When my four year old daughter learned this week that Moshe wore a mask over his shining face, she asked me what mask and costume did Moshe wear for Purim?

Here’s what happened.

"ויהי ברדת משה מהר סיני ושני לחת העדת ביד משה ברדתו מן ההר, ומשה לא ידע כי קרן עור פניו בדברו אתו. וירא אהרן וכל בני ישראל את משה והנה קרן עור פניו וייראו מגשת אליו. ויקרא אלהם משה וישבו אליו אהרן וכל הנשאים בעדה, וידבר משה אלהם. ואחרי כן נשגו כל בני ישראל ויצום את כל אשר דבר ה' אתו בהר סיני. ויכל משה מדבר אתם ויתן על פניו מסוה. ובבא משה לפני ה' לדבר אתו יסיר את המסוה עד צאתו, ויצא ודבר אל בני ישראל את אשר יצוה. וראו בני ישראל את פני משה כי קרן עור פני משה, והשית משה את המסוה על פניו עד באו לדבר אתו" (שמות ל"ד: כ"ט-ל"ה)

"And it was, when Moshe came down from Mount Sinai – and the two Tablets of Testimony were in Moshe's hand when he descended from the mountain – that Moshe did not know that the skin of his face shone when He spoke with him. And Aharon and all of Bnei Yisrael saw Moshe, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him. Moshe called to them and they returned to him – Aharon and all the princes amongst the congregation – and Moshe spoke to them. And afterwards all of Bnei Yisrael drew near, and he commanded them all that God had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. And Moshe finished speaking with them, and he placed a veil over his face. And when Moshe came before God, that He might speak with him, he removed the veil, until he emerged; then he emerged and said to Bnei Yisrael that which he had been commanded. And Bnei Yisrael saw the face of Moshe, that the skin of Moshe's face shone, and Moshe replaced the veil on his face, until he went to speak with Him.” (34:29-35

The commentators ask why Moshe’s face shone, and specifically, why after bearing the second set of tablets? The answers to this question, which fall in several distinct categories, can be very instructive in understanding Jewish leadership.

The first grouping ascribe Moshe’s glow to some aspect of Divine interaction. Rashi suggests it was his intimate interface with God when Moshe plead to save the Jews (see Shmos 33:22). Rashi does not tell us why this was needed; simply that the radiance was a visible demonstration of Moshe’s accomplishment.  

The Midrash Tanchuma offers another rationale with a similar message. When Moshe was penning the Torah, Hashem provided him with ink from a Divine well. When Moshe completed taking dictation from the Almighty, a tiny amount of ink remained. God smeared it on Moshe’s face which caused the glow.

I found a few versions of this idea. The Or Hachaim Hakadosh (Bamidbar 12:3) notes another reason why Moshe earned this glow. When Moshe wrote the line, “And the man Moshe was very humble, more than any other men which were upon the face of the earth,” the Hebrew word for humble, anav, is written without a yud, despite usually having one. Moshe was uncomfortable extolling his own virtues even though he was taking dictation from Hashem and wrote the word humble in a less prominent way. Or Hachaim says that because he did not use the ink for that one tiny letter yud, HASHEM used that leftover ink to cause his countenance to shine. The Apter Rebbe in his Chanukas HaTorah, suggests a similar idea except Moshe’s humility is highlighted by not writing his name in last week’s parsha, parshas T’tzaveh, the portion dedicated to his brother Aharon. Here too Hashem smeared the leftover ink reserved for the three letters of his name on his face.  

A second series of answers parallels the first sequence, suggesting Moshe’s glow reflected an inner purity and piety, but independent of extra ink or exposure to the Almighty. (I heard this category of ideas from Rabbi Baruch Simon). The Midrash Yalkut Reuveini opines that Moshe’s glow derived from his willingness to sacrifice his legacy when arguing for Hashem to forgive the Jewish nation. His glow derived from caring more about the nation than himself. The Shem Mishmuel suggests that the luminosity reflected Moshe’s inner piety and beauty which reached its apex when he demanded that God erase him from the Torah without Divine forgiveness.

