Women In Chanukah
The Stories of Hannah and Judith
With each occurring Jewish holiday we rarely stress the role that
women played in the unfolding drama associated with the historical
events. Chanukah, however, is an exception.
During Chanukah, we tend to recall at least two women who have stood out for their devotion and courage. For many generations, following
the Maccabean revolt, their brave deeds have inspired thousands, including
artists, playwrights, composers and authors.
Who are these women?
The first is Hannah whose story is recorded in the Book of Maccabees (II, 7), one of the books of the Apocrypha, attributed to the period of the Second Temple and not included in the Biblical canon. The second is Judith
whose story also appears in the Apocrypha, in a book appropriately named after her.
Hannah and Her Seven Sons
Hannah: Be strong, my heart!
Break not till they are dead,
All, all my Seven Sons;
Then burst asunder,
And let this tortured and
tormented soul
Leap and rush out
Like water through the shards
Of earthen vessels broken at a well.
(The Dungeon in the Citadel)
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 |
| "Fear not this tormentor..." |
The Second Book of Maccabees relates how the Greek ruler of Judea, Antiochus Epiphanes IV comes across a Jewish woman and her seven sons and orders them to eat a pig in public. Although the actual name of this woman is not recorded, the name Hannah was accorded to her by a 16th century Spanish-Jewish scholar.
Fortified by the religious convictions that their mother installed in them, each son, in turn, refuses to eat the meat, and is tortured and put to death in front of Hannah. Finally, Antiochus stands in front of the mother and her last surviving three-year old child. Losing heart at the prospect of another refusal, the angry and perplexed ruler appeals to Hannah to direct the little boy to eat the pig's meat and be saved.
However, the young boy astounds the Seleucid ruler. He replies that he is only sorry that he had to wait so long to show his love of the Torah. Hannah praises the boy - and he, too, is killed. The courageous mother then follows in the footsteps of her seven sons. According to one version of the story, she threw herself off the city walls in her grief at the death of her sons.
Judith and Holofernes
Judith was a beautiful woman who single-handedly saved the Jewish town of Bethulia during the Hasmonean revolt.
Holofernes was an evil Syrian general who laid siege to the town. All seems lost until the widow, Judith, tells the town's elders that she has a plan to defeat the enemy. At first, the elders scoff at her but as the situation becomes increasingly desperate, they finally condescend to let her leave the camp for one day.
Judith dresses provocatively and prepares a sack of food and wine. She approaches the enemy camp and is immediately captured and brought before Holofernes. Impressed with her beauty and her prediction of his defeat of the Jews, he invites her to celebrate alone with him.
Once alone with Holofernes, Judith feeds him with salty cheese which induces the general to drink and finally sleep. She then takes his sword, cuts off his head, and returns through the slumbering enemy camp to Bethulia. When the Greek troops see the head of their leader hanging from the town's walls, they lose heart and retreat. The siege was over. |
