From the Purim Desk 1~~Hamentashen Notes!

Taste and see how good the LORD is.
Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. 

--Psalm 34:9

Your decrees are my eternal heritage:
they are my heart`s delight.   --Psalm 119:111

Happy Birthday Esther !

Did you know `Esther`s` name means `hidden`!!

Your choice of Sakura An (Cherry blossoms paste)  or Prune filling!

Cherry Blossoms Hamantashen, since 2017 on Challah and Cherry Blossoms, made in Japan with God`s love

from the Purim Desk of Shayndel!!

These days of Purim shall be observed at their proper time, as Mordecai the Jew--and now Queen Esther--has obligated them to do, and just as they have assumed for themselves and their descendants the obligation of the fasts with their lamentations.  And Esther`s ordinance validating these observances of Purim were recorded in a scroll.-the Book of Esther 9:31 &32

We celebrate Purim on the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Adar.  The day I am writing these notes it is the  11th of Adar.

The same days on which the Jews enjoyed relief from their foes and the same month which had been transformed for them from one of grief and mourning to one of festive joy. --Esther 9:22a

God is said to be hidden in the Purim story and yet, as we read  on Purim in the book of Esther,  we find Him everywhere!   He is not hidden at all!!  His hand is upon everything, He seems so present there in every detail.  So my interpretation of the Hamantashen, with the delicious fillings inside, is that they speak of God and how He is the center of all things!   And the center of course of the center of all the events that are wrapped together in the Purim story.

These photos are from my in-home time of making as I was up to my ears in Hamentashen, and that is where I like to be on Purim!!  This year I also hosted an on-line Hamentashen bake!! We had participants from Malaysia, Australia, Japan, and the U.S. and respectively the fillings included Passion Fruit filling (Malaysia), Poppyseed (Australia) and Sakura (Cherry Blossoms paste!)(Japan).  Taste and see how good the LORD is!!

 Just a funny story for the record is that the night before the Hamantashan bake, I was up late preparing and finally got to sleep hoping that I would be rested for the next day.  In the middle of the night the phone rang.  I couldn`t imagine!  But I did go at pick it up, it must have been 3 or 4 in the morning.  It was a woman from the Challah company in New York from whom I had ordered Hamantashen to send for my Dad!! She asked me to confirm his address as they couldn`t send to a P.O. box.  I almost got angry and wanted to say, don`t you know its the middle of the night in Japan?? But I stopped myself and realized of course she didn`t, and kept a tone of gratitude, how wonderful that she was delivering the Purim treats to my Dad so he could have them in time!!

 When I returned to bed I realized there was the Hand of God, He wanted to show me that as I was so focused on sharing Purim with new friends in the nations here, He wanted me to know that He was also making sure Dad would be getting his!! Then a few days later I got another call from a delivery service checking on my daughters address! Again, it was God`s hand showing me that He was getting the Purim packages delivered to where they needed to go!! 

That is why we love these hamantashen!! They speak of God's delicious-ness, His taste of everything that is good, His being the one who is in the center of our very story, of our very being. The one who everything we do is centered around.  The horn of our Salvation, the God of our Deliverance.  The one who is in the center of our hearts and who fashions our hearts.

So when you taste the treats of Purim this year, taste deeply, taste intimately, taste with all the senses how very, very , very good our God is!!
 

to be continued.... recipe: HERE

 Much Love ♡ Shayndel

 

 

Choose Your Mask!!! Purim is almost Here

These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family and in every province and every city.  These days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor their remembrance perish from their descendants.        Book of Esther 9:28 

Choose your mask!!

Purim is almost here!! Proclaim His Name and His Victories from every province and every city!!

Let the Hamantashen making begin!!!

May we joyously move into the next Feast, the feast of Purim!!

You still have time to prepare!!

Stay tuned for an invitation to the banquet:))

Blessings and Shalom!

♡Love, Shayndel

(post edited)

Hamantashen! Yeah! Boo! New!

 This year on the day before Purim, I read the book of Esther in my Japanese class with my Japanese teacher.  Or rather, he read most of it and I followed and listened!! He got so into it and loved it so much that he just took over the reading!! Surely he had never read the Purim story before, and his newness to it made me so excited to see how enthusiastic he was in reading it!! He saw all the intricacies in it and was cheering and booing.   I believe God gave him a quickening of the spirit somehow as he seemed to follow how the workings of God's hand behind it make it indeed an extra-ordinary story!!

