Unmask Your Meaning

Who will you be this Purim? A king, a queen, a superhero, or someone completely unexpected? On Purim, you put on a costume and hide behind a mask. For a few hours, you become someone else. But beneath the fun and celebration lies a deeper question: Who are you really?

Purim reminds you that the person you appear to be is not always the person you are meant to become. The Megillah captures this with the words venahafoch hu, “and it was reversed.” What seemed fixed, changed. What seemed impossible, became reality. What was hidden, was revealed.

Think about Queen Esther. For much of the story, she hides her identity. She lives behind a mask, concealing who she is and where she comes from. But the turning point comes when she removes that mask. When she stands before the king and openly declares her identity, everything changes. Esther is only able to transform the fate of her people when she stops hiding. In that moment, she does not just save a nation. She discovers her own strength and steps into the person she was meant to be.

Purim is not just about something that happened long ago. It is about you.

Right now, you are standing at your own moment of transition. Choosing where to study is not just about picking a major or earning a degree. It is about choosing the environment that will shape who you become. On some campuses today, being openly Jewish can feel complicated. Students sometimes feel pressure to soften or conceal parts of who they are, their beliefs, their connection to Israel, their values. It can feel like wearing a different kind of mask.

Studying in Israel offers a powerful reversal of that experience. The need to “wear a mask” disappears, allowing you to live authentically and grow with confidence. And something powerful happens when the mask comes off. In the right environment, you grow differently. You move from passive learning to purposeful growth. From uncertainty to clarity. From potential to action. Living and studying in Israel challenges you, strengthens you, and helps you discover abilities you may not yet see in yourself.

Like the story of Purim, your journey can be its own venahafoch hu. The Megillah tells us that “There was light, joy, gladness, and honor for the Jews.” First came light. When light is cast onto confusion and fear, clarity emerges. When a problem is faced honestly and identity is embraced openly, a path forward becomes visible. And when clarity comes, joy follows. Questions can turn into direction. Doubt can turn into confidence. Possibility can turn into purpose.

Esther’s story shows that change begins when you stop hiding and step forward as your true self. The question is not only what you will study. It is who you are ready to become.

The future is calling. How will you answer?

*All the images in this blog post are courtesy of Ben Gurion University of the Negev from their annual Purim party.