If you were a Jewish family, you were probably celebrating Purim this past week. We're not, but I still celebrated. I have this thing about Jewish feasts and festivals. Actually, I have a strong interest in everything Jewish. Don't ask me why. I have no idea where this comes from. I do love learning about the culture though and have always wished for a Jewish neighbor. It would be so interesting.
When I was on my "trip of a lifetime" to the Holy Land, I was as fascinated by the people as I was by the geography and the holy sites we visited. Here, I was able to see for myself how the people of three major religions live their lives, if not always peacefully, in close proximity to one another.
I asked our tour guide a lot of questions about the people and their customs. Thankfully, he indulged my interest. There just wasn't enough time to see and do all I wanted. If I ever had the chance, I would go back in a heartbeat. I love Israel.
Now, back to Purim. This is the celebration of Esther, that beloved queen from the Old Testament. We all love this story, and the oft quoted verse, "Who knoweth whether though art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?", don't we? Esther, the beautiful queen who showed great courage, thus helping to save her people from genocide. In the ninth chapter of the book of Esther, we can read how the Feast of Purim was instituted as a celebration of this occasion, when God answered the prayers of his faithful people, turning their hearts from sorrow to joy. To celebrate, the people would feast (maybe this is why I love Jewish culture, they do a lot of feasting!) and send portions of food and gifts to the poor.
Today, Jewish people celebrate Purim in much the same way. It is a joyous occasion for families, when they gather together to retell the story of Esther and enjoy delicious food. They also fast the day before Purim, in remembrance of the fasting and prayer by Queen Esther and her people before their victory. On the day of Purim, families listen to the Megillah reading in the morning and the evening. They give food and other acts of charity to those in need. The children dress up as characters in the Esther narrative and as the story is told, the people hiss, boo, stomp their feet and make noise with groggers whenever the name of Haman is mentioned. If you're not familiar with the story, just know that Haman was the "bad guy". Sounds like a Primary sharing time activity, doesn't it? A wonderful feast is held with special foods, including a cookie called Hamantaschen. These are triangular shaped buttery delights, that are supposed to represent the shape of Haman's hat. The name actually means Haman's pocket.
The recipe for this cookie is easy, even if the name isn't. If you know how to pronounce it, let me know! This is the recipe I used. After mixing up the dough, I formed it into a disc, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed it in the refrigerator. Then I got really busy and didn't get back to it for four days!
Turns out that Hamantaschen dough is forgiving and waited patiently for me to return. After letting it set at room temperature for a few minutes, I rolled it out and cut it into circles.
Then in the center of each circle, I placed about a half teaspoon of fruit filling. I used apricot and strawberry rhubarb preserves. The traditional fruit fillings are prune and poppy seed and the recipe for both are in the body of this post. The filling needs to be nice and thick and even though the temptation to place a nice big drop of fruit on each disc is real, don't do it! More is not better.
There is a method to the folding. Go here and scroll to the bottom for a step by step tutorial. This blogger did such a great job with this, I saw no need to set up the tripod and take the pictures myself. Assembling the cookies would be a great two person job, because the dough softens up quickly and becomes more difficult to work with. I ended up having to put some of the dough back into the fridge to firm up before I could fold the last of the cookies.
Aren't they pretty? And man are they tasty. They didn't last long around here. Next time, I think I will double the recipe, so I can share with others. That is part of the Purim tradition, after all.
Doesn't this sound like a great family home evening activity? You could read and tell the story of Esther, acting out the parts and then have Hamantaschen for dessert. Or maybe even watch this movie (it's free). I'm not sure of the historical accuracy though, because I haven't seen it myself. I'll be doing that soon. In fact, since I don't have little children around my house right now, to act out the story, I think reading the account from the scriptures and watching this movie is a nice way for me to celebrate Purim. And of course, enjoying Hamantaschen.
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