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Monday, March 09, 2009

Why do we masquerade on Purim?

If one more person tells me that we hide our faces on Purim as a way of paying homage to the hidden miracles, or to God's hidden face, my eyes are going to roll right out of my head.

People. We masquerade on Purim because once upon a time masquerading was how the world demonstrated joy. You can still see vestiges of this in current Mardi Gras celebrations or Carnival. The first Jews to wear masks were the Jews of Italy, who were copying the practice of the local gentiles.

There's no deeper theological reason. In fact, the custom of masquerading was entirely unknown among Persian and Arab Jews.

Previously
A shrill Purim protest
Things about Purim that bother me
How Hasidim sing the grogger song?
The truth about the "Purimfest 1946" bible code (all time great post!)
The REAL reason (maybe) we rattle noisemakers at Haman's name.

Parodies
The GOP Jew's Megillah (all time great post!)
Plot holes in the Book of Esther

More
Meat at the Seudah?
Re: Mishloach Manot (are you a lunatic or a lazy bones?)
Stuff we got (and liked) (all time great post!)
Post Purim Worries

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