It is Yehudis who lectured the elders of the town of Bethulia in Judea on the finer points of faith and belief in our Creator, citing our patriarchs and matriarchs who, when tested with suffering, did not let up on their reliance on G-d but prayed to them for guidance and success.
The story of how Yehudis single-handedly defeated the evil Syrian-Greek general and scored a military victory that saved the inhabitants of Bethulia is well known. (Her armor…? Wine and cheese and supplication to Hashem.)
This is a good time to recall that our earliest trendsetters and role models – Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Leah – did not rely on studying the “heavy meforshim” of Chumash and Tanach (having lived way before the Torah was given to us).
Wishing all of our readers an insightful, inspiring and happy Chanukah!
* * * * *
We encourage women and men of all ages to send in their personal stories via email to [email protected] or by mail to Rachel/Chronicles, c/o The Jewish Press, 4915 16th Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11204. If you wish to make a contribution and help agunot, your tax-deductible donation should be sent to The Jewish Press Foundation. Please make sure to specify that it is to help agunot, as the foundation supports many worthwhile causes.
