midnighthawk
02.12.08, 03:17
Judith and Holofernes
Judith with the head of Holofernes by Cristofano Allori
Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has
its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of Judith (Yehudit or
Yehudis in Hebrew). Holofernes, an Assyrian general, had surrounded the
village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense
fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became
desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to
save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender.
She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent
with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a
drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the
severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were
overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched
a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.
Many argue[who?] that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the
general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the
daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias
the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be
associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes
in painting.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah