“Please wear a mask” took on a whole new meaning this past Purim. Now, as we read parshas Ki Sisah we are again confronted with a mask at the very end of the Parsha.
“When Moshe descended from Mount Sinai… Aharon and all the Children of Israel saw, and behold, the skin of Moshe’s face had become radiant; and they feared to approach him… Moshe finished speaking with them and placed a mask on his face. When Moshe would come before Hashem to speak with Him, he would remove the mask until departure; then he would leave and tell the Children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. When the Children of Israel saw Moshe’s face, that Moshe’s face had become radiant, Moshe put the mask back on his face, until he came to speak to Him (Hashem).” (Shemos 34:29-35)
From this point on, Moshe spends the rest of his life wearing a mask. Similar to what we experience, Moshe only has to wear his mask when he is around other people, with the exception of when he is offering a public address. The only difference is that Moshe wore his mask for the rest of his life and we…
The Ibn Ezra offers a number of explanations for Moshe’s mask. He first cites an opinion that Moshe’s face did not always glow with radiant light, rather only when he was speaking with Hashem or transmitting Hashem’s Torah to the Jewish people. Moshe wore a mask at all other times so that the Jewish people should not see that the light left his face, lest it diminish his stature in their eyes. The Ibn Ezra rejects this opinion and sides with those commentaries who maintain that the light never left Moshe’s face. He quotes “the Gaon” who explains that Moshe’s mask was intended to ease the fear of the Jewish people. The radiant light was very intimidating, he therefore hid his face from the public except when he was teaching them the word of Hashem, at which times it was appropriate to experience the intimidating awe of Hashem. The Ibn Ezra also does not agree with this explanation; he explains that the purpose of Moshe’s mask was not to protect the Jewish people from the glow of his face, but rather to reserve it for special occasions. Only when Moshe was speaking privately with Hashem or teaching Hashem’s commandments to the Jewish people would he allow his face to shine forth.
Rabbi Akiva Eiger offers a powerful drush on the topic of Moshe’s mask. He explains that Moshe was the humblest of all men, yet he was also the leader of the entire Jewish people. His role as leader required him to maintain a persona that demanded respect, he could not reveal his true humble self to the people. This, says Rabbi Akiva Eiger, is the mask that Moshe wore.
There is another lesson that we can glean from the commentaries regarding when specifically Moshe did not wear his mask. When he spoke with Hashem and when he taught the Jewish people, he would not wear his mask. Rabbeinu B’Chayei comments that when Moshe received the mitzvos from Hashem and when he taught them to the Jewish people, he did so with no separation whatsoever, all barriers had to be removed. S’forno comments that seeing Moshe’s face was necessary for the Jewish people to properly receive the Torah, as the Talmud in Eruvin (13B) relates that “(Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi) said: The fact that I am more incisive (in Torah) than my colleagues is (due to the fact) that I saw Rabbi Meir from behind, (i.e., I sat behind him when I was his student). Had I seen him from the front, I would be even more incisive, as it is written: “And your eyes shall see your teacher” (Isaiah 30:20).”
All these ideas give us ample grounds to pause and reflect on the many masks that we wear in life. There are many different masks that we all wear on different occasions, in different settings. The differences in the masks we wear are far more profound than differences of paper vs. cotton or N95 vs. 3-ply. On a deeper level, we don masks when we create a tough exterior to hide our tender emotions within. We maintain a picture-perfect appearance to hide all our shortcomings. We present a very put-together appearance so nobody should know that our lives get messy on occasion.
One of the beautiful aspects of Purim is that as inhibitions lower, our masks lower as well. We become more comfortable being ourselves. I often wonder if our Purim costumes are real costumes or are we wearing a costume the rest of the year?
We learn from Moshe Rabbeinu that masks are sometimes needed, not just to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but for many other reasons. We also learn that there are times to take off the mask. When we are alone with Hashem, when we are alone with ourselves, it is time to take off the mask. To be open and honest, to allow ourselves to be vulnerable before Hashem. If we do not afford ourselves these opportunities, we may never discover that so much of what we do and how we live is not who we truly are, but rather nothing more than a mask that we wear.
May Hashem bless us with health and safety. May we soon be able to live life without having to worry about covering our mouth and nose when around other people. May we recognize the many masks we wear in life and know with clarity when to wear them and when not.