My teacher didn't know that when we read the Book of Esther every year at Purim (or listen to a reading of the Megilla as those who are in a synagogue), it is always a very lively reading!! We hiss and boo and roll noisemakers at every mention of Haman's name, and cheer on Esther and Mordecai with joyous cheers at their names!!  So when he was so animated in his reactions, it really made me glad to see him doing that without any prompting!! And when I read it this year I too had a new excitement from his excitement!!

Ok, so how do I tie that into the Hamantashen?! As you know these triangle shaped cookies with "hidden" fillings are the traditional sweet to eat at Purim.  Named after the evil Haman... BOOO!!!!

Yet surely there are other revelations "hidden" in the Hamantashen.

Making Hamantashen is first of all  a joy, as though the victory in the salvation of the Jews is echoed three times in the three V's!  Of course if you put the two cookies overlapped on each other, there are two triangles, which make up the Star of David!! Well, those are just off the cuff.

The fillings that we use here at Challah and Cherry Blossoms are one "old" and one "new" combined into what I call Challah and Cherry Blossoms Hamantashen!  As we are in Japan, the sakura filling, or cherry blossom, is the taste of the season, and also the taste of renewal, resurrection, and the Messianic taste, speaking into life that which was not.

The prune filling is a traditional filling I associate with being  "Jewish".  Its substantial and deep in taste and has a history and probably generations have been eating hamantashen filled with prune filling, most likely my grandparents and before!!  Thus, the two together are my signature Challah and Cherry Blossoms Hamantashen!!
Japanese and Jewish folded into the taste of becoming new in Messiah Yeshua!!

Now the next discovery I made is a new meaning to the Hamantashen.
You know, that it is said that God is "hidden" in the book of Esther and the Purim story, as it is the only book in all the Bible where God is not mentioned by His name, or any of his names.

And yet, reading it this year, I found He is not hidden at all!! From my Japanese teacher clearly feeling His presence, to reading it with a clear knowing how His hand is upon everything, He seems so present there in every detail.  So my interpretation of the Hamantashen, with the delicious fillings inside, is that they speak of God and how He is the center of all things!   And the center of course of the center of all the events that are wrapped together in the Purim story.

The filling is "hidden" but its not hidden at all.  It is rich and delicious and full of good taste and surprise.  It is cherry blossoms, it is prune (from plums, like grapes), apricot, fruit of all kinds.
I think of the scripture, Taste and see how good the Lord is!!

That is why we love these hamantashen!! They speak of God's delicious-ness, His taste of everything that is good, His being the one who is in the center of our very story, of our very being. The one who everything we do is centered around.  The one who is in the center of our hearts and who fashions our hearts.

So when you taste the treats of Purim this year, taste deeply, taste intimately, taste with all the senses how very, very , very good our God is!!

Prune and Sakura filled hamantashen, signature Purim fare at our house at Challah and Cherry Blossoms

"Hidden" hamantashen

 Taste and see how good ADONAI is.

Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.

--Psalm 34:9

And as I look deeper into the Psalm, I see His deliverence, and his saving power! I see the Purim story and I see my Saviour .  I see how how those who seek the LORD want for no good thing.  And I see how he is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the face of the earth!! So this is the hamantashen! there in the Psalm!  The turning from evil to good!! They are about seeking Shalom!! Perhaps when we bite into them and taste how good HE is , we are also following the command to blot out Amalek, to blot out evil, and as Haman descends from Amalek, we remember never to forget!

The face of ADONAI is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry out and ADONAI hears, and delivers them from all their troubles.

Many are the distresses of the righteous, but ADONAI delivers him out of them all.

He keeps all his bones--

not one of them is broken.

Evil kills the wicked--

those who hate the righeous 

will be held guilty.

ADONAI redeems the soul of His servants

--no one who takes refuge in Him will be held guilty.

Yeah!! We can cheer with Amen!!  Praise the LORD!

  Who knew a post about a cookie would lead us into a Psalm, and a message of Shalom as we taste and see how good the LORD is!!

Blessings and a Happy Purim!!

