Most evidence suggests that the concept of "masquerading in costumes" (on Purim) is a fairly recent addition to Purim, which was added sometime during the past five hundred years – in Europe. The exact date is debated. The practice probably did not exist in Middle Eastern countries earlier than 150 years ago. Sources in the oral law (or even some mystical works), which describe the validity of "hiding" (as it relates to Purim) are referenced to support this practice.

Dressing up in masks and costumes is one of the most entertaining customs of the Purim holiday. Children in particular enjoy dressing up as the protagonists in the Book of Esther, including Queen Esther and Mordecai; other Biblical personalities such as King David and the Kohen Gadol ("High Priest"), and modern-day costumes from flower girls to indigenous peoples of the Americas to animals to policemen.

Costumes and masks are worn to disguise the wearers’ identities. Mistaken identity plays an important role in The Book of Esther, as Esther hid her cultural origins from the king, Mordecai hid his knowledge of all the world’s languages (which allowed Bigthan and Teresh to discuss their plot openly in his presence), and Haman was mistaken for Mordecai when he led Mordecai through the streets of the capital city of Shushan.

More: http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D

Pictures courtesy of JerusalemShots.com

Purim in Jerusalem  JerusalemShots.com

JerusalemShots.com

Purim Carnival, Jerusalem JerusalemShots.com

תחפושת

ויכוח

אישיות

כהן

חיות

טעות

משעשע

A mask may change a person’s identity, his age and gender, social status and everyday appearance. Many ceremonial masks were used for ritual purposes such as rainmaking, curing disease and exorcising spirits and demons. Oftentimes such masks were in the image of deities or demons.

The use of rattles during the reading of the scroll is a symbolic expression of the extermination of the Amalekites, the first people whom the Israelites fought when they were wandering in the desert (Exodus 17:8-13). According to tradition, Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites.

Clay rattles that contain small stones or other materials for making noise were found in archaeological excavations in the country. The rattles occur in a variety of shapes, some are adorned with a painted or engraved decoration, but all of them produce the same noise that is characteristic of a rattle.

Most of the rattles were found in a cultic context or inside tombs and therefore there are those who believe that they were primarily used for ritual purposes. The frequency with which rattles occur in excavations throughout the country is explained by the fact that they are small objects that were relatively easy to manufacture and were used by the general population. There is the assertion that the clay rattle was an important musical instrument in the religious practices of the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah during the First Temple period.

Rattle from Hazor. Photograph: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Mask – image of a man, from Akhziv. Photograph: Miki Koren, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

image of a person, from Solomon’s Pillars. Photograph: Leonid Padrol, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
 
 

Grotesque mask from Akhziv. Photograph: Miki Koren, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority. 

English

מסכה

Ceremony

טקס

טקסי

rattle

רעשן

Materials

חומריםי

Spirits

רוחות

שד / שדים

רעש

A hamantash is a pastry in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine recognizable for its three-cornered shape. The shape is achieved by folding in the sides of a circular piece of dough, with a filling placed in the center. It is traditionally eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim. Hamantaschen are made with many different fillings, including prunes, nut, poppy seed, date, apricot, apple, fruit preserves, cherry, chocolate, dulce de leche, halva, or even caramel or cheese.

The name hamantash, is commonly known as a reference to Haman, the villain of Purim, as described in the Book of Esther. A more likely source of the name is a corruption of the Yiddish word montashn or the German word mohntaschen, both meaning poppy seed-filled pouches. Over time, this name was transformed to Hamantaschen, likely by association with Haman. In Israel, they are called Oznei Haman (אוזני המן‎), Hebrew for "Haman’s ears" where children are jokingly told these tasty pastries are the ears of Haman

More information:

http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%96%D7%9F_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%9F

Homemade hamantashen

מאפיה

בצק

מילוי

ריבה

אוזן

Poppy

פרג