What is the connection between dairy foods and Chanukah?
Yehudis was a young woman who lived in Bethulia, in the land of Judea, at the time of the war against the Greeks. She caused a Greek general to fall asleep by feeding him salty cheeses so that he would become extremely thirsty and then giving him wine to drink. Once he was asleep, she killed him. Upon finding that their general had been killed, the Greek army fell into disarray and fled. In memory of Yehudis’s bravery, we eat dairy products as well. Nothing happens by chance—so it is really no surprise that two miraculous events of Chanukah came about through two foods whose rich symbolism recall many of the things we were fighting for as well. The Torah, whose traditions were targeted by the decrees of the Greeks, is compared to milk, which is one of the reasons why we eat dairy foods on the holiday of Shavuot. Although traditional sources do not emphasize a connection to Chanukah, it does give the two holidays – one which celebrates the giving of the Torah (Shavuot) and one which cel
