This story from the book of judith explains why dairy makes it onto. The book relates that nebuchadrezzar, king of assyria, sent his general holofernes on an expedition against. The story of yehudit the woman who saved the day chanukah. Learn about the story of judith, a lesser known hero who we celebrate during hanukkah. Hanukkah celebrates the deeds of the people of god who refused to give up their faith. Hanukkah cheese pastries celebrate story of judith. In this episode of the religious feminism interview series, judith rosenbaum, ceo of jewish womens archive, talks to us about incorporating feminism into our holiday celebrations and remembering the apocryphal story of judith during the hanukkah season. Although judah maccabee and his father matathias are the most famous characters in the hanukkah story, the holiday also commemorates two jewish women. However, the original text was lost, and only a greek translation remained, and not a very accurate one at that.
Its fried, its crispy, its greasy, its deliciousand hanukkah wouldnt be the same without it. Who is that jewish warrior woman in the chanukah story. Judith kjv audio bible chapter 1 7 audio bible recordings. The books of tobit and judith a chronological view of. A book of jewish holidays reading railroad gross, judy, weissman, bari on. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and in the roman catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded by rabbinical jews and protestants. The book of judith promised that her praise would never depart from the heart of those who remember the power of god, and that her actions would go down through all generations of.
While some communities continue the tradition of eating dairy on hanukkah and telling judith s story, her bravery has been largely left out of the. The book of judith yehudit in hebrew, records that holofernes, a greek general, had. The apocryphal book of judith is undoubtedly a jewish work, written by and. I was most excited to talk about judith, a jewish, biblical era woman whose story is not included. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. But theres another hanukkah story, not as wellknown, shifting the culinary narrative to a brave woman and her killer cheese. The book of judith, an apocryphal work that probably dates to the second temple period, relates how a young widow determined to save her people purposely beguiled the general, who unwittingly obliged by falling in love with her. The book of judithlike the books of i and ii maccabees, which relate the story of. Until the 20 th century in america, hanukkah was a very minor holiday with few specific dishes. Judith and the hanukkah story jewish womens archive. For several centuries there was another hero associated with hanukkah. The book of judith is a story of balance and counterbalance that makes the point that gods people have all they need to survive if they rely wholeheartedly on the covenant. The story first appeared in a very ancient book named after the heroine, yehudit judith. But it is one of the apocryphal texts and is included in the new testament.
According to appelbaum, they were inspired by the book of judith, set. Judith and hannah the first book of maccabees and second book of maccabees, which chronicle the story of the rebellion that inspired hanukkah, were not included in the bible, and are instead part of a body of texts known as the. Its fried, its crispy, its greasy, its deliciousand hanukkah. Hanukkah dedication in hebrew commemorates the rededication of the temple in jerusalem by the hasmoneans maccabees in 165 bce. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and. Whatever the reasons, the rabbis did not count judith among their scriptures, and the reformation adopted that position. In the tale of judith, dairy food an allusion to the potency of torah acts as a soporific.
Hanukkah cheesebasked pastries celebrate the story of judith judith s cheese pastries, from a treasury of jewish holiday baking by marcy goldman, are. The book of judith uncovering the deuterocanonical books. Judith, the character from whom the book takes its name, is not mentioned in the storys first half 1. Today a jewish tradition has developed to read the book of judith during hanukkah. The salt many jewish families celebrate with foods such as latkes and donuts that are fried in. The story first appeared in a very ancient book named after the heroine, yehudit judith, and it was written in hebrew. Judith is set after the return from the exile, long after nebuchadnezzar was dead, and while assyria had been conquered by the babylonians, the state nebuchadnezzar ruled over was the new babylonianchaldean empire, with its capital in babylon, not nineveh. The book of judith is of unknown authorship and date, but formed part of the septuagint, the ancient greek translation of the hebrew bible, and celebrated the saving feats of a pious jewish widow over a foreign king, nebuchadnezzar, and his invading army. Chanukah, as you may be aware, is not overt in tanach the jewish bible. A feminist hanukkah with judith rosenbaum the exponent. The story of hanukkah is preserved in the books of the first and second maccabees, which describe in detail the rededication of the temple in jerusalem and the lighting of the menorah.
Judith s story is written in the book of judith which is codified as the fourth book of the apocrypha. This video is the second in a series meant to explain the deuterocanonical texts of the old testament. Here is the first chapter in the section dealing with judith from my book unusual bible interpretations. Hanukkah cheesebaked pastries celebrate story of judith. On this shabbat of hanukkah, the material is about the book of judith. Latkes come from the story of judith, a fearless woman who is known as a. Judith exists only in greek although it was originally written in hebrew in the land of israel in the late 2nd century bce. We spoke to almost 20 educators from across the country, covering topics from incorporating lessons of jewish heroines to the challenges of creating a refreshing and relevant hanukkah curriculum.
