A New Perspective on Purim

Jewish tradition is rich with symbolism. Even the foods that we eat on different occasions have deeper meanings and significance. “Hamantaschen” are no exception, there is a lot we can learn from these little triangular filled treats.

The meaning of the word “hamantaschen” originates from two words, “mohn”, meaning poppy seeds, which was traditionally used as a filling and “tasch”, which in Yiddish means pocket. So, a hamantasch is essentially a pocket pastry filled with poppy seeds. According to chazal, both Esther and Daniel/Hatach existed on a diet of vegetables and seeds, symbolized by the poppy filling, enabling them to keep kosher while living in the palace of Achashveirosh.

Rav Pinchas Friedman in Shivilei Pinchas explores a deeper dimension of this sweet and tasty snack. He notes that the letter “vav” is found as the first and last letter of the Megillah, and the middle pasuk, “vta’an Esther – and Esther answered…” (Esther 5;7), begins with the letter “vav” as well. What

Faculty, OU Israel Center

significance does the letter “vav” hold? In “Atkinu Se’udata”, the zemer/prayer said before beginning the seudat shabbat, inviting the holy Shechinah to join our shabbat celebration, we say, “b’vavim titkatar – connect with ‘vav’”. Rav Dovid of Lelov explains that the connection referred to here is the one between Hashem, the Torah and the Jewish people. We find this hinted at in the three different ways one can spell out the letter ‘vav.’ One combination is vav, alef, vav, whose numerical value is 13, the same value as the word ‘echad,’ reflecting the Oneness of Hashem. Another combination is vav, yud, vav, whose numerical value is 22, reflecting the 22 letters in the alef bet, a reference to Torah. The final combination is vav, vav, equaling 12, referring to the twelve tribes of the Jewish people. We now can appreciate the deeper meaning of the words, “v’chai bahem – and live through them.”(Vayikra 18;5) Chai, as we know, is 18, which is three times ‘vav’ (6). When we take the total value of the inner dimension of the spellings of ‘vav’, we get a total of 47, the same numerical value as the word ‘bahem.’ The Torah is telling us, “v’chai bahem”, live with this intertwined relationship between Hashem, Torah and the Jewish people.

Haman’s schemed to break this threeway connection. He understood that it was the only way the Jewish people could be destroyed. It is fascinating how chazal show us the moment when it became clear to Haman that his plan would fail. When Haman arrived to fetch Mordechai to lead him on the king’s horse, chazal note that Mordechai was teaching the laws of taking a “kemitzah”, the proper amount of flour for a korban mincha. (Maseschet Megillah 16a) When Haman heard what they were learning he exclaimed, “The fullness of this omer will counteract the 10,000 shekels offered to destroy the Jewish people!” Rashi explains that a “kemitzah” was taken using the three middle fingers. The Zohar teaches that the three fingers resemble the three “vav”s, signifying that the connection between Hashem, Torah and the Jewish people is unbreakable.

The word “tash” also means ‘weak in Hebrew. When we eat these pastries, we highlight Haman’s weakness. How so? A hamantaschen is triangular in shape, made up of three sides, each side looks like the

Mashpiah, OU-NCSY Executive Director, Camp HASC Author of Baderech: