Nosh Some Hamentaschen

Oh YAY, I found Hamentaschen!

For those not in the know, these are the traditional cookies for the Jewish holiday of Purim; they're three-cornered pockets of sweet dough filled with poppy seeds or fruit, and they're supposed to look like the hat worn by the nemesis of this particular holiday, Hamen.

I'd almost forgotten about Purim this year - it's a fun holiday (dress up, act silly, celebrate the fact that somehow we actually survived all those nemeses) and at points I've vaguely toyed with the idea of having a party and making my friends dress up and take on roles in the Purim story. But the thing is, hosting a holiday party is just too much effort when you're the only person there who has any idea what the holiday is about.

Still, I was curious whether Hamentaschen could be found in Berlin. And it turns out they are, at the Jewish-ish bakery down the street from me, no less. (I say Jewish-ish because they sell challah on Fridays and, apparently, certain things for holidays, but they're otherwise like any other German whole-grain-bread-and-decadent-pastries bakery. I once went in there during Passover - when, technically, Jews aren't even allowed to eat bread - and they were not only open, but wished me a happy Easter.)

I went in there yesterday, just wanting to ask for future reference if they might have Hamentaschen sometime around the holiday - and the first sight that met my eyes was a whole display case of them. Labeled "Homentasche." Joy! I went back today and bought a whole bunch for the party I'm having tomorrow - which happens to be the eve of Purim, though that's a coincidence.

Here are my bakery bags of Hamentaschen:


I grow more and more curious about this bakery, and what exactly its story is. Is everybody there Jewish? Or maybe just the person who runs it, but not the employees behind the counter? The woman who served me wasn't really willing to be drawn in by any of my comments about how excited I was to find Hamentaschen here, and it doesn't seem like something you can straight-up ask, in Germany. (Though Germans certainly ask me, in the rare cases when they figure out my last name.)

It's a funny thing - I have no problems with living in Germany, being Jewish in Germany, or even talking to any and all curious individuals about Judaism. But when it comes to any kind of officialdom, some form that asks you to check a box for your religion, I notice myself clam up - my feeling is that that's precisely none of the German government's business. Interesting.

Anyway, Hamentaschen!