Many in our church know the OT story of Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia. The king loved her more than the others but he did not know that she was Jewish.
The "bad guy"of the story is Haman, a prideful, (think stiff-necked) advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to him. So Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people.
As we know, Esther is in the court for "such a time as this" (Esther 4:14) and after fasting, she approached the king (a bold move) and told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved. The good guys won and Jews throughout the world celebrate that with a Purim festival.
Purim (פּוּרִים) is celebrated a month before Passover and women in synagogues all over Memphis come together to make Hamentaschen, yummy little triangle cookies.
Those fruit-filled cookies are supposed to represent Haman's three-cornered hat.
Neighbor Jane, shared the cookies & the story of this Israeli tradition with us and other neighbors. How special to share Israeli traditions by just walking next door. She said you can also get these fruit-filled gems at Ricki's Cookies, a Kosher Bakery in Eastgate.
I cannot imagine any cookies taster than these tri-cornered ones, with apricot filling, made by the ladies of Anshei Sphard Beth El Emeth Synagogue and shared by a "nice" neighbor.
Perfect with my morning cuppa.
