What’s your favorite kind of Hamantaschen?
Personally, I’m a big nutella fan but I know that is not a traditional flavoring. Apricot, Prune and Mun (which is a poppy seed kind of mixture that I am not even sure most people ever heard of) are what most people are used to when they think of Hamantaschen. And now, if I am to believe a myriad of posts and pictures on Facebook and Instagram, there are all sorts of savory flavors making their debut –Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Hamantaschen, Savory Meat Pie Hamantaschen, French Onion Soup Hamantaschen. And then there are the crazy sounding sweet ones like Candy Candy Hamantaschen, Dulce de Leche Hamantashen and Maple Pecan Hamantaschen. If you don’t believe me, go online and check out all the fun folks are having inventing new flavors for these no-longer-simple triangle cookies!
Having never been a traditionalist, I kind of like all this experimentation with one of the symbols of Purim. It is way better than folks deciding that hamantaschen are old-fashioned and they just shouldn’t eat them at all. To me, it shows that traditions do not have to be inflexible. Which when you think about it, is what we are trying to do here in general at Temple Beth Abraham. From testing out a variety of Friday night service times, to creating new experiences for 5th grade families in school, our community is actively involved in experimentation. And that is wonderful because we are taking tradition and making it ours. And even if you’re not exactly ready for those Savory Meat Pie Hamantaschen, I hope you will experiment with Judaism in your own way, and find your very own personal flavor.
Chag Sameach!
Pam Barkley
