Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Hamantaschen

Hamantaschen Reflections From Past and Present

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By Gillian Jackson and Carol Lessure

Spending time in the kitchen making food together is one of those particular situations that no matter who you are with, good conversation and connection are surely to come. Some of my fondest memories are of time spent in the kitchen with loved ones. Last weekend’s Hamantaschen workshop did not disappoint! Etta Heisler and Laurie White provided some invaluable tips and techniques to help their fellow bakers perfect their Hamantaschen craft. In addition to their priceless anecdotes, members were given the opportunity to simply spend time together in the kitchen, and what a privilege this seems to be during this time of isolation!

Carol Lessure wrote a lovely reflection on the community that is built around times in the kitchen in ‘normal times.’ Enjoy!

AARC has always enjoyed silly, fun times during Purim. We have had many a Megillah reading, and lots of spiels, tons of costumes and of course yummy food enjoyed together.  Last year, we had two face to face celebrations – crazy right?  

When Gillian reached out to me about a Hamantaschen-baking workshop online, it reminded me of the many years that the Lessure Engelbert family hosted Hav families and friends to bake cookies in our home. 

It all started with a call for homemade Hamantaschen for dessert at a catered luncheon followed by a Purim spiel a decade ago. Then, the Beit Sefer requested some to fill Mishloach Manot. I thought it would be more fun to tackle the big baking task together. What followed was a 7-year tradition of baking cookies at our home. At first, the little ones needed lots of supervision and quickly tired of the task; a few years later and the tweens took over and the adults could visit over coffee and snacks. Then families with younger ones came over and the teenagers showed them how to do it.  

We figured out that people just liked hanging out – so we started popping pizzas into the oven after the cookies baked. Each family would bring a side dish to share for dinner. Our boys were happy to host and soon the tweens and teens would gravitate downstairs for Wii games while adults hung out on the main floor.

One year, I woke up with a fever and chills. I kept to our bedroom and the cookie-baking went on without me. It is truly a testament to our community spirit that not only did the cookies get made, but our guests left the main floor and kitchen cleaner and tidier than they found it! Not only that, but no one came down with whatever I had.  Obviously, this happened long before we’d heard of COVID-19. 

We thought it would be fun to share these memories and some vintage photos – may we be together again next year!

Carol’s “Best Hamantachen” (recipe is from Leva Lessure – aka Carol’s mom). Published in “Nobody Cooks Like Jewish Women” – NCJW National Capitol Area Section, 1992:

1 cup shortening (butter, margarine)

3 eggs (or make flax “eggs” with 1 tablespoon of fresh ground flax with 3 tablespoons of water for each egg you are substituting)

1 cup sugar

           Cream sugar and butter together, add eggs one at a time

1 tsp of vanilla

3 tablespoons of honey (or agave for the vegans)

2 tablespoons of orange juice

              Add these ingredients and mix well

4 cups flour

3 tsp of baking powder

½ tsp of salt

              Sift the dry ingredients together – esp. baking powder so it doesn’t clump

              Slowly add in dry ingredients into the blended wet ones

Once all the ingredients are well blended, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Take out only a small amount at a time and keep dough refrigerated – it will become very sticky when warm and difficult to roll and cut.

Cut two inch circles with a juice glass or cookie cutter, add a small spoonful of filling in the center and pinch the sides to form a triangle – leave a hole in the middle so that filling can be seen.

Baked on greased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until edges begin to brown. Cool for 5-10 minutes because filling stays hot longer than the cookies.

We prefer Solo brand fillings: Poppyseed, Prune and Apricot are traditional in our family. Cherry, chocolate and sweet cream cheese are good too!

A Purim Vocabulary

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queen esther“The whole megillah.” When my daughters come up with words I don’t recognize, my first resource is Urban Dictionary. Very informative. And yep, “whole megillah” is there, one of the many Yiddish or Hebrew inspired phrases that have become bonafide street English. The whole megillah means “something long, complex, and possibly tedious,” as in when Jews read the Megillah Esther (Scroll of Esther) from beginning to end, all ten chapters, with breaks for hooting and hollering, each Purim. And yes, AARC is going to read the whole megillah this year….well almost. Because of the age-old “tedium” problem, there are many abridged, English language, family-friendlier, megillot to choose from. But you can still expect all ten chapters.

“Shpiel.”I won’t even go into the Urban Dictionary definition; shpiel is simply a play or story. It’s traditional for congregations to stage and enjoy purimshpiels (Purim Plays) that riff on characters and themes from the Scroll of Esther. This year, we will intersperse our shpiel with our megillah reading. Just for fun….and to break up the tedium.

“Hamantaschen.” Those triangular pastries intended to remind us of the villain Haman’s hat. The whole community, especially the kids, is invited to Carol Lessure’s home to bake hamantaschen Saturday afternoon, February 28, 2015 from 3:00ish – 6:00ish.  She is happy to have you drop in for part or stay for a potluck dinner (Havdalah too) after cookie baking is done.  Bring your rolling pin, cookie sheet and a snack, drink or side dish to share.

And the feast or Seudah, in Hebrew. There are four feasts in the Megillah Esther, but we’ll be having only one. We need to know how much to order, so please RSVP using this link.

When’s it all happening? March 1, 11:30-2 at the JCC, of course.

Oh, that picture at the top was just to get your attention. I used it for a cover of Bridges Journal in 1993, with this description: This image is of Queen Esther giving birth to Kurush (Cyrus the Great), her son by Shah Ardashir (Ahasuerus). The painting, by an unknown artist, is an illustration from a late seventeenth century edition of an epic poem, Ardashir Ndma (The Ahasuerus Book), written in 1332 by Jewish-Persian poet Maulana Shahin. Iranian Jews often used the Hebrew alphabet even while writing in the Persian language as a way of preserving their religious and national heritage. They shared the cultural tastes of their Muslim neighbors, using Persian literary and artistic styles in setting to verse and illustrating some well-known Jewish themes, including even the Torah. Ardashir Ndma is the story of the Book of Esther and continues with Esther and Ahasueras’ life together, with embellishments from Jewish and Muslim legends, Talmudic and Midrashic references, and Persian fairy tales. The whole megillah plus more!