Love, 
 ♡
Shayndel

Note:  For more on this blog about  recipes and how-to-make them, and how to share them,  posts and  tutorials,  about hamantashen, Please see my previous years posts on
Challah and Cherry Blossoms Sakura Hamantashen HERE (Purim Menu),
  HERE(Cherry Blossom Hamantashen)!, 
HERE (Sharing Purim)
and HERE(assorted Purim posts)

The Recipe base I use for the Hamantashen and the prune filling are from Tory Avey's blog and can be found HERE (Hamantashen)  and HERE (filling).   You can also find it at right on the sidebar. Thank you Tory Avey for this and other recipes, we are grateful for the inspiration and wonderful recipes that you share, some we have been using over the years as a base from which to create and add on with some Cherry Blossoms touches.  Happy Purim to all!

Purim Round-up

 With Purim now forming into a triangle-shaped memory, the parties are winding down and we can start to see towards  Passover just over the horizon.  

These photos are from today, as Purim extended into the week for a last party with a few of my students.  Studying English while getting a taste of Purim.

I hope you enjoyed Purim at Challah and Cherry Blossoms, thank you for celebrating it with us through the posts below.  It has been fun to share the festivities and hamentashen  with you.

costume credit:  I am wearing an Esther mask, printable courtesy of Alpha Mom, Here!
Blessings and Shalom!

Then Queen Esther the daughter of Abihail, and also Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter of Purim.  He sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of shalom and truth, to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them and just as they had established for themselves and their descendants, matters regarding their times of fasting and lamentations.  Esther`s command confirmed these regulations about Purim and it was written into the records.   

---Esther, 9:29~32

And now, the Feasts!

Shabbat Zachor and the eve before Purim!

These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family and in every province and every city.  These days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor their remembrance perish from their descendants.

---Esther, 9:28

The Shabbat before Purim this past weekend was called Shabbat Zachor, the Sabbath of Remembrance.  On this Shabbat we remember to never forget what Amalek did to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.  (see Deuteronomy 25:17~19))  Amalek had no fear of God.  Haman from the story of Esther is said to descend from Amalek and thus the connection of this week`s special Shabbat and Purim.

Throughout the Bible we are taught that the Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, the Fear of God is what brings us life and into light*.  Those who have no fear of God but live for men and the glory of self walk in the way of darkness.  In the age we live in now too, many people do not know the fear of God. In the story of Esther, the wicked Haman did not have the fear of God. He believed he himself could control fate and randomly by `lots` destroy a whole people.  Queen Esther, who had not yet revealed to the King that she was Jewish, called all the Jewish people together in a fast and in unity and she was granted the scepter to have an audience with the King.  She prepared two great feasts before revealing her identity as a Jew and putting forth her request for the King to save her people.  In the end, Haman, was hanged on the gallows that he prepared for Mordechai.  Hence we make a feast on this day and celebrate the deliverance of the Jews.

Actually, this year it was an ongoing feast from Shabbat to the night of  Purim to the day of Purim, because Purim began on sundown Saturday just when the Shabbat finished! Hamentashen (triangle-shaped!)  for breakfast and Kreplach (triangle shaped!)  for lunch, and we have to get at least tipsy so we completely forget the name of Haman.

You will start to see triangles by the time the meal is done!!

In the post below I talked about the hamentashen.
So now we can return to the feast!

Purim breakfast table! (photo above), Purim day lunch! (below)

Purim Challah in a twisted rope shape, filled with cherry blossom filling.  Remember that `hamen-tashen` means `weaken Hamen` so as you can see, the Purim feast has a lot to say !!!

Japanese `Onigiri` rice balls also make a good addition to your Purim in Japan menu! They not only are triangle shaped, but they also have `hidden` fillings inside.

The fear of ADONAI prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

---Proverbs 10:27

The Purim challah (above middle) is in a circle shape, it is two stands twisted together like a rope that Haman was hung by.  I got the idea from this Purim challah Here.   But I made a variation. In my version, inside is , again, cherry blossoms! To represent the saving and resurrection power of Messiah Yeshua, and the fruit that comes from following the ways of Torah!!!

A Song of Ascents.
Happy is everyone in awe of ADONAI, 
who walks in His ways,
for you will eat the labor of your hands.
You will be blessed 
and it will be good for you.

---Psalm 128:1~2

On Purim we rejoice because although God was `hidden` in the pages of the book, it was a fear of God that kept the Jewish people so strong as they were a people who agreed together to walk in the ways of righteousness and who kept the Law of God. 

May we remember to blot out the memory of Amalek!! One of the meanings for hamentashen
is that `tashen` means to weaken, so the word hamentashen means to weaken Hamen and hence the power of Amalek. 

