Judith’s town is besieged by Assyrians, led by the cruel General Holofernes, a heartless man who shows no mercy for his victims – women and children included.  Starving and thirsty, having abandoned all hope, the townspeople are ready to surrender.  Judith, however, is a woman to be reckoned with.  Accompanied by her maidservant, she approaches the enemy camp and persuades the guards she has information that will help the Assyrians capture the town.  Having talked her way into the camp, she is taken to meet General Holofernes.  (I should mention at this point that Judith is an exquisitely beautiful woman.) 

On meeting Judith, Holofernes is beguiled by her beauty.  Shortly after this beguiling, Judith manages to feed Holofernes substantial food and drink.  One account actually has Judith feeding Holofernes a large quantity of cheese, which makes him very thirsty.  He then imbibes a whole lot of wine in order to slake his thirst.  However the story is told, Holofernes ends up in a hazy, drunken stupor, allowing Judith to take his sword and cut off his head.  Then, cool as a cucumber, Judith leaves the camp, returns to her town, and tells the town leaders what has transpired.

The townspeople, spirits renewed by Judith’s good tidings, launch an attack on the Assyrians.  The Assyrians, shocked at finding themselves with no commander (or at least, with a headless commander), flee for their lives.  Judith saves the day!

In addition to being associated with Hanukkah, this story has inspired artists through the ages.  My personal favourite is the Judith by Artemesia Gentilleschi that is found in the Uffizi.  In my view, it takes a female artist to really do this story justice on canvas…but now I’m moving too far from our Hanukkah topic.