PURIM and Women

Megillat Esther, the book or scroll we read on the holiday of Purim has both male and female main characters. The women in the story are Vashti, Zeresh, and Hadassah. These women have stronger personalities than their male counterparts.

Queen Vashti was ordered to appear at Kind Ahashverosh’s drunken party of men. She refused. She knew what was respectable and where she drew the line. The king on the other hand was befuddled. He didn’t know how to handle the situation and turned to his attendants for advice. He took their advice and later regretted it.

Zeresh was the wife of Haman, the evil character in the story. Haman had a high position in the courts. He wanted more power. He noticed that Jews, represented by Mordechai, had a presence in the courts but didn’t necessarily feel inferior to him. Taking it as a personal affront, Haman decided to exterminate the Jews. Zeresh understood the tides of political misfortune. She noticed details and was able to recognize when Haman was falling into disfavor. She warned him but he didn’t take heed.

Hadassah was raised by Mordechai, a Jew who was familiar with the King’s court. Her secret Jewish name was Hadassah, and her public Persian name was Esther. Thrust into the formal world of royalty she navigated the aforementioned political tides. She learned how to influence her suggestible husband the King, how to spotlight her enemy Haman, and how to achieve what her uncle Mordechai could not achieve.

The story of Purim with its strong female roles was an important holiday to the Jews of Portugal and the Jewish refugees who fled from the Portuguese Inquisition. In Portugal today one can stand in the city squares where there were forced conversions and auto de fe against our people in the 16th century. The torture and death that Jews faced in the time of the Portuguese Inquisition is horrifying. The lack of historical Jewish culture and architecture is sobering. The Conversos (secret Jews) of Portugal held on to their traditions as much as they could. Secretly, covertly, they retained the laws and traditions they could practise without being caught.

Purim was a very important time for the secret Jews. They identified with the antisemitism Haman instigated in Shushan. Just as Queen Esther fasted for three days, the Conversos would also fast for three days and meet secretly to hear the story of Esther saving her people. Some people took shifts for the three-day fast. Sometimes one person fasted the entire time. Some communities called Purim the Festival of Santa Esterica or the Feast of St. Esther in order to mask the holiday as a dedication to a saint. It was a solemn holiday, not the joyful carnivalesque holiday we celebrate today.

The Portuguese women were the caretakers of the religion. They remembered certain prayers and, over time adapted them or created new prayers. They carried on whatever they remembered of the holidays and led Passover observances. Queen Esther saved the Jews, and the women of the Converso communities saved whatever vestiges of their former religion they could.

It’s interesting to think about the strength of women in this book of the Bible. The most important lesson is to be aware of danger. We must face it and deal with it wisely. And may the world never again witness horrors like the Inquisition which the Conversos had to experience.

I suspect the women of 16th C Portugal didn’t make hamantaschen, but here’s a recipe for you to try.

Photo of Hamantaschen from My Jewish Learning

Bonus Prize: Bobba Dobby’s Hamantasch recipe:

3 eggs 1 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar 2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt 4 -5 cups of flour

Combine the first four ingredients, Add the flour, stirring it in, until the dough is soft but not sticky. It should roll out well on your rolling surface. Divide the dough in quarters. Roll one of the batches on a floured surface to almost 1/4 ” thick. Cut it into circles about 31/2″ in diameter. Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of each circle, pinch the three corners towards the middle. You can brush with beaten egg. Bake on a lightly floured baking pan at 350o for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Bobba Dobby’s Date Filling

3 full cups of pitted dates – cut them up first

1/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 cups water

lemon juice to taste grated rind of one lemon

Cook this on a medium heat or in a double boiler until it is like a thick jam.

Thanks for letting me share my week with you. Let me know if you try the hamantaschen. I hope you like them! later this week I will be posting about Shabbat Zachor. Best, Laya

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Have a joyful Purim and include a prayer for wisdom and unity.

