Hamantaschen - The Inner Sweetness

When Jewish holidays come around, my taste buds start tingling.
True, matzoh doesn't really rock my boat too much, but Latkas, Jelly doughnuts, Challoh and wine, and the smorgasbord of other delicious kosher treats, all play a big role in feeling the holiday spirit.
As one man astutely observed, most Jewish holidays can be defined as: "They tried to kill us; we won, let's eat!"

But let's take a deeper look at the foods we eat at special occasions.
On Chanukah, I wrote about the inner meaning of donuts and latkas.
But as Purim arrives this Sat. Night/Sunday, let's take a look at what makes hamentaschen so special.

The story of Purim is incredibly unique. G-d Saves the Jewish People from annihilation (nothing new here), but does it in a way that seems natural. The Jewish Queen pulls some connections with the king, a few things go our way, and boom - the Jewish people are saved. It seems SO natural in fact, that the Purim story is the only one in the entire 24 books of the Bible, where G-d's name is not mentioned even once!

But the lessons of Purim are everlasting. G-d's "Name," His open Revelation to us in the world, is slim to none. He's Hidden. Like a puppet-master behind the scenes, guiding the show. From Middle East upheavals to tsunamis, G-d Guides the world without openly Saying "I'm Here." On Purim, G-d Made His Being a bit more apparent; more easily deduced from the events that unfolded.
It was just too much of a coincidence!

In our lives too, G-d Is intimately involved, but Hidden. Behind every event, even the painful ones, G-d Is Behind it. And if G-d Is Behind it, then the inner truth of the event is pure goodness. As the prophet Jeremiah said: 'Evil does not descend from Above.' Even when it isn't apparent. And that is the lesson of the hamantaschen:
A triangular cookie with a sweet filling on the inside, the hamentaschen symbolize the essence of the Purim story, and our lives: As tough or unsavory as an event may seem, there is a sweet inner reason behind it.

G-d Hides to Give us free-choice to choose to recognize His Role in our lives, or not. Like the Purim masks we wear, G-d Uses the world and "nature" as a mask to Hide His Doing. But as we listen to "Megillat Esther" Being read on Purim, let's remember the Kabbalistic interpretation: "Megaleh Ha'hester" - To Reveal that which is Hidden. Through recognizing the One behind the Mask, in our lives and the world's events at large, may we merit to see G-d Presence in actuality, and the sweetness behind all of history's events.

Have a happy Purim!

-Daniel
To see more on Purim, check out: Purim