Max and Benny's

History & Trivia / Purim

Why Do We Eat Hamantaschen?

All though the exact reasons are not know, they are probably along the lines of:

Compared with the fascinating miracles of Passover, the story of Purim is not as miraculous. Esther wins a beauty contest, Mordechai learns of a plot to kill the king, etc., etc. Not exactly miracles!

It is only after reading the entire Megilla do you learn that the events of Purim contain hidden miracles. The name "Megillat Esther" means "Revealing the Hidden." Hamantaschen relates to this hidden aspect of Purim, since the poppy seeds and other fillings are hidden inside the dough.

That brings up another question, Why poppy seeds? The Talmud states that Esther ate seeds while in the palace of Achashverosh. This enabled her to avoid non-kosher food, yet maintain a healthy appearance.

Some people say that the word Hamantaschen is Yiddish and comes from the words "mon" (poppy seed) and "tash" (pocket).