adapted from Modern Flavors Transform a Purim Tradition
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/dining/16purim.html?ref=dining
I.
Pistachio with rosewater
Dates sprinkled with sweet wine
Filo dough delicate as gold leaf
Traditional pastries gussied up, gone global
המן־טאַש
Hamantash
I remember your humble origins
Poppy seed pocket
Heavy dough filled with earthy nuts
Or sticky apricot preserves
Haman’s hat
Ancient history’s reminder
II.
Sixth Century BCE
After Judah’s kingdom was destroyed
Jews captive in Babylon for seventy years
Then Persia seized the land
The drunken King
longed to display his wife’s beauty
Without a veil, disrobed
She imagined her long black hair, shining with coconut oil,
Her alabaster body
Exposed to thousands of undeserving eyes
How could a wife deny her husband?
Yet Vashti refused,
Soon banished, forgotten
King Ahasuerus needed a new queen
Persia searched for her lovely young virgins
Who spent one year lining bright eyes with kohl, anointing smooth skin with oil
Growing beautiful for the king in his harem
He chose Esther,
ستاره setareh,
The star of Persia,
With her long dark hair and mournful eyes
Her parents dead, raised by uncle Mordecai
She keeps her Star of David hidden beneath her crimson gown
Soon, Haman rises to serve the king
All must bow low to him in dirty streets
Only Mordecai refuses,
He bows only to God
Haman plans to exterminate all Jews
Killing a people to destroy one who would not be lowered
Haman builds a gallows of rough wood
A King’s edict is forged on parchment
Closed with the king’s true seal:
Persians must arise to kill all Jews, even old women and young children
Morechi tears his clothes in grief
Marks his forehead with ashes
But Esther reveals herself
Risks her life to approach her husband
Shares her faith with him
Soon Haman hangs in the gallows
An new true edict is written on parchment
Closed with the king’s true seal
Jews must defend themselves against attackers
What strange power did she wield?
Her secret smiles, her hushed whispers to a king’s ear,
Saved a nation
75,000 enemies of the Jews are killed
Kingdom bathed in blood
No child or wife is touched, the Book of Esther assures us,
No spoils are taken
Yet the blood still stains the land
III.
Poppy seed pocket
Heavy dough and filled with earthy nuts
Or sweet apricot preserves
Haman’s hat
We eat you to remember
Victory over death, triumph over those who would annihilate our ancestors
Thousands were slain in battle
Yours is a complicated sweetness
Special thanks to my dear friend, Miriam Cope
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther
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