Chanukah Unpacked: the Book of Judith

(1) Now the children of Israel, who lived in Judea, heard all that Holofernes the chief captain of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians had done to the nations,

(2) and in what way he had pillaged all their temples and brought them to nothing.

(3) Therefore they were exceedingly afraid of him, and were troubled for Jerusalem and for the temple of the Lord their God.

(14) Thus every man, and the women and little children, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell before the temple and cast ashes upon their heads and spread out their sackcloth before the face of the Lord; they also put sackcloth around the altar.

(15) And they cried to the God of Israel, all with one consent earnestly, so that he would not give over their children as prey and their wives for a spoil and the cities of their inheritance to destruction and the sanctuary to profanation and reproach, for the nations to rejoice over them.

(16) So God heard their prayers and looked upon their afflictions;

(4) Now the children of Israel, when they saw the multitude of them, were greatly troubled, and everyone said to his neighbor,

(5) "Now these men will wipe clean the face of the earth, for neither the high mountains, nor the valleys, nor the hills, are able to bear their weight."

(6) Then every man took up his weapons of war, and when they had kindled fires on their towers, they remained and watched all that night.

(7) But on the second day, Holofernes brought forth all his horsemen in the sight of the children of Israel, who were in Bethulia, and viewed the passages up to the city;

(8) and he went to the origins of their waters and captured them, and he set garrisons of men of war over them, and he himself returned toward his people.

(32) Then there was great weeping in the midst of the assembly, all with one consent; and they cried to the Lord God with a loud voice.

(33) Then Uzziah said to them, "Brethren, be courageous. Let us endure yet five days, in that period of time the Lord our God may turn his mercy toward us, for he will not forsake us utterly.

(34) And if these days pass and no help comes to us, I will do according to your word."

(1) Now at that time Judith heard about this; she was the daughter of Merari, the son of Ox, the son of Joseph, the son of Ozel, the son of Elcia, the son of Ananiah, the son of Gedeon, the son of Raphaim, the son of Acitho, the son of Eliu, the son of Eliab, the son of Nathanael, the son of Samael, the son of Salasadal, the son of Israel.

(30) Then Judith said to them, "Listen to me and I will do something which will be remembered throughout all generations among the children of our nation.

(31) You will watch this night at the gate, and I will go forth with my woman servant; and, within the days that you have promised to deliver the city to our enemies, the Lord will visit Israel by my hand.

(32) But do not ask me what I will do, for I will not reveal it to you until the things that I do are completed."

(33) Then Uzziah and the princes said to her, "Go in peace, and may the Lord God go before you to take vengeance on our enemies."

(10) So they commanded the young men to open it for her, as she had said. And when they had done so,

(11) Judith went out, she and her maid with her; and the men of the city looked after her, until she had gone down the mountain and had passed the valley and they could see her no more.

(12) Thus they went straight ahead in the valley, and the first watch of the Assyrians met her and captured her; and they asked her, "Of what people are you? And where have you come from? And where are you going?"

(13) And she said, "I am a woman of the Hebrews, and I have fled from them, for they will be given over to you to be consumed.

(14) And I am going before Holofernes the chief captain of your army, to declare words of truth;

(15) and I will show him a way, by which he can go and win all the hill country, without losing the body or life of any of his men."

(16) Now when the men heard her words and beheld her countenance, they wondered greatly at her beauty and said to her,

(17) You have saved your life because you have hurried to come down to the presence of our lord. Now therefore come to his tent, and some of us will conduct you, until they have delivered you to his hands.

(18) And when you stand before him, do not be afraid in your heart, but reveal to him what you have said, and he will treat you well.

(18) Now when Judith came in and sat down with Holofernes, his heart was inflamed with her, and his mind was stirred up, and he greatly desired her company; for he had been waiting for sometime to deceive her, even from the day that he had first seen her. Then Holofernes said to her, "Drink now and be merry with us."

(19) So Judith said, "I will drink now, my lord, because my life is exalted in me this day more than all the days since I was born." Then she took and ate and drank before him the things which her maid had prepared.

(20) And Holofernes took great delight in her, and he drank more wine than he had drunk at any time in one day since he was born.

(3) And Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes lying by himself on his bed, for he was filled with wine.

(9) Then she went to the pillar of the bed, which was at Holofernes' head, and took down his broadsword from there.

(10) And she approached his bed, and took hold of the hair of his head, and said, "Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day."

(11) And she twice struck his neck with all her might, and she took his head away from him. And she tumbled his body down from the bed, and pulled down the canopy from the pillars; and, soon after, she went out

(12) and gave the head of Holofernes to her maid. And she put it in her bag of meat,

(13) so these two went together, according to their custom, to prayer; and when they passed the camp, they circled the valley and went up the mountain of Bethulia and came to its gates.

(3) Then Uzziah sent to Betomasthem and to Bebai and Chobai and Cola and to all the coasts of Israel, to declare all that had happened and to tell them that all should rush forth upon their enemies to destroy them.

(4) Now when the children of Israel heard it, they all fell upon them with one consent and slew them all the way to Chobai;

(5) and those who came from Jerusalem and from all the hill country did likewise, for men had told them what had happened in the camp of their enemies, and those who were in Galaad and in Galilee chased them with a great slaughter, until they were past Damascus and its borders.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Women are obligated in the reading of the Megilla, as they too were in that miracle.

As they too were in that miracle. Rashbam [Rabbi Samuel Ben Meir, early-mid 1100s] explained that the primary part of the miracle was done by them; Purim—by Esther, Chanukah—by Judith, Pesach—for they were saved in the merit of the righteous women of that generation. And this [interpretation] is difficult, for the language "as they too were" implies that they were secondary, and according to his [Rashbam's] interpretation, it should have said "since they were." Therefore, it seems to me that they were also potentially going to be wiped out and killed, and so too on Pesach, when they were enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt, and in Chanukah, the decrees applied to them too.

(2) The many meals which we add on [Hanukkah] are voluntary meals, since [the Sages] did not establish them as [days of] feasting and joy. Rem"a: But some say that there is somewhat of a mitzvah in adding meals, because during those days was the Dedication of the Altar (Abraham Kara of Prague). It is the custom to recite hymns and songs of praise during the feasts added on them, and then they are mitzvah meals (Book of Customs). Some say that cheese should be eaten during Hanukkah, because a miracle was done though milk which Yehudit fed the enemy (Kol Bo and Ran).