Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
An Ode to Hamantaschen
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ext week, at sundown on the 14th day of Adar II or March 16, is the holiday of Purim. This is the most joyful and festive of holidays, a celebration of the survival of the Jewish people. Purim commemorates the victory of Queen Esther and Mordechai in the fourth century B.C. over the evil Haman. Those who celebrate wear costumes, copiously use noise makers and, at the mention of Haman’s name, loudly boo and hiss. The Megillah of Esther is read. In addition, it is a time to send gifts of food to fellow Jews, give money to Mike Smith the poor and eat a festive meal, Alene and Graham Landau which usually includes sweets. Archivist Chair One of my favorites is the tricornered Hamantaschen (the name is a combination of “Haman” for Haman and the German word for pockets, “Taschen”). I explored Purim in the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History and found that the holiday is mentioned on 7,464 pages. I also noticed that Hamantaschen was mentioned 141 times. And, I thought, now this is a subject worthy of a deeper dive into the Archive. Did I mention that I like Hamantaschen? The first citing of Hamantaschen was in a story by R. Rogoff — “Moey’s Purim Gift” — published in the Children’s Column in the March 2, 1923, issue of the Jewish Chronicle. In the story, Moey’s mother makes him “Hamantaschen and strudel and all the other cookies and sweetmeats that help make merry the feast of Purim.” There is wisdom in this story: Hamantaschen and strudel and cookies, etc., does indeed make me merry. I know I’m not alone in this opinion. By the way, Moey’s Purim gift for his mother was the rediscovery of her long-lost brother. Hamantaschen is also an important topic in many stories about families preparing for Purim or local organizations preparing food baskets for the those in need. For example,
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see the story on the Hamantaschen BakeOff for seniors and nursery school children at the Jimmy Prentis Morris Jewish Community Center in the March 10, 1993, JN. On several occasions, the JN also published Purim primers such as “Purim at a Glance” on March 20, 2008. These guides always included references to Hamantaschen. Over the years, the JN published what are perhaps the most important citations for Hamantaschen: recipes! The first one that I found was in the Feb. 23, 1945, issue of the JN for traditional Hamantaschen. Likewise, Alfred Parker, chief chef of the Yeshiva, presented his recipe in the March 5, 1965, issue. Since then, the JN has published recipes for a wide variety of Hamantaschen. There is one for “Tipsy Haman Hats” that includes brandy, as well as dates, nuts, raisins and apricot jam (March 9, 1990). Annabel Cohen provided versions with chocolate, peanut butter, cream cheese and Mohn or Poppy seed fillings (March 17, 2000). For the more adventurous, Rebecca Pilner presented recipes for Rice Krispies, Triple Chocolate and Egg Roll Hamantaschen. No Purim celebration is complete without Hamantaschen. Recipes for the triangle-shaped treats are only restricted by one’s personal tastes and imagination. This I learned from my most serious study of Hamantaschen in the Davidson Archive. It was time well-spent ... but not as well-spent as eating Hamantaschen. Did I mention that I really like Hamantaschen? Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.
