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Purim is without a doubt one of the most fun days of the year. The holiday invokes images of costumes and masks, Purim shpiels and laughter.   But have we ever wondered why masks and disguises play such a prominent role in the holiday?

In the Torah, one of the few appearances of the word mask is in Shemot Perek 34 right after Moshe comes down from Har Sinai with the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. It says there that when Bnai Yisrael see Moshe, they are afraid to go near him as the skin of his face is literally radiant – “כי קרן עור פניו ”. Therefore in pasuk 33 it says “ויתן על פניו מסוה ” - Moshe puts a mask on his face in order to protect Bnai Yisrael from the intensity of his kedusha, his holiness.

Though no one in the Megillah wears a literal mask as Moshe did, a critical component of the story is that our heroine, Esther, must hide her identity for much of the story.   Her very name, Esther, means hidden (similar to the pasuk in Devarim 31:18 where HaShem warns us that if we do not follow His commandments, “ואנכי הסתר אסתירפני ” – I will surely hide My face).  In fact, Esther is not even her real name!  The Megilla initially introduces her to us as Hadassa, and then informs us that she is also called Esther (2:7).  Esther seems to be an alias that she uses in order to protect herself, to hide her Jewish identity from Achashverosh.

Interestingly, while the heroine’s name, Esther, is from the root meaning to hide, the word megillah is from the root ligalot, to reveal. Therefore, the phrase “Megillat Esther” together really means the revelation of that which is hidden.  In fact, the climax of the Megillah is the moment when Esther reveals her hidden Jewish identity to Achashverosh.  Taking this a step deeper, Megillat Esther is the only book in Tanach where Hashem’s name isn’t mentioned even once. However if one reads the story carefully, it’s clear that the turn of events is so improbable that it’s way too coincidental to be a coincidence; clearly the hand of God is acting behind the scenes. Thus, reading the Megillah reveals to us God’s hidden hand in the world.

We can now return to our original question: Why do we wear masks on Purim?  A central theme on Purim is revealing that which is hidden.  A mask can only cover one’s physical appearance; it cannot mask one’s core, one’s neshama, the essence of who one is. As with Moshe’s mask and Esther’s name, we see that masks can play important roles but are fundamentally superficial.  They do not change who the person is; they simply alter what they show to the world.  On Purim, we enjoy the fun of dressing up and taking on a different persona for the day.  But ultimately, our job is to perform “megillat esther” – to reveal that which is hidden and look behind the masks.  We should use the day to examine who we really are at our core, to appreciate the essence of our friends and family, and to see the hidden hand of God in the world and our lives.