Lend Me Your Ears The History of Hamentaschen

hat would Purim be without In Yiddish, hamentaschen means our beloved hamentaschen? “Haman’s pockets.” (Although the cor- They’re an age-old tradi- rect singular form of the word is hamen- Wtion, but what exactly is the origin of tasch, most English speakers use the these delicious Purim treats? Why do plural form interchangeably; i.e., “I ate we eat them on Purim, and what do a chocolate hamentaschen” presumably they represent? to allow themselves to actually consume As their name implies, it seems they are more than one.) connected to the defeated villain of the The word hamentaschen may be Purim story, Haman. symbolic of the money Haman gave One of the oldest mentions of a Purim to Achashverosh in exchange for per- treat referred to as oznei Haman, mission to kill the Jews, taken from his Haman’s ears, is from Italy in the own “pockets” or “pouches.” Perhaps it תש 1500s, in a skit written by Yehu- is also a reference to the Hebrew, , to dah Sommo. Although oznei weaken, symbolizing the weakening of Haman. Alternatively, the original name Haman in Modern Hebrew may have been man-taschen, literally, are synonymous with “poppy-seed pockets,” with the ha being hamentaschen, this may added on later. Ha ha! have been a reference to another, lesser-known Why the three-sided shape though? Purim pastry, hamen- A simple explanation is that folding ohren, literally “Haman’s ears.” and baking dough around a filling to Unlike their triangular cousins, form a pouch, such as dumplings, was hamen-ohren have no filling, and are a common form of Ashkenazi baking. actually shaped like ears. Although A well-known legend brought by the there is a myth that Haman’s ears were Sefer HaMoadim explains that Haman cut off before he was hanged, there is had a three-cornered hat. The Midrash no documentation to verify this. Merely says that when Haman recognized the hearsay... merit of the three Avot, his strength

24 | immediately weakened. Perhaps these palace, and instead ate only seeds and make Haman-related foods for Purim. three corners are a reference to our legumes. In commemoration, hamen- Morrocan Jews also have a traditional Patriarchs. Archeological documen- taschen are filled with poppy seeds. Purim food – a bread called boyosa, also tarian Simcha Jacobovici claims that known as “Haman’s eyes.” Two hard- Of course, we all know that Purim is all the shape of the hamentaschen is sim- boiled eggs in their shells are baked about revealing what is hidden beneath. ilar to the shape of the die used in an The sweet-filled hamentaschen may into the middle of the dough, giving ancient Babylonian game, suggesting represent the sweetness hidden beneath the appearance of eyes. Bulgarians they represent the die that Haman cast the surface. traditionally ate a pasta dish on Purim to determine the date of extermination called caveos di aman – “Haman’s hair.” of the Jews. Another traditional Ashkenazi Purim Nanbrangi, poppy seed-coated cookies food is kreplach, meat-filled dumplings eaten on Purim in many Persian com- What about the filling? Although choc- often served in soup. Ashkenazim cus- olate, jam – and in Israel, date spread munities, are also known as “Haman’s tomarily ate kreplach on Purim and on fleas.” Syrians have their own version – are some of the most popular fillings erev Yom Kippur, showing the deep of “Haman’s fleas,” called simsemiyeh, today, hamentaschen were originally connection between the two holidays using sesame instead of poppy. Turkish filled with poppy seeds. The Beit Yosef (Yom Kippur is also known as Yom and Greek Jews had a custom of eating wrote that “Some say one should eat haKippurim, which can also be read a food made out of seeds on Purim in as “the day which is like Purim”). The long, thin biscuits known as “Haman’s memory of the seeds that Daniel and custom of eating kreplach on Purim is fingers.” There may be evidence of other his friends ate in the house of the king mentioned in the 1400s by the Leket communities eating some of Haman’s of Babylon.” Yosher and later by the Bach, the Taz, other body parts, but I think we and the Shelah. have enough baking to do for The Midrash explains that, just like Purim! Daniel, Esther refrained from eating But back to hamentaschen – Ashke- the non-kosher delicacies in the royal nazi Jews are not the only ones to Bon Appetit! 

| 25