Rabbi Simon quoted Rabbeinu B’chaye who derived that Moshe was placed in the basket by his mother on the 6th of Sivan, three months after his birth. Decades later, that would be the great day of Revelation, a day with lightening and great brightness. The Midrash claims that baby Moshe caused the house to light up. As a result, his parents could no longer hide him. Rabbi Simon further cites Rav Yonoson Eibshitz who noted that Pharaoh’s magicians concluded that the future leader of the Jewish nation would come from the tribe of Levi. So Pharaoh opted for a strategy of excusing the Levites from slavery, assuming the distinction would cause them not empathize with the plight of their brethren. Moshe, however, was so compassionate and sensitive that despite not having worked, he felt every ounce of bondage.

A third series of answers revolve around restoring or elevating Moshe to a lost status. As the Torah relates, the first tablets were written in God’s handwriting; the second set were chiseled by Moshe. The entire nation witnessed the Revelation at Sinai which preceded the first tablets. The second tablets were given without pomp. No mortal was to ascend with Moshe this time. In order to protect the sanctity, integrity and binding nature of the second Tablets, Hashem sought a way to prove that He indeed gave them to Moshe. The rays emanating from his holy face, suggests Rabbeinu B’chaye, proved this. Rabbi Amnon Bazak, a contemporary Israeli textual scholar, argues that Moshe needed this glow after the building of the Golden Calf whose purpose was to replace him as leader with an immortal (albeit false) deity. The nation assumed that Moshe left them. They understood that as a mortal leader, death was an inevitability. Consequently, Hashem felt that they needed to experience Moshe as a bit more than another human. When the idea of creating a golden calf is first suggested (Shmos 32:1), Moshe is specifically referred to as a mortal, a man- v’haish Moshe. In Rabbi Bazak’s words, “Moshe needed an upgrade in their eyes.”

Finally, Rabbi Hershel Schachter cites his Rebbe, Rav Soloveitchik, who distinguished between the first and second tablets. At Revelation, Moshe was an emissary delivering the tablets to the nation. Regarding the second tablets, he absorbed the Torah into the essence of his personality. He had been transformed into a Sefer Torah. This was his luster.

If you recall from the Star Wars movies, the directors created a glow around the deceased Jedi knights, signifying some form the achievement of nirvana or spiritual perfection. After the sin of the golden calf, the nation needed strong moral leadership. The common denominator among the commentators and approaches above is that the true Torah leader needs to be set apart. The leader of the Jewish people needs to be a moral guide, someone to whom people look up and admire. The radiance could help identify this person as unique and singular, or it could be a natural consequence of moral fortitude and greatness.

One of my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone is called The Masks. (http://putlocker.is/watch-the-twilight-zone-tvshow-season-5-episode-25-online-free-putlocker.html) Set during the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, a dying man asks his relatives to wear masks until he passes. (spoiler alert! if you plan on watching the episode). The masks magically transform their inner ugliness to their faces. Everyone now manifests their true selves. The first time I saw this episode I just thought about Purim and thought about Moshe.

Hashem arranged for Moshe’s inner perfection to shine forth on his face, so much so that, similar to God Himself, one could not behold his countenance. While no mortal is without sin, Torah leaders need to lead by example. I often quote an aphorism of a teacher of my wife: “Leadership is not taught: it’s caught.” When we see people’s inner working, when we catch them off guard, we see who they really are. Our leaders need to be people of lofty faith who are guided by the Divine morality of the Torah, whose lives are dedicated to others, to giving more than taking.

The ideal is to achieve tocho k’varo, where one’s insides and outsides are one.

My dear Rachelie! Moshe didn’t wear a mask to be someone else “on Purim.” He wore his soul on his countenance. The mask was only needed for those who could not handle the unity of his inner and outer existences.