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

Share the story with your friends on Facebook.  “Follow” this blog by clicking on the Follow message on the top right hand side of the post, and invite your friends to “follow” it too.   If you have a comment we’d love to hear from you.

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/ 

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

Shavuoth and The Book of Ruth

Ezekiel’s Vision by Laya Crust

This week we have a series of interesting readings. It is Shabbat Nasso which would normally be accompanied by the haftarah that introduces Samson. In the haftarah an angel comes to a farmer’s field and tells a childless woman that she and her husband will have a child. The baby boy is to be raised as a nazir- a person who is not to cut his hair or partake of grape products. When invited to join the farmer and his wife for dinner the angel rises to heaven in a fiery flame.

There are two haftarahs for Shavuoth. One is Ezekiel’s vision of beings with four faces appearing in lightning-filled skies. The other haftarah is a section from Habakkuk. He uses amazing imagery to describe Gd’s power over nature.

Ruth Gathering Grain by Laya Crust

On Shavuoth we read the Book of Ruth. It is a story of famine and poverty, loss, love, loyalty, and redemption. There are scenes that hint at the meanings of Shavuoth. Shavuoth is a harvest/ first fruits festival, and the celebration of “Matan Torah”, the giving of Torah. Ruth shows dedication to Gd and Judaism, and the story takes place during the harvest season.

There are allusions to food and agriculture in the stories of Ruth, and Samson’s parents, and of course in the holiday itself. Today we live in a world so far removed from the biblical setting that it’s hard to remember how our ancestors were tied to the land. They ate simply and in the most basic of ways. Ruth was poor. She gleaned from the corners of the fields where those in poverty gleaned. She was offered a meal with Boaz’s workers. At the mealtime there were only three items on the menu: a morsel of bread, vinegar (either sour wine or the brine of pickled vegetables), and roasted or parched grain. (Ruth: 2:14)

Ruth and Boaz by Laya Crust

Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi had returned to Canaan because of a famine in Moab. They had no means of support so Ruth was dependent on charity, the aforementioned grain found in the corners of a field. The simple meal she shared brings to mind the difference in the availability and abundance of food today as compared to biblical times. Bread is easy for us to buy or to make with dried yeast. Our ancestors ate sour dough bread, bread that would have taken a couple of days to go through the rising and then the baking process.

Most of us are very removed from the land and from the difficulties of basic food cultivation. Maybe, during this time of Covid-19 isolation we can eat a little more simply and appreciate what is available to us, even when we think times are a little tough.

Here is a recipe for ricotta cheese that you can make for one of your meals. Add a sourdough flatbread, fresh cucumbers in vinegar and dill, and some toasted grain, and your meal might be like the meals eaten by Ruth, Naomi, and Samson’s parents.

Fresh Ricotta

4 quarts/ litres whole milk

1 1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp. lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar

Line a sieve or colander with 4 layers of cheese cloth. Suspend over a large empty bowl. Bring the milk and salt to a low boil. As soon as it begins to boil take it off the heat. Add the salt vinegar or lemon juice. The milk will separate. Skim off the curds with a slotted spoon and put in the seive or colander. Continue until the milk has completely separated and there is only whey in the pot. Refrigerate.

The whey can be used in muffins, bread dough, or pancakes. It’s full of vitamins!

The paintings of Ruth and Boaz in this post are illustrations I made for a Book of Ruth in 1982. It was commissioned as a gift for a Bat Mitzvah girl. The book includes 18 illustrations and was written by hand. One copy is in Israel and the other is my possession, to be read on Shavuoth.

Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday, Laya

Dvir, Devorah and Hamantaschen

Yahrzeit photo by Laya Crust

This has been an emotional week. My husband and I recently returned from Portugal where we witnessed the results of the forced conversions and Inquisiton against our people in the 16th century. Hearing about the torture and death that Jews faced in the time of the Portuguese Inquisition was horrifying. Witnessing the lack of historical Jewish culture and architecture was sobering. The Coversos (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 Jews faced in Shushan because of Haman and his influence. 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 and sometimes one person fasted the entire time.

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. Esther the queen saved the Jews, and the women of the Converso communities saved whatever vestiges of their former religion they could.

I began this post with the words “It’s been an emotional week”. While we were in Portugal a beautiful little baby boy was born into our family. His brit milah and naming were on Adar 6 (Monday, March 2), just before my mother’s yahrzeit. A few hours after Dvir Yisrael was named I lit a candle in memory of Devorah z”l.

Dorothy and Joe Crust’s wedding day, 1945

My mother (aka Bobba Dobby- Dobby from her Hebrew name) was an exceptional woman. She spoke three languages fluently, headed volunteer organizations, produced a television program, and hosted dignitaries. Dorothy’s love for Judaism and tradition was transmitted to everyone she met. She had a wonderful way with words and taught with humour and stories. That love of words is an aspect of Dvir’s name.

Dvir Yisrael

The word “Dvir” is found in last week’s haftarah of Terumah. Dvir refers to the Holy of Holies- the innermost and holiest sanctuary in the temple to which the Kohen would enter only on Yom Kippur. The root of the word דביר is דבר which means word/speak. The Holy of Holies is named such because it is the source of the Word of Gd in the tangible world.

I hope Dvir will have his great-Bobba Dobby’s sense of humour, wisdom, and love of family. I hope that he will grow to Torah, chuppah, good deeds, and in that way make the world a better place as did Bobba Dobby and Esther the Queen. And may the world never again witness horrors like the Inquisition which the Conversos had to experience.

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

Share the story with your friends on Facebook.  “Follow” this blog by clicking on the Follow message on the top right hand side of the post, and invite your friends to “follow” it too.   If you have a comment we’d love to hear from you.

Shir haShirim and Springtime

 Ketubah by Laya Crust with quotations from Shir haShirim

Ahhh, springtime. A beautiful time of the year. The flowers are blooming and we are surrounded by the sweet smells of blossoming trees.

Last week during the Shabbat of Passover we read Shir haShirim, or The Song of Songs. There are two interpretations of Shir haShirim. Throughout history many Rabbis and scholars have opined that Shir haShirim is an allegory for the love between God and the people of Israel.  The other interpretation is that it is a  love poem written by King Solomon for the Queen of Sheba.

It is an amazingly beautiful piece – poetic and lyrical. Within this poem of two lovers seeking and dreaming of each other are nestled gems describing nature and springtime.

Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away;
for now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle dove
is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.

I decided to write some of my favourite phrases from Shir haShirim in a triangular accordion fold book. There are some lovely handmade papers infused with flower petals and grasses, so I chose one of those papers  and wrote the text in a deep but subdued green, beckoning springtime into the letters themselves.

The poetry continues. In chapter 4  King Solomon describes aromatic breezes wafting through an enclosed garden. The night winds are scented with the perfumes of exotic spices.  “Nard and saffron, fragrant reed and cinnamon,with all aromatic woods, myrrh and aloes- all the choice perfumes. A garden spring, a well of fresh water, and streams from Lebanon.” 

The poetry is wrapped up and enclosed, ready to be opened and shared with the world.

Coincidently, William Shakespeare was born on April 23,  1564 . (I wonder if he was a Pesach baby?) He died almost exactly 400 years ago, on May 3, 1616. He is known for his romantic writings, his plays and his sonnets. Sonnet 98 refers to both the flowers of spring and to love. But, I have to say it, Shir haShirim is a better read!

Take care. Feel the breeze on your face. Breathe in the beautiful scents of young blossoms. Enjoy the spring.

Best, 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