Savory Hamentaschen sound delicious

Reading about Hamentaschen and their many possible fillings before breakfast is like grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Except instead of the bounty of Rainbow to satisfy my (real or perceived) hunger, I have a fridge full of. . . Half a lemon. And some asparagus. And bread - I guess toast and jam will do for now.

Anyway, here's a fun article on the evolution of Hamentaschen in the NYT (thanks, Bruce!). Also, fun fact! Did you know that Hamentaschen which, in German, would translate to "Haman's* pockets" were not actually originally called Hamentaschen? They were called something like "Mohntaschen," translated as poppy seed pockets, but added the Yiddish "ha" in the late middle ages. Hamentaschen is a much better name, I think.

*Haman is the villian of the Purim story, when Hamentaschen are traditionally eaten.

The Review: How To Understand Israel in 60 Days Or Less

In the time I had allotted to read How To Understand Israel in 60 Days Or Less by Sarah Glidden, I was also able to read Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan. (There's another great reason to love graphic novels. I get the feeling of accomplishment that comes with completing a book FAR more often.) More on Exit Wounds in a future post.

I liked How To Understand Israel. Instead of reading a comprehensive history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it gave me a sense of what specific topics I might be interested in learning more about. Now I want to find a biography of Yitzhak Rabin. Or something on the Six Days War (especially those last few days with Syria). Put another way, I no longer have to commit myself to a feast of reading. I have the knowledge to more carefully select a few appetizers and then see how hungry I remain.

Glidden is convinced that she'll be fed all sorts of pro-Israel propaganda on her Birthright trip, and steels herself with a lengthy and seemingly balanced book list prior to leaving. Ultimately, she experiences plenty of the propaganda she expected to, as well as Israelis who equate sympathies with Palestianians with national (and, oftentimes, personal) certain death. But she's surprised by the number of people who, like her, just don't know what to think or do. If the status quo feels unbearable, and solutions impossible, then. . . What next?

In doing follow up research on some of the topics covered in the book, I've been concerned at the degree to which certain historic events are simplified. (The aforementioned fighting between Syria and Israel during the Six Days War is a great example of this.) However, I think this represents more a challenge with the medium than an intentional bias on the part of the author. I'm a bit surprised that someone who pored through some of the weighty books she did would be comfortable with much of this glossing over, but perhaps, especially when writing a graphic novel on such a controversial topic, the good cannot be the enemy of the perfect.

So, the final verdict? If you know very little about the conflict and want something to whet your appetite, definitely pick up How To Understand Israel. If you already consider yourself well versed in the issues and historic timeline, however, you may be disappointed.

Like, OMGoddess!

Last night I went to the second meeting of Introduction to the Jewish Experience, a class I'm taking through Berkeley's Lehrhaus Judaica. (I missed the first meeting when I tried to bike the eight or so miles from my house without the use of a topographical map. Damn hills out here!) This is the second series in a three-series class and this time around we're talking about Jewish history and text. (You can check out Rabbi Adar's website dedicated to the class by clicking here.) To supplement my classroom learning, I just started reading A Short History of the Jewish People by Raymond P. Scheindlin.

So what juicy historical tidbits have I learned so far? First of all, history up to 500 or so BCE is CONFUSING! Maybe it's the abundance of varying sources (the Torah, ancient artifacts, squabbling historians, etc.) or maybe it's just difficult to understand thousands of years of history in just a few hours and a couple hundred pages. Either way - yikes! My original plan was to summarize each chapter of the book here, both for my own memory and for others who are likewise overwhelmed. But I'm SO overwhelmed that I've since nixed that idea.

So! Instead I bring you some of my favorite and most surprising facts. If these facts seem off to any of my (two) loyal readers, please feel free to call my bluff in the comments section.

1. When the Israelites (technically Hebrews at this point?) were fleeing Egypt, God parted the "Sea of Reeds" which is usually translated as the "Red Sea," however this is not the Red Sea that we see on a map today. The exact location of the Sea of Reeds/Red Sea is unknown.

2. The first king of the Israelites was Saul. The second king was David - the same David who conquered Goliath in the story of (who knew?) David and Goliath! (Goliath was a Philistine hero.) This is probably common knowledge to most, but I thought this was such a fun fact! Also, David had his eye on Bathsheba, the wife of one of his captains. So he sent that captain to the front lines to fight, where he inevitably died. Then David was able to marry Bathsheba, who gave birth to Solomon (who would be the third king). Sneaky, eh?

3. After King Solomon died, the Israelites split into two camps: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. During this time, the term "Israelites" actually refers to those living in the north, though Jerusalem and the temple that Solomon had built there were still in the south.

4. If you've read this far, you've really earned this next fun fact. . . GOD WAS A WOMAN! I'm joking. BUT, before Josiah came along and enforced very strict monotheism, there is evidence that Israelites (and others) recognized that God had a wife, named Asherah. In both Israel and Judah, artifacts have been recovered inscribed with blessings that reference "Yahweh and his Asherah." Though she certainly wasn't what one could call a goddess (there was always only one God), she was considered the protector of fertility and lady cycles, and also overseer of matters related to the sea. (I've seen translations of her name to "one who strides over the sea," etc.) Isn't that a really fun fact? I knew you'd think so. I've also read sources that say that near stones erected to God one can sometimes also find "asherim," wooden posts that sometimes "embrace" the stone and are said to be in tribute to Asherah. Can anyone confirm seeing such a thing?

Okay, on to chapter two. . . "Judea and the Origins of the Diaspora." Yippee!