Laya

“ILLUMINATIONS.”: 

This is my book on Haftarot, ILLUMINATIONS, An Exploration of Haftarah through Art and History.  It is a collection of all the haftarah pictures you have seen on my blog. The book boasts 82 full-colour pictures. A rich commentary accompanies each painting. For more information or to order a book go to https://www.haftarah-illuminations.com/ 

Shabbat Zachor

It’s Purim next week, the holiday on which we read the Scroll of Esther. The story of Esther takes place around 480 BCE in Persia. Queen Esther and her Uncle Mordecai foil Haman’s plans to exterminate the Jews of Persia. The Shabbat before Purim is called Shabbat Zachor- the Shabbat of Remembrance. On this special Shabbat we read a section from the Torah about the evil King Amalek.  Amalek instructed his army to attack the  Children of Israel, specifically the defenseless and the weak, as they walked through the desert after leaving Egypt. Amalek is identified as the ancestor of Haman, the villain in the Purim story.

The haftarah recounts a poignant story about King Saul . The prophet Samuel tells King Saul that he is to remember what Amalek did to B’nei Yisrael  (the children of Israel). Saul is to destroy ALL the Amalekites, the young and the old, their animals, and all their possessions. King Saul gathers his warriors, and they go to war.

Saul and his warriors flatten the towns, and kill the inhabitants and their cattle- but he spares Agag the Amalekite king. King Saul’s soldiers spare the choicest sheep, intending to offer some as sacrifices o God. to offer as sacrifices to God. When God sees what has happened, He instructs Samuel to depose King Saul.

The text is powerfully written. Saul, a man with a good heart, does not carry out God’s instructions. Samuel reminds him, “Though you are little in your own sight were you not made head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you King?…” Samuel turns his back on the broken king. As Samuel walks away Saul falls to the ground and grabs Samuel’s cloak. The cloak rips in his hand, and Samuel tells Saul, “The Lord has ripped the kingdom of Israel from you this day and given it to a neighbour of yours that is better than you…”

It is a heartbreaking story of a fallen King. The most tragic element is that Saul had never wanted to be king. He wanted to live a simple life but monarchy was thrust upon him. He wasn’t a natural leader. He was a follower. In the battle against the Amalekites Saul he followed the desires of his warriors rather than the commandment of God.

In this week’s maftir (the last paragraph of the Torah reading) we read the commandment to blot out Amalek’s name. We read this just before Purim because tradition tells us that Haman was Amelek’s descendant. As we read we are reminded that in every generation there rises an enemy whom we must fight. We are reminded to have faith in God and listen to God’s teachings.

Read the story. It’s another exciting and emotional incident in our canon. And it’s OUR story. Shabbat Shalom.and have a great Purim.

Laya

ILLUMINATIONS, An Exploration of Haftarah through Art and History is a book of all the haftarah pictures you have seen in my blog. It was published in October and released on November 24, 2022. It boasts 82 full-colour pictures and a rich commentary that accompanies each painting. For more information or to order a book go to https://www.haftarah-illuminations.com/ or to haftarah-illuminations.com

Purim pop-up

art by Laya Crust

Here we are approaching the most raucous holiday of the year. Revelry, costume and indulging with wine or something stronger is encouraged on Purim. Not only is it it encouraged, we are told we have to increase our joy.

The story of Purim is a tale of treason, love, lust, hatred, bad guys, and good triumphing over evil. There is a great explanation of it at http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm. There’s also an interesting analysis of the comparison of the Esther story and the Joseph story at http://learn.conservativeyeshiva.org/purim-esther-and-joseph/

Some of us are busy making costumes for the Purim parties and some of us are making hamantaschen. Hamantaschen is from the Yiddish words “Mohn” and “tasch”. “Mohn” means poppy seed and “tasch” means pocket. What a revelation! (for more info about hamantaschen go to The History and Meaning of Hamantaschen – Peeling back …  )

This year,5782 or 2022, Purim starts Wednesday, March 16, and continues the next day, Thursday March 17.  We celebrate the holiday with reading the Book of Esther (the Megillah), dressing up in costume, giving charity and sharing food with our friends Wednesday night and and Thursday, unless we live in a walled city like Jerusalem and then we celebrate Purim the next day, but that’s another story.

