Connecting For Purim

Jess Nora strengthens their community through baking.

The past year has been a lot of change and adaptation for many. It has been a year of finding new ways to connect: to our religion, our life values, and each other. This Purim, I knew I wanted to connect with my Jewish community in a pandemic-safe way with more than virtual services, as great as my Temple’s virtual events have been.

While I was trying to figure out my Purim plans, a Facebook group called “Jewish Support Network” decided to organize a Mishloach Manot basket trade where people could choose to send, receive, or both depending on their needs. For me, giving to others has always been a big way I connect to Judaism, so I knew I wanted to send a few baskets. Checking in with my partner, the big baker between the two of us, we knew this was how we wanted to connect to Purim this year.

We knew we would make hamantaschen, as we have made the Ashkenazi cookies the past couple of years, but we weren’t sure what else we wanted to include. After a little research and a lot of help from the Nosher on My Jewish Learning, we found the next way we wanted to make this process special- by making cookies from Purim traditions around the world! The first one we tried was Hadgi Badah, an Iraqi sweet light cookie topped with almonds or pistachios.

According to STL Jewish Light, Iraqi Jewish families celebrate the joyous holiday with gift-giving and many parties with Hadgi Badah and Boyoja Ungola Di-Purim, a circular bread with hard-boiled eggs inside and strips of dough creating an “X” over each of the eggs. This bread is said to be a symbol of Haman’s eyes. The next cookie we tried out was the Persian Nanbrangi, or Naan-e Berenji. These naturally gluten-free poppy seed cookies are said to resemble Haman’s fleas before baking. Connection to a Persian tradition for the holiday of Purim feels particularly special. These Persian cookies are delightfully light and fluffy and crumble and melt in your mouth. It’s also a great cookie to dunk or crumble onto ice cream! It happens to be this writer’s new favorite Purim cookie!

My partner and I put the baskets together with a few of each cookie, a mini Challah, a couple of art surprises, and a couple of strands of costume beads. Picking art out for each recipient reminded me of why I started this project, connecting to the community in a new way.

As I told each recipient the basket was on the way, they were so grateful and excited before it even arrived. Purim is about the celebration of life and of our community. I loved having the chance to read about what each of these treats means from different areas of the world and to be able to share them, along with a piece of myself through my art, with others in the community.

About the Author:

Jess Nora (they/them) is a disabled genderfluid Jewish art activist who uses their platform to speak about their experience and raise awareness as a disabled activist. You can find their art @jessicanoraartist or JessicaNora.com, and you can find their activist profile @TheNarcolepticJew