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B"H
Does anybody know the origin of the custom practiced universally today to wear costumes at Purim? David |
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GY Moderator  |
I don't know what its origin is, but it is certainly not a modern custom. The following is an extract from an essay I received on Hilchos Purim written by Rav Josuha Flug for YU Torah.
Wearing Costumes of Questionable Permissibility There is a tradition of wearing costumes on Purim. These costumes can sometimes present halachic problems. Some costumes contain sha'atnez (a prohibited mixture of wool and linen). Others involve the prohibition against a male wearing female garments and vice versa. R. Yehuda Mintz in his responsa, no. 15, addresses the issue of a male wearing female garments. He notes that according to Tosafot, Avodah Zarah 29a, s.v. HaMistaper, the prohibition against a male wearing female garments only applies if it is for the purpose of beautifying oneself. If the garments are worn for some ulterior motive, there is no prohibition. Therefore, R. Mintz suggests that if a male would like to dress like a female on Purim, it is permissible since his motivation is not to beautify himself, rather to be a part of the festivities. R. Mintz's ruling is codified by Rama, Orach Chaim 696:8. However, R. Yoel Sirkes, Bach, Yoreh De'ah 182, disagrees. According to Bach, there are two scenarios where it is permissible for a male to wear female garments. First, the prohibition against a male wearing female garments only applies if his intention is to look (at least partially) like a woman. If his intention is anything other than to look like a woman, he may wear female garments. Second, if the article of clothing is one which is not worn for beauty, but rather for protection from the elements, that article may be worn by someone of the opposite gender. Bach claims that dressing like someone of the opposite gender on Purim is not included in either of these leniencies. First, the whole purpose of this act is to look like someone of the opposite gender. Although the original motivation is celebrate Purim, if the means of doing so are through dressing like someone of the opposite gender, it is prohibited. Second, the garments required to dress like someone of the opposite gender are not garments which are worn exclusively to protect one from the elements. Mishna Berurah 696:30, cites the opinion of Bach. R. Iserles, Darkei Moshe, Orach Chaim 696:5, applies R. Mintz's logic to wearing a costume that contains sha'atnez. The Mishna, K'laim 9:2, states that it is permissible to wear garments containing sha'atnez if one's intention is to avoid taxation on the garment (from someone who is not authorized by the government to collect those taxes). The Gemara, Baba Kamma 113a, states that the reason why there is no violation of the prohibition of sha'atnez is that the prohibition of sha'atnez only applies if one wears the garment for the purpose of wearing it. If one has some ulterior motive in wearing the garment, there is no prohibition. R. Iserles suggests that if one wears a garment containing sha'atnez for the purpose of celebrating Purim and not for the purpose of wearing the garment per se, there is no prohibition. R. Iserles, in his comments on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 696:8, rules that one may rely on this logic if the costume contains a form of sha'atnez which is only rabbinically prohibited. |
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would this apply even if it's too cold outside that you need the "lion costume" to keep you warm and comfortable? I remember something of if doesn't keep you warm it may be a pasik reisha |
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GY Moderator |
I found the following in the United Synagogue's (of London) Daf Shavuah. It's written by Rabbi Baruch Davis, Rav of Chigwell Shul in London.
Why do people dress up on Purim by Rabbi Baruch Davis We begin the answer to this question with another question: The Talmud asks: Esther min HaTorah minalan – Where is there an allusion to Esther in the Torah? This itself is a surprising question, for the Torah predates the Purim story by nearly a thousand years! The Talmud answers: Ve’anochi haster astir panai…and I shall surely hide My face… (Deut 31:18). The words ‘haster astir’ have the same root as the word ‘Esther’ and mean ‘to hide’. This is not just referring to Esther’s name, or to the fact that her Jewish identity was hidden, but to the entire Purim story, in which G-d’s face was ‘hidden’. There were no open miracles as in the Pesach story; just a series of ‘coincidences’ which the Jews of the time saw clearly as the hand of G-d in their salvation. These coincidences include: • The night the king couldn’t sleep, his book of chronicles ‘happened’ to fall open at the page which described how Mordechai had saved the king’s life; • At that very moment, Haman ‘happened’ to be lurking in the king’s courtyard, waiting for the opportunity to petition the king to have Mordechai hanged on the gallows which Haman had made; • On the next day, when the king was in a rage, having learned of Haman’s plot to kill Esther, Charvonah ‘happened’ to appear, informing the king that Haman had built gallows on which to hang Mordechai. These three “coincidences” brought the threat from Haman to an abrupt end. Clothes conceal the true person and on Purim, we take this to the extreme by dressing up in unusual costumes. It is as if to convey the central message of Purim, G-d is working behind the scenes and that whilst events may appear to be moving in a particular direction, the reality is quite different. |
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GY Moderator |
I really don't know. You can't pasken Halacha from the Gemara and you would have to check out the Sulchan Aruch onwards. |
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