Rather than discuss the megillah I am presenting you with an arts and crafts project. Here is a pop-up Purim card you can make with your family, your class-  if you are a teacher-, or your buddies.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise, with “Mordecai”  towards you.

Take your page and cut along the solid black line at the base of the carpet Mordecai and Esther are sitting on. Stop when you get to the corner of the carpet. Then take your scissors out and cut along the thicker black line at the top of the carpet, up Mordecai’s arm, around his head, and back down his side until you get back to the edge of the carpet. Cut through both halves of the paper. Do NOT cut down the side of the carpet – only cut where the black outline is thick.Now you have cut the figures of Mordechai and Esther.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message Purim Sameach (in Hebrew) and English will be on one side and all the painting will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above. Then turn it back to the picture side.
Pull the figures gently towards you.  The figures should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. I hope that makes sense to you. Make this card and send it out to your friends and family, or enjoy it yourselves. You are welcome to share the instructions with anyone you want. And- if you are a teacher, this can be a great Purim project with your class.

On another note: This year we are witness to the violent invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russian forces. The situation is not the same as the situation in the Persian Empire 2,500 years ago. At that time Haman, a court official, made plans to assassinate all the Empire’s Jews. Queen Esther, a secret Jew, exposed Haman’s horrifying plan and stopped it. There is a surprising parallel between Ukraine today and Shushan from 2,500 years ago. President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish. Previously his religion was not a focal point in his life or career. Now he is using his connection to Jewish history and Israel to inspire the Ukrainian people. His strength and integrity have unified Ukraine. He has inspired international support for Ukraine and condemnation of Putin’s aggression.

We all hope that justice and strength will prevail, and the evil aggressor will be vanquished.

Have a great Purim, and remember to “Share” this post with your friends.

Purim Sameach, Laya

Purim pop-up

art by Laya Crust

Here we are approaching the most raucous holiday of the year. Revelry, costume and indulging with wine or something stronger is encouraged on Purim. Not only is it it encouraged, we are told we have to increase our joy.

The story of Purim is another one of those amazing tales of treason, love, lust, hatred, bad guys, and good triumphing over evil. There is a great explanation of it at http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm. There’s also an interesting analysis of the comparison of the Esther story and the Joseph story at http://learn.conservativeyeshiva.org/purim-esther-and-joseph/

 

Some of us are busy making costumes for the Purim parties and some of us are making hamantaschen. My friend Dave Gordon pointed out that hamantaschen is from the Yiddish “Mohn” and “tasch”. “Mohn” means poppy seed and “tasch” means pocket. What a revelation! (for more info about hamantaschen go to The History and Meaning of Hamantaschen – Peeling back …  )

This year -5776 0r 2016- Purim starts Wednesday, March 23, and continues the next day, Thursday March 24.  We celebrate the holiday with reading the Book of Esther (the Megillah), dressing up in costume, giving charity and sharing food with our friends Wednesday night and and Thursday, unless we live in a walled city like Jerusalem and then we celebrate Purim the next day, but that’s another story.

Rather than discuss the megillah I am presenting you with an arts and crafts project. Here is a pop-up Purim card you can make with your family, your class-  if you are a teacher-, or your office buddies.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise, with “Mordecai”  towards you.

Take your page and cut along the solid black line at the base of the carpet Mordecai and Esther are sitting on. Stop when you get to the corner of the carpet. Then take your scissors out and cut along the thicker black line at the top of the carpet, up Mordecai’s arm, around his head, and back down his side until you get back to the edge of the carpet. Cut through both halves of the paper. Do NOT cut down the side of the carpet – only cut where the black outline is thick.Now you have cut the figures of Mordechai and Esther.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message Purim Sameach (in Hebrew) and English will be on one side and all the painting will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above. Then turn it back to the picture side.
Pull the figures gently towards you.  The figures should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. I hope that makes sense to you. Make this card and send it out to your friends and family, or enjoy it yourselves. You are welcome to share the instructions with anyone you want. And- if you are a teacher, this can be a great Purim project with your class.

Have a great Purim, and remember to “Share” with your friends.