In Yeshua`s name I declare OUT AMALEK!!

For God, who said "Let light shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah.   ---2 Corinthians 4:6

Blessings and Shavu`a Tov!!
From your Challah and Cherry Blossoms Correspondent,

Shayndel

Now when ADONAI your God grants you rest from all the enemies surrounding you in the land ADONAI your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, you are to blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.  Do not forget!

---Deuteronomy 25:19

Shalom be upon Israel!

---Psalm 128:6b

*There are so many great verses about Fear of the LORD, HERE are some to start!

Note on Purim Giving: It is a mitzvot on Purim to give to those in need ,
may we not forget to give in this season!
Blessings and Shalom!

Kreplach in soup, and Esther-inspired beans stew

food note:  Queen Esther hid her Jewish identity while she lived in the palace, so it is said she kept a vegetarian diet in order to keep kosher.  See recipe for this Persian-inspired bean dish with cinnamon and tomato HERE.  These Kreplach contain meat and sweet potato and onion, but you can also find vegetarian Kreplach recipes for Purim.

Cherry Blossom Hamentashen!

On top of both you can place a cherry blossom flower, before or in the middle of baking time.

Nothing says `Purim in Japan` like Cherry Blossom Hamentashen!

Cherry Blossom is the perfect filling for this holiday that falls just before spring, the holiday before the Passover.  Purim is a time to celebration the deliverance of the Jewish people in Persia by Esther`s annulment of the terrible decree set out by Haman (see post below).

Hamentashen are the cookies that are traditional to eat on Purim.  They can be filled with all different kinds of filling, and there are many ideas as to what these little triangular filled pastries mean.  You can read ten of them in an article HERE that offers ten possible meanings.

This year I just couldn`t resist trying my first Cherry Blossoms Hamentashen.
 
 I also made  the classic, prune, which is often made for this Jewish holiday.
Two flavors.  Prune and Cherry Blossom. A fun mix of cultures.  With special meaning for me as they combine the place where I live with the faith that I`m from.

 I have come to also see the cherry blossoms through a Messianic lens, and the pink color of the spring blossoms that burst forth over all Japan has the expectation of Messiah and resurrection.
 Messianic Jewish and Japanese!
However you say it,  Prune and Cherry Blossom Hamentashen say "Purim in Japan!!"

To make Cherry Blossom Hamentashen:

For the dough I started with the recipe from Torey Avey`s Non-dairy Hamentashen recipe.
 I used Natane Oil for the `oil`, which is or is like Canola Oil.
And one sublime Challah and Cherry Blossoms addition:
 Sprinkle cherry blossom flakes into the dough.

For the filling, I used Sakura-an, which is a cherry blossom paste with a white bean base which is used for wa-gashi, Japanese traditional sweets.  I added a teaspoon of the filling into each triangle and the dough wraps around the filling.  You can follow the recipe and photos on how to fold Here.


To make prune Hamentashen:

I used the recipe directly from Tori Avey`s Non-dairy Hamentashen recipe.
With one sublime addition, I sprinkled cherry blossom flakes into the dough so they are
cherry blossom-infused Prune Hamentashen!!  For the filling I used her recipe for delicious Prune Filling HERE.

(You can read about the use of cherry blossom flakes and how they `dissolve` into the dough in THIS recent post on my first Cherry Blossoms Challah!)

Hope everyone had an extra-special Purim and new revelations of some of the treasures that fill the Book of Esther and all the Word of God!!  Blessings and Shalom!!

Subtitle:

Messianic Japan!!

Welcoming Messiah Yeshua to Japan!!

Yeshua, Japan welcomes you!!

Japan leading nations into the Messianic Age as the Revelation of Yeshua comes to be known and spread through out the nation this Cherry Blossoms season!!

The obstacles and principalities of the air  have been trampled and stepped on and no longer have power in Japan in the name of Yeshua!!

Declaration!!! The Island nations receive the Torah of the LORD!! We've been waiting!! Thank you LORD Yeshua!!

xoxo Declared with Love, 

by Shayndel

PS scenes from a Cherry Blossoms challah

PS scenes from a Cherry Blossoms Challah.  Can you see how that swirl of pink echoes the shape of the Shofar?  Every slice is different.

Blessings to all and hope your Purim preparations are going well!!

Shavu`a Tov, have a great week!