March, 2019
Many years ago, a young boy sat across from me the night of Purim dressed as Haman. He had the hat, the vested garments, and was wickedly mustachioed.
It was, I had to admit, a great costume.
The laining of the Megillah commenced and before we knew it Haman’s name was mentioned. Now, the first and last time his name is mentioned is always the loudest and longest, and that laining was no exception.
I looked, and this boy was in one hand wildly shooting his cap gun (remember those?!) and in his other violently shaking his enlarged and very loud gragger. He was enjoying the laining immensely.
With each mention of Haman’s name, I watched how deeply into blotting out the name of Haman he was.
I watched him because I could not help but wonder how incongruous it all was.
How can one be dressed in the likeness of someone while also acting out the need to blot them out of history?!
As a side note, while some do bring down that we should not dress like a rasha, or a non-Jew –see Shulchan Aruch Hamikutzar –many, such as Rav Ephraim Greenblatt, are lenient, and the custom among many is indeed to be lenient. However, the Klausenberger rebbe and others are quoted as urging choosing costumes that represent tzadikim.
But this then led to another thought –why do we dress up at all on Purim?
The questions started to grow: How can we wear a costume during davening? What if a costume is so good that it will distract others from their davening? Does anyone check their rented costumes for shaatnez? Etc.
While we cannot focus on all of the myriad issues Purim costumes touch upon, we can try to unlock some of the core mysteries, and perhaps explain why so many dress like Haman.
Although beloved by many, there is no source or allusion to this minhag of wearing costumes found in chazal.
Now, at first blush this does not seem too concerning, however some have pointed out a fear that this minhag came from non-Jewish festivals around this time year, i.e. Lent and the Roman carnivals that took place at its time.
If correct, this could potentially be in violation of b’chukoseheim lo seileichu.
However, the Steipler (Orchos Rabbeinu) says that this is not the case at all. In fact, it would be hard to argue that such a non-Jewish custom-followed in only a handful of places around Purim time –would have caused a spontaneous minhag to develop all over the Jewish world.
Some even suggest that it is the other way around –some non-Jewish communities began to imitate the already burgeoning Purim minhag of dressing up to do the same during their holiday that took place around the same time.
So where does our minhag come from?
The earliest mention of this minhag is actually referenced by the Rama in the Shulchan Aruch. The Rema brings a teshuva from the shu’t Mahari Mintz, from a century earlier, who discusses some concerns with the costumes worn on Purim in his day in Italy, particularly relating to the issue of lo yilbosh (dressing only in clothes of one’s gender). Rav Yehudah HaLevi Mintz’s life spanned the entire 15th century (he was born in 1405 and died in 1508!). At the age of sixty-two he left Germany and became the rav of Padua in Northern Italy, and, due to his long life he was able to serve them for over forty years.
It was here in Italy that he first sees this custom.
While it is certainly possible that this minhag existed in fits and starts before his mention of it, it seems unlikely it was popular.
The question still remains as to why we dress up.
The most famous answer given is similar to why we eat kreplach on Hoshana Rabba. Kreplach –with its hidden meat-represents the hidden nature of that day, and costumes on Purim best represent the hidden nature of the miracle of Purim.
However, as pointed our relating to Hoshana Rabba, there are far less drastic ways to reflect this type of ness.
Others, like Rav Soloveitchik and Otzar Taamei Haminhagim point to all those who dressed up or who hid who they were in both the Megilla and throughout Jewish history. Eliyahu pretending to be Charvona; Haman saying he was Memuchan; Esther not revealing she was a Jewess; Mordechai being dressed by Haman in the kings royal clothing; Mordechai placing upon himself sackcloth.
Our doing the same as the above is explained as either a way to recall the ness of the story of Purim, a persumei nissa in action, or, to remind ourselves that just like in this story, the outside is not what matters rather only the pnemius.
The Ktzos HaShulchan and many others (see also Shalmie Todah p. 326; Nittei Gavriel p. 409, inter alia) explain this minhag brilliantly. In Bamidbar 21:1 the Torah teaches us of how after the passing of Aron and the removal of the ananei hakavod, Arad and the canaanim attacked bnei yisroel.
Chazal teach (see Rashi ad loc, Yalkut Shimoni, and Tosfos to Rosh Hashana 3a) that in fact this was Amalek who gave over the appearance as if they were Canaan so that they would not be recognized.
Based on this, some suggest that on Purim, when we recall Amalek, we poke fun of their failed plans by also dressing up.
Others use this Midrash to explain costumes on Purim in a different way, also explaining how we can dress as Haman. Chazal teach that although they acted and spoke like Canaan, we still recognized them due to their clothes which were amaleki clothes! We therefore dress in the clothing of Amalek to make fun of how they foiled their own evil plan by not also changing their mode of dress.
Another fascinating explanation (see Shalmei Todah ad loc. and others) to our minhag of costumes is based on a pasuk in the Megilla (8:17) regarding how many Gentiles converted to yiddeshkeit after the ness Purim. The Vilna Gaon on this pasuk points out that we did not accept these converts because although they made themselves look likeJews, this was only on the outside, and they did this out of fear. Based on this, we too dress up to recall this episode.
Others point to the language of the targum (Ch. 3) in the Megilla who explains Haman’s hate for Mordechai as stemming from Yaakov tricking Eisav into selling his firstborn rite. Yaakov, of course, was correct in this action –an action facilitated by his dressing up and ‘stealing’ the berachos!
This last explanation perhaps also explains why some dress like Haman, or other reshaim, for that is precisely what Yaakov had to do!
The Maharam Chagiz (Eleh Hamitzvos #543) suggests another explanation for our minhag of dress-up. Chazal teach (Megilla 12a) that just like the Jews only bowed to Haman from the outside, internally holding strong to their yahdus, so too did Hashem only give the appearance as if He was to destroy klal yisroel, but internally knowing He will save them. To recall that this whole episode only happened in ‘outside appearance’ we conceal faces and outside appearances. The Bnei Yisachar records a similar explanation.
The sefer Kol Aryeh and others suggest that the reason we dress up on Purim is to solve a technical problem. On Purim there is not only a mitzvah to give out mattanos le’vyonim, but to give tzedaka to anyone who asks.
Because of this and all people who have fallen on hard times could use this day to their benefit. However, how can we prevent some of them the shame of asking for help? We do so by asking everyone to dress up, thereby never knowing to whom we just handed money!
Based on this last answer, the Nittei Gavriel (siman 30 in the back of his sefer) teaches us something brilliant.
Have you ever wondered why on Purim-more so than any other Yom Tov-we always ask friends, family, and even strangers for a vort on the holiday or Megilla?
He explains that this was due to the above. Because we give tzedaka to anyone on this day, and, because we dress up to help facilitate this, there is a real fear of some taking advantage of this Jewish kindness. We therefore have a secret code to make sure the receiver is worthy!
This may also explain why ‘Purim Torah’ is synonymous with strange and humorous divrei Torah. Perhaps this is due to the fact that not all aniyay yisroel were well versed in Torah to give a decent vort over. So to continue the tradition of not embarrassing them, we not only dress up on Purim, but we say over strange divrei Torah so that they will not be embarrassed if when giving over our ‘secret code’ they do not have anything brilliant to offer!
As we always say –there is so much Torah and beauty in minhagei yisroel!
