Erica's Corner
March / Adar 5768 / 2008
The Jewish
Festival of Purim
"In the twelfth month, which is the month of
Adar, on its thirteenth day ... on the day that
the enemies of the Jews were expected to prevail
over them, it was turned about: the Jews
prevailed over their adversaries"
from The Book of Esther 9:1 " Purim, our
most fun filled holiday, occurs on the 14th day
of Adar.
We celebrate the joyous holiday of Purim by
reading The Book of Esther which tells the story
of the salvation of the Jewish people from the
wicked Haman, through the leadership of Queen
Esther and her cousin Mordecai.
Today we celebrate Purim by sending food to
friends, by giving gifts to the poor, and
enjoying a festive Purim meal. We also celebrate
Purim by poking fun at ourselves and our Jewish
institutions, throwing synagogue decorum out the
window and dressing up in fancy dress costumes.
The entire month of Adar, and not just Purim
itself, is a time for silliness and humour.
Purim, a wild and crazy holiday, is the holiday
that proves Judaism has a sense of humour.
Cross-dressing, prohibited in the Torah, is
practiced by some on Purim. Many will be
borrowing their spouse's clothes on Purim.
Purim is an important holiday. Jews
throughout the world, surrounded by anti-semitism,
take great joy in a holiday that reminds them,
that even though throughout the course of Jewish
History there have been too many real-life "Hamans,"
in the end Hashem never lets the anti-semites
win.
Happy
Shopping, Happy Purim!
Erica Marks
Recipe for
Hamentaschen
A Purim cookie named for the
three-cornered hat Haman wore.
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup orange juice (the smooth kind, not the
pulpy)
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour (DO NOT substitute white
flour! The wheat flour is necessary to achieve
the right texture!)
2 tsp. baking powder
Various preserves, fruit butters and/or pie
fillings.
Blend butter and sugar
thoroughly. Add the egg and blend thoroughly.
Add OJ and blend thoroughly. Add flour, 1/2 cup
at a time, alternating white and wheat, blending
thoroughly between each. Add the baking powder
with the last half cup of flour. Refrigerate
batter overnight or at least a few hours. Roll
as thin as you can without getting holes in the
batter (roll it between two sheets of wax paper
lightly dusted with flour for best results). Cut
out 3 or 4 inch circles.
Put a dollop of filling in the middle of each
circle. Fold up the sides to make a triangle,
folding the last corner under the starting
point, so that each side has corner that folds
over and a corner that folds under. Folding in
this "pinwheel" style will reduce the likelihood
that the last side will fall open while cooking,
spilling out the filling. It also tends to make
a better triangle shape.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes,
until golden brown but before the filling boils
over!
Traditional fillings are poppy seed and
prune, but apricot works just as well.
Apple butter, pineapple preserves, and cherry
pie filling all work quite well also.
The number of cookies this recipe makes
depends on the size of your cutting tool and the
thickness you roll. If you use a 4-1/4 inch
cutting tool and roll to a medium thickness, you
will get 20-24 cookies out of this recipe.
Picture
of a Hamantaschen Cookie for Purim |
