Hanukkah

Hanukkah, Latkes, and the Jewish Mata Hari

Hanukkah, Chag ha Orim, or the Festival of Lights, is approaching.
Almost everyone knows about the lighting of the nine-branched menorah (hanukkiah). And almost everyone knows that this holiday lasts eight days to commemorate the miracle that occurred after the Maccabees liberated Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.
At that time, a jug of oil was found and, blessed by the high priest, lasted for eight days, although normally it would last one day.
Few wonder why the Greeks, who had a multitude of their own gods and were never bothered by the gods of other religions, did not accept the Jewish God, plundered the Temple, and turned it into a place of worship of Zeus.
The short explanation is the uniqueness of this God and the negation of other gods. The Greek gods were similar to humans, with all their human flaws. Tangible and visible. And, although sometimes jealous of their followers, they were tolerant of other gods.
Therefore, in their world, there was no room for the one, all-powerful, and invisible God, who could neither be counted, measured, nor described. A God who, in their opinion, was a threat to the entire material world. Therefore, the religion of this God had to be destroyed, its teachings banned, and its followers exterminated.
Someone will probably ask what this has to do with latkes and Mata Hari. But yes, it does! Latkes are potato pancakes. Except that on Hanukkah, they should be fried in olive oil.
I've written about this before, but I suddenly remembered that potatoes only arrived here from America in the 16th century AD, and the Maccabees and their battles with the Greek invaders occurred a good century and a half before Jesus was born.
And digging through the materials, I discovered that initially, cheese pancakes were baked for Hanukkah. The goat cheese, to boot! And this goat cheese is linked to the story of a female heroine of the time, a certain Yehudit.
This woman, Yehudit, was a dynamic widow who lived in the city of Bethulia, which was besieged by Greek troops led by a certain Holofernes, who was ordered to take over the land of Israel, enslave the Israelites, and slaughter all who resisted.
Holofernes's troops surrounded the city and cut off its inhabitants' water supply. When their food and water supplies were running low, the inhabitants wanted to surrender.
And then this widow, Yehudit, approached the city elders and announced that she had a plan to save them from Greek annihilation. Yehudit left the city with her servant and demanded to be taken directly to Holofernes. Holofernes was so enchanted by her appearance that he allowed her to explain the purpose of her visit. And she, like some trained agent, told him a story about her contacts in the besieged city, who would let her know when the defenders ran out of water and food and when the Greeks could take the city without loss of life. And this would happen within days. Therefore, she must be able to move freely to the city walls.
Holofernes was very delighted with the information and ordered her tent to be erected next to his. He also ordered the soldiers to let her into the besieged city. And every evening, he sent for her to get the report on the situation. He was unaware that Yehudit, while going to the city, spoke with the commander of the defenses. On the fifth day, she came to Holofernes' tent and announced that the city's food had run out! To celebrate it, she brought her wine and delicious homemade goat cheese. Holofernes could like this cheese very much. Since the cheese was quite spicy, he drank it down with copious amounts of wine. And thus he became unconscious.
Then our sweet Yehudit took his sword and…cut off his head
Following in the footsteps of her predecessor, a certain Yael, wife of Heber the Kenite, who, if we are to believe the Book of Judges, had long ago killed Sisera, the Canaanite general. Not by cutting the head, but by driving a tent peg into his head, but who cares about the details?

Whether Yehudit, like her predecessor Yael, devoted herself to the cause so much that she shared Holofernes' bed, history is silent, but the possibility doesn't rule it out.
Unless one reads the elaborate story in the Book of Judith.
What happened next?
Well, our sweet widow packed the severed head into a bundle and returned to the besieged city. There, the defenders hung Holofernes' head on the city's main entrance gate. When the besiegers saw their leader's severed head, they were so terrified that they began to flee. The joyful Israelites ran after them and began to slaughter them.
And that's why on Hanukkah we feast on potato pancakes with olive oil. Unless someone wants to make goat cheese pancakes.
I wish you all Chag Urim Sameach!