This is a cartoon from the “Dayenu” series created by Henry Leonard (Henry Rabin and Leonard Pritkin) for the Chicago Jewish newspaper The Sentinel and printed on February 20, 1964, just before Purim. The cartoon depicts a scene in Temple Akiva’s Sunday School. On the board are the words “Purim test today” and the word Purim written in Hebrew. A boy wearing a kippa is happily answering a question posed by the teacher. His answer appears in the caption below the illustration: “Purim is called the ‘Feast of Lots’… because on this day we all eat LOTS of Hamentaschen.”
The cartoon is referring to the English-language name for Purim. The word “lots” comes from the work lottery. In the story of Purim from the Megillah (the Book of Esther) Haman threw “lots” to set the date on which he would kill the Jews of Persia. The fact that he used a raffle to set this tragic event is thought to symbolise the random nature of his actions, in comparison to the traditional Jewish belief that actions in the world are guided by God. The outcome of the Purim story shows that, despite the fact that God was not evident in the story, the Jewish people were saved from extermination.
The boy’s answer refers to the traditional Ashkenazi Purim pastry, hamentaschen, which is the Yiddish for “Haman’s pockets.” Hamentaschen are made by folding a circular piece of dough around sweet fillings such as poppy seeds, dates, or chocolate. The name refers to the money that Haman gave to King Ahasuerus in return for permission to kill the Jews. In Israel hamentaschen are called Oznei Haman, meaning Haman’s ears.
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Purim - Purim is celebrated on the 14 Adar as the day the Jewish people were saved from destruction during the fourth century BCE. The heroine of the Purim story, Queen Esther, worked together with her uncle, Mordechai, to reverse the decree of genocide issued against the Jewish people by Haman, the vizier of Persia. It is the tradition on Purim to dress up in costumes, distribute small food packages known as mishloach manot, give charity, and listen to the reading of the Megilla – the Book of Esther.
Sunday School – Sunday schools, also known as cheder, are schools that provide Jewish Studies to supplement the general curriculum provided in secular schools. It isn’t clear when the first Jewish Sunday Schools were established, but it is known that Rebecca Gratz was involved in providing Jewish schooling to children who received only secular schooling. Hebrew School, as it is also known, is typically taught on Sunday morning and often on another day during the week after the regular school day. These lessons are often given in Reform and Conservative communities, while many of the Orthodox children attend Jewish schools and therefore do not need supplementary lessons in Jewish Studies. The curriculum may include Bible Studies, Hebrew, prayer, information about Jewish festivals, and preparation for Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebrations.
Dayenu – “Dayenu” was a weekly cartoon that appeared in Jewish newspapers in the 1950s and 1960s. The cartoon was signed by Henry Leonard, a pseudonym used to represent two people: Rabbi Henry Rabin and the artist Leonard Prikitin. The cartoon, titled “Dayenu” (meaning enough) from the Haggadah was intended to be humorous, sometimes even poking fun at the US Jewish communities at the time. At its peak, “Dayenu” appeared in 50 Jewish newspapers and was later collected in four books.