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May 25, 2012
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May 24, 2012
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May 23, 2012
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May 22, 2012
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Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
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Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
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The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 28, 2007
/ 10 Adar, 5766
Who stole the hamantaschen from the cookie jar?
By
Chani Kurtz
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Signs of the times: Purim is rapidly approaching, I have shopped until I dropped, and I have yet to see one prominent display of Lekvar or apricot jam in the front of any of my local stores.
It is not as though Purim has disappeared. The chic candy, nuts, and confectionery store in my neighborhood has its annual trailer parked in the front, allowing plenty of room for baskets, boxes and bags of every conceivable type, at every conceivable price range. The housewares store is running a mega sale, astutely aware that holidays generate spending, and trusting that women will be lured by great prices on elegant giftware and upscale pots. The shelves of the closeout store are stocked with inexpensive plastic storage containers, floral nesting boxes, and funky oddities that "might work." The paper goods stores have expanded their offerings of cute shopping bags to include coordinating colored cellophane and shredded cellophane grass, and rolls of curling ribbon to match them. The grocery stores have an endless variety of "2 for a dollar," "4 for a dollar," and even "8 for a dollar" goodies. The takeout store will be more than happy to provide kreplach or stuffed cabbage, depending on your family's custom. Even the local florist has a sign in the window that he is taking orders for Purim, though I'm not quite sure what he's thinking.
The only significant absence seems to be the display I'm looking for — the traditional jars of Simon Fisher prune Lekvar, the large size apricot preserves, and the newer raspberry and strawberry fillings that my kids have asked for. In fact, were it not for a few boxes in the prepackaged baked goods section, one could forget that Purim used to mean hamantashen.
Many people seem to have opted out of Purim entirely. Exhausted and overwhelmed by the monster we have created, they do not want to look at another piece of candy, think up another "theme" or stuff another shopping bag. Some choose to go to married children out of town, bringing the one mishlo'ach manos mandated by Halacha (Jewish Law), and congratulating themselves on the long list of tedious obligations they have eliminated. Others will hop on a plane, secure in the knowledge that the cost of the ticket will be more than offset by the savings of not giving mishlo'ach manos and (dare we admit it?) of not opening the door on Purim night.
Most the women I know, however, do seem to be doing some sort of planning. Even if they have elected to buy professionally assembled goodie baskets or dried fruit and nut platters, there is still a seuda (festive meal) to consider. They are calling friends and sisters-in-law, comparing notes on what they made and what they are thinking of making, looking for something novel and interesting. They are pulling cookbooks off the shelf, glossy new cookbooks that feature elegant new dishes, beautifully arranged. It not only has to taste good, it has to look chic as well. To paraphrase the real estate agents, the three most important elements of nouvelle cooking are presentation, presentation, and presentation.
Poor hamantashen. They're time-consuming to make — all that rolling and filling and folding. They just won't work in an elegant presentation, with ice cream on the side, all drizzled with exotic sauces. They're not going to replace triple chocolate anything as a blowout desert.
MESSAGE WITHIN THE WRAPS
But I'm going to make them anyway. I'm going to do it so the little ones can help. Never mind that it will take twice as long with their "help," and that spoons full of sticky stuff will end up all over the kitchen floor. Never mind that the sides will be lopsided, that the corners will open during baking, and the filling will ooze all over the place. They'll get eaten straight out of the oven anyway, and they'll taste just fine.
We'll try to eat the messy ones, and save the pretty ones for Purim. After all, we want the mishlo'ach manos to look appealing. But somewhere between wrapping the baskets up with the bows, and wrapping the last bits of chopped meat into their kreplach dough, we're going to try and stop, and remember the point of all this wrapping.
Purim is about concealment, about seeing behind the façade. Purim is about a time when nothing was what it seemed, and we had to peer behind the masks to see the truth emerge. Before there was the obvious threat of a Haman, there was a more insidious threat veiled as a party. The Megilla (Book of Esther) tells us that all were invited, and that the wine flowed freely. The Sages tell us that the Jews were included among the invited, and that the wine that flowed so freely included kosher wine. Only when Haman demanded that all bow down to him were the Jews required to set themselves apart, and to blatantly declare their differences from those around them.
Even then, the miracle was a discreet one, as the Divine's outstretched hand concealed itself behind the outstretched scepter of "the king."
Purim and Yom Hakipurim. We know that there are no coincidences, and that each letter tells its own story. The masks and the merriment are the obvious manifestations of a deeper truth, that there is a hidden lesson that we dare not forget.
And if Purim is really about looking within, how can I let presentation displace my hamantash?
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Chani Kurtz is a Brooklyn-based writer and high school teacher. Comment by clicking here.
© 2007, Jewish Observer
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