The story may sound familiar to catholics, as the book of judith is included in the old testament of their bible. The judith story most of us are familiar with the story of hanukkah. Judith king james version apocrypha chapter 1 7 audio bible, audio book. Hanukkah cheesebaked pastries celebrate story of judith jews honor judith by eating cheese and dairy dishes. This story from the book of judith explains why dairy makes it. At one time, the story of judith a young widow who slew the assyrian general and led the israelites to victorywas considered an important part of the hanukkah narrative. On hanukkah, women as role models my jewish learning.
December 6, 2018 while jewish people today observe hanukkah by retelling the story of judah and the maccabees, there is another story that used to be told. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded from the hebrew canon and assigned by protestants to the apocrypha. The other food association with hanukkah is cheese. However, the original hebrew text was lost, and only a greek translation remained, and not a very accurate one at that. Of interest to us here is another apocryphal book, the book of judith yehudis in hebrew. Hanukkah cheesebasked pastries celebrate the story of judith. Most people do not know who judith was and, therefore, are unable to compare her with ruth and esther.
As a result, today the story of judith is better known to many christians than to most jews. Though the book of judith is not considered a part of the official jewish religious canon, the association between the book of judith and hanukkah grew stronger during the middle ages, and cheese latkes became the staple food for hanukkah. The book of maccabees versus the talmud and mishneh torah. Around 165 bce, in the land of judea, a great miracle happened. The true story of the modern latke a shocking timeline jewish. These books are not part of the canonized tanakh hebrew bible used by modern jews, though the catholic and orthodox churches consider them part of the old. Last week, jwa led the first online learning program of the year, hanukkah. According to the story of hanukkah told in the book of judith, a beautiful jewish widow named judith gained the trust of the enemy assyrian general, holofernes, and plied him with cheese and wine until he passed out drunk. The apocrypha are works writtencollected at the same time as most books of the bible but not included in the hebrew canon. Inspired by the book of esther, isaac used a yerakhbenyomokarneiparah on the. The book of first maccabees an effort to legitimize the hasmonean dynasty. Hanukkah cheese pastries celebrate the story of judith.
But theres another hanukkah story with a badass biblical woman at the center. A hidden hanukkah tale of a woman, an army and some killer. But there is an additional hanukkah tradition in which a woman plays a central role as warrior. New light shed on sephardic sources for hanukkah heroes. The oldest extant text of judith is the preservation of 15. A hidden hanukkah tale of a woman, an army and some killer cheese. Why eating latkes is a hanukkah tradition business insider. Another reason for the introduction of judith into hanukkah tales and customs. Judith is, of course, not part of the jewish bible. My jewish learning is a notforprofit and relies on your help. The hanukkah celebration revolves around the kindling of a ninebranched menorah, known in hebrew as the hanukiah.
The book is filled with double entendres and ironic situations, e. It is not clearly known when the story, which we are about to tell, actually took place. Then two types of foods emerged fried foods and dairy foods. Book of judith, apocryphal work excluded from the hebrew and protestant biblical canons but included in the septuagint greek version of the hebrew bible and accepted in the roman canon.
Similar to the hanukkah story of the underdog maccabees defeating the occupiers of ancient judea chronicled in the book of maccabees the apocryphal book of judith tells the story of judith who helped. Although the story is set in the babylonian period, the book of judith is thought to have originated at the time of the maccabees. The history of hanukkah foods with historian and rabbi gil. When it comes to the story of hanukkah, most people think of judah maccabee and the miracle of the oil.
You have probably heard of judah and the maccabees, but what about judith. You can find episode notes for the religious feminism podcast here at the. Judith and the hanukkah story you have probably heard of judah and the maccabees, but what about the judith. It is not clearly known when the story which we are about to tell actually took place. Although the text itself does not mention hanukkah, it became customary for a hebrew midrashic variant of the judith story to be read on the. Indeed, until the 14 th century, there were no records of any traditional hanukkah dishes. The source for this tradition is the book of judith. While jewish people today observe hanukkah by retelling the story of judah and the maccabees, there is another story that used to be told. The early church, however, held this book in high honor. We first hear of the heroine in the apocryphal book of judith, a jewish work which has survived in the septuagint in greek. But theres another hanukkah story, not as wellknown, that shifts the culinary narrative to a brave woman and her killer cheese. These books are where the history of hanukkah comes from, as well as the.