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Pragmatist
Pragmatist

Masks
Wed Mar 05 2003

I went to a Rosh Chodesh celebration last night, and the subject of discussion was the masks we wear, all tied in with Purim.

For non-Jewish readers who don't know what I'm talking about--Rosh Chodesh, literally translated means head of the month. The Hebrew calendar is lunar, and when the first sliver of the new moon is spied over Jerusalem, the new month has started. It is a "half-holiday" for women, also. Men are supposed to take care of the kids and give the wife a day off to celebrate. It's strictly a woman's day.

As for Purim, read the Book of Esther. Purim is plural form of "pur" which means "lot." As in drawing lots to see who goes first. The celebration involves masks and costumes, and general revelry.

So, now, onto the discussion.

We all wear masks of one kind or another. It's a way of showing our multiple personalities (no, not schizophrenic personalities) to people in various situations. Mothers are different from wives. Teachers are different from lawyers. And to extend that idea, a mother who is also a lawyer, shows one face (mask) in the courtroom, and a different face (mask) when she goes home.

Also among friends, we show different sides of ourselves. The person you are to your sister is a different person you show to a friend. The persona I present to a male friend is entirely different from the persona I present to my best (female) friend. The mask to suit the person/place/situation.

This has been a revelation of major proportions to me. I always thought about myself as "what you see is what you get." Well, that's true if you grant the mask I'm showing you at the present time. It suits, but it certainly isn't the whole me. The only person who comes close to knowing the "whole me" is my daughter, and there's lots she doesn't know. And she'll never know cuz I ain't-a gonna tell her!

At the conclusion of the discussion, we were given two incomplete sentences to finish. As we went around the room of about 30 women, I had the feeling that some of the responses were masked. It's terribly difficult to open oneself in a group of people you know, but not that intimately, as you will understand when you read the sentences. Think about how you would answer to yourself and to a group. I think there's a big difference.

1. I sometimes have to hide my true nature from the world because....

2. If I could tell the world one thing about myself, I would say....

Shalom.

5 Comments
  • From:
    Sezrah (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Mar 05 2003
    hi pragmatist,
    one thing (of the many) i love about the jewish culture is the feasts and times of celebration, how wonderful to have a womans day!
    the two questions are rather personal, not to be shared with just anybody
    *hugs*

    sez
  • From:
    Becoming (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 06 2003
    Hello there,
    Yes, I can't figure out where in the heck to change that so you can read the writing . . . I have gone through each little check box in Customizer looking for where the error is. On my index page also, none of the titles are showing. However, I am going to change it all soon, tomorrow? Over to a new theme so hopefully that will remedy the problem.

    I wrote something about the masks we all wear. I am going to find it and copy it over to my diary. When I read your entry today, it reminded me of it. I have given the subject of the masks we wear a lot of thought over the years.
  • From:
    Becoming (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 06 2003
    Fixed the color thing, at least temporarily. Thanks. *smile*
  • From:
    SoupNazi (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 06 2003
    Why anyone would ever give you slack about this entry, it is 100% true. I laugh a little when people talk about multiple personalities and stuff. In reality we have multible personalities. How I act at work is not how i act at home, and how I act toward my lover is not how I act toward my mother. You know, we all were masks, and over time there is usually one only one or maybe a few more that wee have the oppurtunity to see all sides. I think at this point in my life only my mother has seen all my masks, and that is because she help mold them.
  • From:
    JustAnotherBeth (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Mar 06 2003
    1. I sometimes have to hide my true nature from the world because....
    -I dont want them to know I am really a 6 foot black male

    2. If I could tell the world one thing about myself, I would say....

    -I never give up.... never.

    oh and for purim, helen is esther of course, zach is going to be ahashveros, and I am going to be,.... a MOM!
    Love,
    Beth