According to an old Jewish joke, if you put three Jews on a committee, you’ll get four different opinions. . .which is exactly the number of different explanations I found detailing the origins of Hamantashen.
Hamantashen are triangular cookies that are served during the Jewish holiday, Purim. Purim tells the story of how the Jewish people in Persia avoided persecution at the hands of the King’s vizier, Haman. The three-cornered confections, commonly filled with jam or a poppy-seed concoction, owe their shape to Haman’s ear, clipped with shame. Or maybe to his triangular hat, which was the style at the time. Or maybe to his pockets weighted with bribe money. Or maybe to the three Jewish patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In other words, no one really knows.
Even the origins of the word are disputed. One explanation says Hamantashen derives from the Hebrew word “tash” for weakened, so that the word refers to Haman’s defeat. A second source …