Remember the jokes we make at Thanksgiving about why we eat turkey? The typical answer is because we are giving thanks to god, which in Hebrew is 'הודו לה and the word הודו also means turkey.
It seems that for Purim, Hungarian Jews have the same sense of humor. At their Seudat Purim -- the Purim Feast -- they too serve turkey for the main course. Why? Because Ahasuerus ruled from הודו עד כוש -- which means from India to Ethiopia.
You've got it. The Hebrew word for India is הודו. And yes, American Indians play a major role in the Thanksgiving holiday but I'm not going there. This is a different India, part of a vast kingdom. Do you know that Ahasuerus ruled over 127 provinces?! Who was King Ahasuerus? The Talmud and the Biblical commentator Rashi have different takes on this question.
Here's another question for you to explore. Feasting plays a major role in the Book of Esther. How many feasts were held and how long was each one?
Can you think of your own twist for a Purim feast custom? While pondering the answer to this question have a look at these Purim Feast menus.
חג שמח
Turkey image credit
No comments:
Post a Comment