Eating cheese and other dairy products is part of the celebration of the feast of Hanukkah among the traditional Jews. The practice of eating cheese traces its origin to the story of Judith found in the Catholic Bible. Although the Jews do not have the Book of Judith in their Bible, the story of Judith is well appreciated by the Jews as a fountain of resilience against the aggressors. The Book of Judith is not considered by many scholars to be a historical report, as there are several discrepancies with regard to the historical facts. It is read by many as an allegorical story that alludes to certain historical events and situations in the life of Israel, intended to illuminate and inspire the believers as to how to respond in life-threatening situations.
According to the narrative in the Book of Judith, the Assyrian King Nebuchadnezzar sent his army general Holofernes to conquer Judah. Holofernus set out with his vast army consisting of 170,000 soldiers and a cavalry of 12,000. He besieged the city of Bethulia, which is the border town of Judah, and blocked the springs that carried water to the town. When the siege reached the 34th day, the water the people had stored was all run out. People began to die out of thirst. Then the common folk compelled the Jewish leaders to surrender to Holofernes to save their lives. The leaders pleaded with the people to wait for five more days to see whether God would do something to save them.
Judith, a young, pretty, pious, and rich widow who was leading an ascetic life of fasting and prayer after the death of her husband, found the decision of the Jewish leaders a testing of God. It appeared to her that they were giving a deadline to God to act as if it were impossible for God to save them after five days. And then she had a plan to save the Israelites from Holofernes. So, she dressed up in her best costumes, adorned herself with her elegant jewellery, and scented herself with precious perfumes and went to the camp of the Assyrians. The Assyrian guards were wonderstruck by her beauty and took her to the chamber of Holofernes. The general was equally marvelled at her beauty and filled with the desire for her. When both Holofernus and Judith were alone in his chamber, according to the Jewish legends, Judith deliberately fed Holofernus a lot of cheese. Naturally the salty cheese made him thirsty, and Judith gave him more and more wine to satiate his thirst until he passed out. Then she, using his own sword, beheaded him and escaped the chamber with her maid. The death of their general shocked the Assyrian army, who retreated in fear. The Jewish army then attacked and defeated the Assyrian army.
The narrative of the bold action of Judith is an awe-inspiring story that prepares us to face drastic perils in our lives. When confronted with the might of the Assyrian army, the Jewish leadership did well in praying and waiting for God. More than anyone else, Judith was in the forefront in sharpening her spiritual arsenal against the enemies. But she did not stop with prayer and fasting. She also had a strategy to overcome the enemies. This strategy was lacking on the part of the Jewish leaders. Judith’s bold action and God blessing her with a magnificent victory confirm the fact that along with prayer, we should have a strategy to confound and conquer our enemies. As Judith well discerned, simply waiting for God and not doing anything on our part is equal to testing God.
Judith, with her bold action, crossed the conventional gender limitations. Normally, men are meant to guard and protect the nation, as they are physically stronger than women. But, here, a woman proves herself stronger than her own men and the hostile army. She had her own weapons to fight the enemy. Her weapons were beauty and intelligence. With these weapons she overpowered Holofernes, the mightiest general of the Assyrian army. One needs to be aware of one’s own strengths and learn to appreciate them and be eager to put them to use. God changes our world through such individuals.
The story of Judith makes us hopeful by illustrating that God can defeat our enemies through unlikely persons and means. There are no weaker genders or lowly classes or poor collaborators whom God cannot use to “put down the mighty from their throne and to exalt the humble.”