Laya

Purim

This year Purim occurs in two parts. We have the fast of Esther on Thursday, March13, 2014, and we celebrate the holiday with reading the Book of Esther (the Megillah), dressing up in costume, giving charity and sharing food with our friends on Saturday night and Sunday, March 15 and 16, 2014- unless we live in a walled city like Jerusalem and then we celebrate on Monday the 17th, but that’s another story.

The story of Purim is another one of those amazing tales of treason, love, lust, hatred, bad guys, and good triumphing over evil. There is a great explanation of it at http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm. There’s also an interesting analysis of the comparison of the Esther story and the Joseph story at http://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/purim-esther-and-joseph.

Rather than discuss the story (which I love) I have decided to present you with an arts and crafts project. Here is a pop-up Purim card you can do with your family, your class-  if you are a teacher-, or your office buddies.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise, with “Mordecai”  towards you.

Take your page and cut along the solid black line at the base of the carpet Mordecai and Esther are sitting on. Stop when you get to the corner of the carpet. Then take your scissors out and cut along the thicker black line at the top of the carpet, up Mordecai’s arm, around his head, and back down his side until you get back to the edge of the carpet. Cut through both halves of the paper. Do NOT cut down the side of the carpet – only cut where the black outline is thick. Now you have cut the figures of Mordechai and Esther.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message Purim Sameach (in Hebrew) and English will be on one side and all the painting will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above. Then turn it back to the picture side.
Pull the figures gently towards you.  The figures should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. I hope that makes sense to you. Make this card and send it out to your friends and family, or enjoy it yourselves. You are welcome to share the instructions with anyone you want. And- if you are a teacher, this can be a great Purim project with your class.

Have a great Purim, and remember to “Share” with your friends.

Laya

Shabbat Zachor

Samuel 1    ch. 15:1 – 34

Samuel- prophet.  He anointed the nation of Israel’s first two kings- Saul and David.

Additional reading: D’varim/ Deuteronomy 25: 17-16

This Shabbat is called Shabbat Zachor- the Shabbat of Remembrance. In preparation for Purim, which falls next week, we have an additional Torah reading about the evil King Amalek. He is identified as the ancestor of Haman, the villain in the Purim story.  Amalek  instructed his army to attack the  Children of Israel, specifically the defenseless and the weak as they walked through the desert after leaving Egypt.

This Shabbat’s haftarah recounts a poignant story about King Saul and his dealings with Amalek. The prophet Samuel tells Saul that he is to remember what Amalek did to B’nei Yisrael  (the children of Israel). Saul is to go and destroy ALL the Amalekites, the young and the old, and all their possessions. King Saul gathers his warriors and they go to do what has been commanded of them.

Saul and his warriors flatten the towns, and kill the inhabitants and their cattle- but he spares Agag the Amalekite king and keeps the choicest animals to offer as sacrifices to God. When God sees what has happened He instructs Samuel to reprove Saul and take away the kingship from him.

The text is beautifully written. With short, strong phrases the human mistakes Saul makes are recounted and the heavy directive to Samuel is described. Saul, a man with a good heart, carries out most of what God told him to do. But as Samuel reminds him, “Though you are little in your own sight were you not made head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you King?…” The spirit of God is taken away from Saul and Samuel turns his back on the broken king. As Samuel walks away Saul falls to the ground and grabs Samuel’s cloak. The cloak rips in his hand, and Samuel tells Saul, “The Lord has ripped the kingdom of Israel from you this day and given it to a neighbour of yours that is better than you…”

It is a heartbreaking story of a fallen King. The most tragic element is that Saul had never wanted to be king. He wanted to live a simple life but monarchy was thrust upon him. He wasn’t a natural leader, he was a follower. In this situation he followed the desires of his nation rather than the commandment of God.

The evil of Amalek is presented in the additional reading and in the haftarah. The readings are  precursors to the story of Purim, the Jews rising against Haman- a descendant of Amalek. As we read we are reminded that in every generation there rises an enemy, and we have to have faith in God and listen to God’s teachings.

Read the story. It’s  another exciting and emotional incident in our canon. And remember it’s OUR story. Shabbat Shalom.

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