Jews Unmasked  

Shushan was a city of masks.

Not the kind we wear on Purim, costumes of joy, disguises for celebration. These were different. Masks of survival, of silence, of Jews who thought they could hide forever.

They believed they had figured it out. They followed the rules. They contributed to society. They had a seat at the king’s table.

For a while, it worked.

They raised their glasses in the banquet hall, surrounded by golden goblets and silk-draped courtyards. They were part of the empire. Part of the world.

Until one day, they weren’t.

Haman’s decree came overnight. One moment, they were Persians. The next, they were Jews.

That was enough.

The Jews of Shushan wore the mask of belonging. When the empire turned against them, that mask did not save them.

It never does. No matter what deals they make.

Today, We Are Wearing the Same Mask

Every generation of Jews has had its Shushan. In Spain, conversos erased their past, hiding their names and their traditions in the walls of their homes. In Soviet Russia, families destroyed their books, kept quiet in public, careful not to say too much.

Today? One in three Jews in America has been the target of antisemitism in the last year.

Nearly half have changed their behavior out of fear.

Four in ten have stopped wearing or displaying Jewish symbols in public.

A Jewish student lowers their voice to a whisper when talking to a friend about where their family is from.

A Jewish business owner takes down a sign in their store that once marked them as Jewish.

A Jewish traveler chooses not to speak Hebrew in an unfamiliar city.

We tell ourselves “it’s temporary”, that “it’s just for now.”

Purim teaches us the truth. It never stops there.

When Jews erase themselves, the world does not thank them. It turns against them anyway.

The world tells us, “Put the mask back on.” “Stay quiet.” “Don’t make trouble. Maybe then you’ll be safe.” History proves otherwise.

When Jews erase themselves, the world does not thank them. It turns against them anyway. Purim is not just a holiday. It is a warning.

Removing the Mask

Even the Scroll of Esther was hidden before it was revealed. Mordechai and Esther wrote the story of Purim as it happened, but for years, it was just a record. It was not yet sacred, not yet part of the Jewish canon. Only later, when Queen Esther insisted, was it rewritten by the Men of the Great Assembly and sealed as part of Jewish scripture.

Esther understood what we often forget. If the Jewish people do not tell their own story, someone else will. The Persians would have written their own version. They would have rewritten history.

So, Esther made sure it could never be erased. She ensured that future generations would read her story not as a relic of the past, but as a message for the future.

She made sure we would remember that Jews do not survive by disappearing. Jews survive by knowing when to reveal themselves.

The turning point of the Purim story is not when Haman is defeated. It happens much earlier when Esther removes her mask.

She had played the game perfectly. She had hidden who she was. She had survived by blending in.

When the moment of crisis came, Esther had a choice: Keep the mask on and hope it would protect her or take it off and stand with her people.

When the moment of crisis came, Esther had a choice: Keep the mask on and hope it would protect her or take it off and stand with her people.

She could have tried to stay safe on her own but Esther understood something far more powerful: There is no such thing as Jewish survival alone.

So, she made a brave choice: she risked her life and stepped into the throne room, unmasked.

She revealed who she was, not just for herself, but for her people.

In that moment, her moment, everything changed, because when Jews unmask, the world is forced to see us. When Jews stand together, the world cannot break us.

The Jews of Shushan did not survive because of one person. They survived because they stood together.

Jewish identity is not just about faith. It is about peoplehood.

It is about the unspoken connection between Jews who have never met.

It is about the pull of history, the weight of memory, the knowledge that we do not walk alone.

It is about knowing that wherever we are in the world, we are part of something unshakable. When we remember that, we are unstoppable.

Haman was certain the Jews would remain silent. He built the gallows early.

He was wrong.

If you have hidden who you are, reclaim it.

If you have taken down what once marked you, put it back up.

If silence has replaced conviction, speak.

If you are cancelling your event, have it.

If you feel alone, remember, you are part of something unshakable.

Jews do not survive in isolation. We survive together. We stand together. And we will never disappear.

When we remove the disguise, we reveal our strength.

Together, we are unstoppable.

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