大象传媒

To mark the Jewish festival of Purim, when observants wear masks and costumes, Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand examines the many forms of mask we wear.

Purim commemorates the story of Queen Esther of Persia, who hid her identity as a Jew when she entered the royal harem. Within the palace, not even her husband, the King, realises she's a Jew. But when the anti-Semitic villain of the story, Haman, reveals his evil plot to murder all of the Jews, Esther is forced into a moment of reckoning.

Her uncle Mordecai challenges her to take off her metaphorical mask and reveal her true identity. Mordecai argues that her current disguise won't save her from destruction. He also suggests that there has been a higher purpose to her masquerade - the redemption of her people. Esther's bravery and leadership save the day. She reveals her Jewish identity to the King and the evil Haman's plot is foiled.

So, Purim has become Judaism's topsy-turvy day, when masks are worn, identities played with and the lines between reality and fantasy are blurred.

Shoshana explores the significance of masks during Venice's carnivals, where the frivolity of the celebrations belies the profound historical origins of the masks. She also draws upon Giuseppe Verdi's opera A Masked Ball, which shows masks to reveal much about the human condition.

Masks can be used to hide physical deformity, as is the case in The Phantom of the Opera. They can also take the non-physical form of what Carl Jung called the persona - a kind of mask used to "conceal the true nature of the individual".

Shoshana concludes that masks can be used to hide or reveal who we are, depending on how we use them.

Presenter: Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI Media production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.