Girl Power and Hamentaschen

To Jewish people everywhere, a hamentasch is symbolic of the holiday Purim. The holiday falls in late February to mid-March. Originally celebrated to commemorate how the heroine Esther saved all the Jews of Shushan, Purim is a time to dress up, play games, and eat the fruit-filled cookies known as Hamentaschen. They are triangle-shaped, to remember the hat of the story's villain, Hamen (hence "hamen-tasch"). Hamen wanted to kill the Jews and advised the king of Shushan that Jews were not to be trusted. But just in time, Esther pleaded to the king, her husband, not to kill them. At great risk to herself, she revealed that she was in fact Jewish as well.

I think it's interesting that this holiday usually falls during Women's History Month, considering that Purim is one of the few Jewish holidays with any real contribution from a woman. And what's strange? Esther was not the king's first wife to have an independent streak. For some reason, the story of Esther begins with why the king was looking for a wife at all. Well, that would be because his first wife had some dignity. Vashti was summoned by king during a feast one night to dance naked for him and his guests, which she wisely refused. But the king, being drunk, took offense and banished her. Then, he held a contest to find the most beautiful woman in the land to be his next wife and Esther was that girl.

Girlfriend, he only wanted you for your looks! But maybe that's also the lesson here: at any given period in time, women have always been more powerful than society gives them credit for. Esther was meant to look pretty and do what the king wanted, but she used her meager influence to save a persecuted people from annihilation, which could have resulted in the same fate as Vashti, or worse. Perhaps she succeeded not simply because she was brave, as I'm sure Vashti also was, but because she understood how to exert her power in a culture that offered her no voice. Perhaps we still celebrate her more than any other single Jewish woman because she did what seemed impossible; she made a positive impact on history and selflessly put herself at risk so that others might live.

So, to celebrate a woman who brought civil rights for Jews to ancient Syria, make some Hamentaschen! To begin, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Gather together your dry ingredients. You will need:

* 4 cups flour

* 1 cup white sugar

* 2 Tsp baking powder

* 1/4 tsp baking soda

Get that thoroughly sifted, then gather and combine your wet ingredients:

* 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

* 3 eggs

* 3/4 cup butter, melted

* 1 lime, zested and juiced

* 1 orange, zested and juiced

The recipe makes about 4 dozen, depending on size. Roll out your dough, sprinkling your work area with flour and coating your rolling pin too. Use a cup or other desirable circumference to make circles. Remove excess dough, set aside. Next, use whatever fruit filling you like (cherry, blueberry, lemon, strawberry, prune, apricot) and spoon about a teaspoon into the center. Begin from the bottom and fold the bottom of the cookie dough up so it looks like a semicircle. Then, fold the sides so they make a point at the top. pinch all three corners so they stick in place. Do this with each cookie, adding more filling if desired. Just be careful not to add too much or the sides will collapse and your cookie will be round again.

Place your cookies on a well-greased pan, evenly spaced with about an inch in between rows. Bake your cookies for 12-15 minutes, checking periodically for some color on the bottom. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes, then enjoy! Chag Purim (HA-g pur-EEM)!