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Talking Heads: "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no..." ...no purim Torah so get ready for some tasty tidbits. But what is a good dessert without some ancient Canaanite and Persian iconography as an appetizer? A calm stomach, for one thing... I know it's early for Purim but here goes...
We have all heard the rumor that Esther's real name was Haddasah (see Gemorah Megillah 13a). Some have even been so bold as to declare that Esther is a variant of the goddess Ishtar, venerated by the Persians.
But what relevance does Hamantashen have for us. I recall my first grade rebbe telling me that it was the shape of Haman's triangular hat, and in our victory over him, we have consumed him (I'm sure that wasn't a direct quote).
Along comes Ruth Hestrin with a great observation regarding Canaanite iconography
that would illuminate our understanding of the foundation for the tradition of making Hamantashen for Purim.
Archaeologists found at Lachish site, a ewer (dating to 1220 BCE) and a goblet that illustrate that the pubic triangle and tree could be used interchangeably in Canaanite iconography to represent Asherah. Asherah is the female goddess often represented as a tree. The Ewer has 2 ibexes nibbling on a tree and the goblet has the pubic triangle in place of the tree.
We have all heard the rumor that Esther's real name was Haddasah (see Gemorah Megillah 13a). Some have even been so bold as to declare that Esther is a variant of the goddess Ishtar, venerated by the Persians.
But what relevance does Hamantashen have for us. I recall my first grade rebbe telling me that it was the shape of Haman's triangular hat, and in our victory over him, we have consumed him (I'm sure that wasn't a direct quote).
Along comes Ruth Hestrin with a great observation regarding Canaanite iconography
that would illuminate our understanding of the foundation for the tradition of making Hamantashen for Purim.Archaeologists found at Lachish site, a ewer (dating to 1220 BCE) and a goblet that illustrate that the pubic triangle and tree could be used interchangeably in Canaanite iconography to represent Asherah. Asherah is the female goddess often represented as a tree. The Ewer has 2 ibexes nibbling on a tree and the goblet has the pubic triangle in place of the tree.
Here’s where things get interesting. Stay with me on this.
At some point, the separate goddesses Anat, Asherah, and Astarte merged or became interchangeable to some extent. Astarte is associated with the QUEEN OF HEAVEN mentioned in Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-25 to whom women baked cakes in service. Astarte in Persia was Ishtar.
Now recall queen Esther (sounds like Ishtar) and the holiday, Purim, we bake cakes for her. So veneration of the female goddess has been legitimated and incorporated into normative Judaism by being transformed and co-opted to the form we have it today. Instead of worshipping the goddess, queen of heaven, Ishtar, we instead honor Esther in a manner similar to how Ishtar was worshipped. We bake cakes but not just any cakes. The cakes are very specially designed to be reminiscent of the goddess herself. That same goddess that can be represented as a tree is also represented as the pubic triangle. And the cakes baked for Esther's holiday are triangular in shape with interesting filling.
Something to chew on. Although Hamantashen have not tasted quite the same since I learned this. I guess we should call them Kamintashen (Come-in-tashen).
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For a great detailed article on the iconography and goddess' see here.
Something to chew on. Although Hamantashen have not tasted quite the same since I learned this. I guess we should call them Kamintashen (Come-in-tashen).
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For a great detailed article on the iconography and goddess' see here.
For a detailed post on origin of the name hamantashen see here.
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POSTSCRIPT: BHB, in the comments, points out that there should have been a reference in the literature since Persian times demonstrating use of the shape of a triangle while baking in order to solidify the theory above that triangular cakes were reference to Ishtar and then incorporated into practice. In the comment section, I conceded that the triangular shape is not mentioned in the literature until the High Middle Ages at best and that particular component (shape) is tenuous. Someone should have mentioned that aspect of the tradition being passed down.
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I did demonstrate there that the focus should instead be on the BAKING. The holiday of Purim has allusions to Ishtar (Esther), Marduk (Mordechai), cakes called Kaman (Haman, who was consumed or eventually sacrificed), and baking for the purpose of veneration (we send manot in celebration of the holiday).
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For further clarification on kaman see here.
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I should have indicated that I based this post on William Dever's Did God Have A Wife pp.226-234. He mentions that Jeremiah 7:18 describes the baking of cakes, kawwanim. That term (to me reads like kavvanim) is a loan word from the Mesopotamian word kamanu meaning cake. Mesopotamian texts describe the cakes as 'kaman'. That sounds awfully like it could be a corollary to Haman! Perhaps this is the word you are looking for. People baked cakes for the queen of heaven called kavvanim.
I should have indicated that I based this post on William Dever's Did God Have A Wife pp.226-234. He mentions that Jeremiah 7:18 describes the baking of cakes, kawwanim. That term (to me reads like kavvanim) is a loan word from the Mesopotamian word kamanu meaning cake. Mesopotamian texts describe the cakes as 'kaman'. That sounds awfully like it could be a corollary to Haman! Perhaps this is the word you are looking for. People baked cakes for the queen of heaven called kavvanim.
Kaman, Haman, (mishloah) manot sound similar. I guess the focus should remain on the aspect of baking for the holiday just like cakes were baked for Ishtar instead of triangular shape although I did enjoy the concept.
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