 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Wednesday, March 16, 2022 Purim – Esther and HamanZelensky and Putin Purim The Jewish festival of Purim begins this evening and lasts through tomorrow. It’s important for Jews – because it reflects two powerful themes in the Jewish story: First – God, and God’s activity, is often hidden. We have stories like the burning bush and the parting of the sea – but we also have this one, in the Bible and in experience. Second – A recurring theme in Judaism is this, which accounts for joy even when recalling the worst of times: “They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat!” What is it? In the Book of Esther, short enough to read aloud in one setting, or to simply tell its story – we hear a dramatic epic of a surprising deliverance of the Jewish people under Persian rule in the 5th century BCE. Every single child I know has loved this – and you can skip over the part about why the first queen was deposed if you want – but Ether’s secret Jewishness is important – and her uncle’s discovery of the plot against the Jews – and Esther’s cleverness in getting the king’s attention under threat of death – and the poetic justice of seeing Haman (the bad guy) hung on the gallows he had built for the Jew, is delicious.Kids love it. Really, they do. Now notice a few things: God is not even mentioned in the book of Esther, and yet clearly, God is working through circumstances, and through Esther herself -through human beings – as her uncle clearly believes. This matters. So often we don’t see or recognize God until we look back – sometimes waaaay back. And way too often we doubt our own capacity to make a difference This is the reality behind children and adults dressing up for Purim – masked, as God was “masked,” sometimes as Esther or Mordecai or the King Ahasuerus, but commonly now, wearing anything they like. What you see is not always what you get. It’s why we see puppets retelling the story – or games – and songs, mocking Haman – all celebrating Jewish resistance and cleverness and resilience under pressure.   So Putin and Zelensky? There are many thousands of Jews in Ukraine – including President Zelensky himself. Right now, you see this spirit of determination to survive in what he says, in what courageous people are doing, and in the calculated and sometimes hilarious mockery of Putin’s belief that he will win this war of aggression against Ukraine.Christians, unbelievers and Jews together across the world are using art, music, and performative mockery (farmers stealing tanks, Italian neighbors in Lisbon shining huge blue and yellow lights across the face of the Russian Embassy!) Laughter and stubborn, human defiance of all other “powers” no matter how destructive, are as essential to our experience of being the people of God as prayer…   Hamantaschen – “Haman’s pocket” Count on the German Jews to come up with this! The three-cornered cookies were originally mohntaschen, “date pockets.”In the 17th century, Jews began calling them after Haman – turning something wicked into something sweet. “The tradition, forged by life in exile and a vital elements in dealing with it”, wrote Gil Marks, “particularly manifests itself on Purim, a time when joking and frivolity are encouraged.” Now if you’d like to read the story to your kids and have them help you make some delicious “three-cornered hats” – “Haman’s hats,” which is what they became known as – Here’s a not-hard recipe. I’m making then with apricot and cherry jam – You can buy poppy-seed or date filling if you like. Cookie recipe Cream: 1 cup white sugar 1 stick butter 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla at least a teaspoon of orange zest 4 tablespoons of orange juice 1 tablespoon of milk Add: 2 cups flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp cornstarch It will be sticky – but add a bit more flour if the dough is TOO sticky – Let it rest for about 10 minutes – Divide into two parts – cover and chill for an hour or so -Roll out one part at a time between two pieces of parchment paper OR on a floured surface with a floured rolling pinYou want it about 1/8 inches thick Cut into circles about 3 1/2 inches across. Use a teaspoon or so of whatever filling you want – make sure it’s pretty thick. Drop in in the center of the circle – Dampen the edges of the circle so that the dough will stick to itself easier – and then pinch it into three “corners” like the picture – Its easier than it looks. But pinch the corner tight – and try not to overfill. ***Egg wash on all sides -Chill the cookies for about 15 minutes – they will be less likely to leak – Bake 350 for about 10-15 minutes – Bottoms will brown first – be careful – don’t over bake – They will be VERY hot – Let them cool on the tray before removing – Enjoy! You can also have your own party, read the story and boo and hiss at Haman – make noise to drown out his name -Remember that wickedness always falls of its own weight – and because of courage and determination of humans -and eat cookies! This is actually a good thing to do – adult as well as kids – because we seem to be living in such a dangerous time right now – We will boo and hiss at Hell and “the devil” at the Easter Vigil, of course – but we can do it tonight as well! |
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