Celebrating Purim, like Hanukkah, does not derive from a divine commandment, unlike the festivals mentioned in the Torah, so it is a holiday of more recent origin. Some biblical scholars, such as Hayyim Schauss, maintain that Purim initially arose among Persian Jews, who had adopted the custom from their neighbors, who annually celebrated the end of winter with a festival filled with laughter, games, and jokes.

From Persia, it spread to Babylon and later to the Land of Israel. They also base their argument on the fact that both the Greek translation of the Bible, the Septuagint, and the works of the historian Flavius ​​Josephus refer to Purim as Furdaia, a distortion of an ancient Persian festival called Farwadigan. In any case, whatever the true history of Purim, by the second century CE, a Mishnah tractate called the Megillah had been devoted to the details of its observance.

The Book of Esther, Megilat Esther, nowhere mentions the name of God, nor does it speak of the Temple in Jerusalem, nor of any religious practices, such as praying or eating kosher. It could be considered the most secular of the books of the Jewish Bible. Its only religious merit is that it was the origin of the festival of Purim. Chapter 9 states: “Therefore, they called these days Purim, from the name of Pur… So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city.”

The origins of the Book of Esther remain obscure. Due to the style of the Hebrew text and the lack of corroboration of the events and figures described there with the history of ancient Persia, scholars believe it was created much later, at the end of the Second Temple period. Some also consider the story to have parallels with various Middle Eastern myths, especially with the Babylonian gods Marduk and Ishtar, whose names were transformed into Mordechai and Esther, and whose stories were adapted to the circumstances of the Jews in the Babylonian exile. Theodore Gaster believes that Purim originated with the Babylonian New Year, when the gods determined the fate of mankind with a lottery, «puru» in Babylonian.

The Mishnah’s tractate Megillah establishes that we should celebrate Purim with: a feast where one must drink heavily, giving away food, the «mishloach manot,» reading Megillat Esther in the synagogue, and including the paragraph «al hanisim» in the daily prayers.

Surprisingly, the practice of wearing masks and costumes on Purim is not mentioned in the Talmud or the Midrash. The first to mention it was R. Yehuda ben Eliezer ha-Levi Minz, in the 15th century, in Teshuvot Mahari Minz; however, he does not explain the origin or the reasons for the disguise. Some rabbis and historians believe that this custom was copied from the European Christian carnivals celebrated at the same time of year, although a symbolic explanation is now sought, saying that Esther hid (disguised) her Judaism or that Mordechai was paraded dressed as a prince.

The festival of Purim is one of the most beloved celebrations within Jewish tradition. But its time and true meaning remain to be fully “unmask”.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Articles by Rabbi Ronald H. Isaacs, Theodore Gaster, and Adele Berlin.