purim that not only our actions are judged, but also our innermost emotions and thoughts are measured precisely. May Hashem accept our joint honoring of Shabbos and Purim this week and reward us with His presence in our lives, both in His hidden mode and even in the open manifestation of the true geulah bemeheirah b’yomeinu.
