golden calf, which Israel worshiped through eating and drinking, thus we fast. But on Purim the miracle happened because the Jews fasted. Therefore we make atonement by eating and drinking. Indeed Purim is on a higher rung than Yom Kippur. ® They reinterpreted the carnival message of Purim as a way to greater holiness. Dov Baer , the Maggid of Meseritch wrote:“A man needs to drink on Purim until he can not distinguish between‘Cursed is Haman ’ and‘Blessed is Mordecai ’ because he needs to establish himself on the love of Purim . All will ascend to the Creator, may He be blessed. This is the meaning of‘can not distinguish’ for all is equal in His eyes. We serve God even with‘cursed is Haman ” because that is our physical self.” We must get drunk on Purim despite the fact that scripture often warns us of the evils of drink 5°
As to masquerades: we are told that Israel sinned in the days of Nebuchanezer by bowing down to idols facing(lefanim) the idol. God in return faced them(lefanim) with punishment. That is why we hide our faces behind masks at times of joy so that we will not be recognized. Another reason we dress up is that in the Gar
den of Eden we will be dressed in precious garments. If we dress
in a similar garment in this world we will be as spiritual as in the Garden of Eden. In all of these Hasidic teachings disorder is held to be more important than order. The world is blessed by people who take the risk and in ecstasy serve God . Sobriety and seriousness as ideal male behaviors are abandoned. Rabbi Nachman urges his followers to give way to joy by dancing and clapping on Purim , Hanukkah , and weddings for so is God served.” The Baal Shem Tov ’s comment is to the point: If you want a horse to neigh you must slacken the reins. Holiness emerges out of chaos.
If we turn now to some of the important Orthodox decisors of the twentieth century we find something new. Our rule is used as a way to isolate Jews and to help create separate communities distinguished by dress. Answers to questions that grow out of our verse are almost all concerned with women and most of them are answered stringently. They are all aimed at restricting the lives of women by prescribing permissible ways of dress to a very narrow, defined pattern and thus defining them socially.
For men the issue is different. Men are rarely addressed, and when they are, it is with consideration. Thus Rabbi Yechiel Jacob Weinberg in a long responsum answers several questioners who