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Adar: Enter the Purim Shpiel

March 3, 2015 by Ketzirah

Yes — it’s time for Purim!  Who doesn’t love Purim?  They tried to kill us, they failed, we kicked their @$$ to the 7th generation — LET’S PARTY!!!!

Over on my own site, I waxed poetic (and ritual) about the hamantaschen.  Over at , you can find some great hamantaschen recipe.  Here at PunkTorah — I want to talk Purim Shpiel.  Next to Passover, Purim is one of our most accessible and fun holidays and like Passover, it’s also serious.  The Purim Shpiel is the tradition of doing a humorous play that mocks our enemies.  Jews do love comedy, after all.

For years, I threw a killer Purim Shpiel at my house.  I just called it a Purim party — but it was all the same.  It’s amazing how awesome a party where everyone gets lit and acts out the bible while I read it can be.  It was also always a huge opportunity for learning. I always read the JPS translation — and all the way through.

When we hit the end one year, my sister started to yell that I was making up the part where we slaughter Haman’s extended family.  She didn’t remember that from Purim as a child.  A HUGE debate ensued about this and whether or not they actually read the whole Megillah at our childhood synagogue and how this changed our impression of the holiday.

But seriously — when can you read the bible to people without seeming creepy?  It’s awesome!

Here’s how I do it.  I have some props that are for each main character and either asked friends who wanted to be whom, or in the true spirit of Purim,  had them draw lots for parts. If people were unfamiliar with the characters, I would do a quick explanation.  Everyone who didn’t play a part, had groggers and other noise makers — plus they got to drink.

Then I just start reading, and my friends act out any interpretation of what I’m saying they like.  I can assure you, we had some fascinating interpretations going.  I remember a prissy, pissy french Haman.  One time it turned out the hidden story was that Haman was jealous of Vashti’s awesome gold/velvet stole.  And well, Esther bowing before the King’s “golden scepter” lead to a not so family friendly interpretation of how Esther saved her people….

This year — invite your friends over and read the bible to them.  Read the whole Megillah — word for word.  Drink — you are obligated by Jewish law to eat, drink and be merry.  Seriously — this is the only holiday where you are obligated to have fun.  Take the opportunity to see what you can learn from the reveling and topsy-turvy experience of Purim.

———–

Ketzirah is a Kohenet, Celebrant, and Artist.  She works with individuals and groups to explore, discover, and create meaningful rituals and ritual artwork to mark moments in life.

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Judaism & Belief, Purim, Shabbat & Holidays Tagged With: convert to judaism, darshan yeshiva, drinking, embodied practices, Esther, food, haman, hamantaschen, kohenet, Mordechai, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, Purim, purim shpiel, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, ritual, talmud, traditions

Almond Hamantaschen

March 2, 2012 by newkosher

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I’ve tried making Hamantaschen, the famous Purim cookies, many times and failed. This recipe is different. The key to good Hamantaschen is the almond meal, which we got from Trader Joe’s. If you can find it at Trader Joe’s, then stock up, because in our experience, it is seldom on the shelf. It lasts a while, so no worries about buying too much and having it go bad.
Of course, there are a ton of different fillings you can use. In this batch, we did Nutella, raspberry and blackberry. Almond paste, apricot and of course the traditional poppyseed are all terrific.
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup almond meal (can be found at Trader Joe’s in the nuts section, or grind down raw almonds)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 ounces (1 stick) softened butter (use margarine for a pareve version)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
Cooking spray to grease cookie sheet
Filling of your choice (we used Nutella and different jams)
  • Preheat the oven to 375F.
  • Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and almond meal)
  • In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, softened butter, vanilla, and almond extract
  • Thoroughly combine the two mixes, until you have a soft dough formed
  • Break the dough into several managable size balls. (Tip: If the dough is too soft to work with, wrap the dough balls in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 mins.)
  • On a well-floured board, using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 1⁄8-inch thickness. Have your filling, cookie cutter, and greased cookie sheet nearby
  • Use a cookie cutter (or small glass) to create circles about 4 inches in diameter
  • Place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of the circle (make sure not to use too much, or your hamantaschen will explode)
  • Fold in sides, and press dough to seal, creating two sides of a triangle. Then fold the bottom of the circle up to form the third side, leaving a little of the filling visible in the center
  • Place on the greased cookie sheet
  • Cutting circles leaves a lot of marginal dough, you’ll have to gather scraps in a ball and roll them out again
  • Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are a light golden brown
  • Let hamantaschen cool before you remove them from the baking pan with a spatula

An important Purim tradition is to give mishloach manot, Purim gift baskets of food, to friends and family. Make sure to add these great treats to your holiday gifts! Happy Purim!

Filed Under: NewKosher (Recipes), Purim Tagged With: Almond Hamantaschen, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, cookies with jam, darshan yeshiva, hamantaschen, how to make Hamantaschen, jewish cookies, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, Purim, purim cookies, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, triangle cookies

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