March 14, 2013

5 Nisan 5773

Candle Lighting: 6:38 p.m.

 Dear Friends:  

Chametz!

As Pesach approaches, we need to clean the chametz out of our lives. There is some leftover Hamantaschen business in my life that I need to dispose of.

Right before Purim I wrote an article about Hamantaschen. I explained the origins of the triangular cookie, but said I had no idea why they are called Oznei Haman, Haman's ears, in Hebrew. The answer, provided by Dr. Robert and Dr. Miriam Sherman, is below!

Rabbi,

You asked that we send you background information for one of the theories related to the custom of calling Hamantashen Oznei Haman. Here goes.

When we hear the word "Hamantashen," most of us associate this with a triangular pastry.  

Oznei Haman

However, some Sephardic Jews make ear-shaped Purim pastries called Haman's Ears (Orejas de Haman), which translates into Oznei Haman in Hebrew. In fact, this designation is the most common one in Israel today. Some of these have no fillings, but others are filled with ground pistachios or almonds mixed with sugar and rose water.

There are a number of theories as to how this custom of making ear-shaped Purim delicacies may have developed, but the oldest one which we have been able to document comes from an 8th century midrashic text called the "Targum Sheni to the Book of Esther." This is the translation of the Aramaic text (note the term "stuffed ears"):   

Sephardic Jews

"When Haman perceived that he was not the one who was to be honored, but Mordecai, his heart was completely crushed, his courage changed to faintness.... And when the wicked Haman saw that his arguments availed nothing with the King, .... he went ...mourning, head covered, stuffed ears, closed eyes, pouting mouth, an agonized heart, wounded feelings, loosened girdle, and knees knocking."

The take home message is that Haman was so focused on himself that his ears and heart were closed (stuffed) - he could not bring himself to hear the truth of Mordechai's virtues and to recognize the well-deserved honors that the King gave him. (Does this remind us of Pharaoh, whose heart was also closed and "hardened"?) 

The custom of making Purim cookies in the shape of Haman's ears, and then stuffing them with filling, may represent a folk tradition related to the "stuffed ears" account of Haman in the Targum. If so, when we eat our Oznei Haman, whether triangular or ear-shaped, we are symbolically devouring the part of Haman's anatomy which refused to hear the truth about Mordechai. 

Everyone is invited to join an informal Torah discussion with the Shermans and Norm Katz following services on March 23, 2013. For further information, please click here.

Shabbat Shalom,