The Book of Judith: A Woman A-Head of Her Time!
 Wednesdays, December 8th and 15th, 7:30 p.m via Zoom
led by Ronda Young

There is a whole world of Jewish literature, beloved in its time, that did not make it into our canon. We love Torah and the rest of TaNaKh (the Hebrew Bible) but did you know there are many other wonderful texts that were not included? Many are preserved in a collection called The Apocrypha, hidden works, and are part of the Catholic Bible as canon as well as in some Protestant bibles. You won’t find the story of Judah (Yehudah) the Maccabee in TaNaKh but in the Apocrypha, and in that framework we will look at a most compelling heroine, Judith (Yehudit), shown here holding the head of the general Holofernes.

We’ll read this ancient Jewish novella over two classes – chapters 1-8 for our first session, and 9-16 for the second. It’s really a great, if historically inaccurate story, of beauty, piety, and bravery. Why did Esther make it into our bible and Judith didn’t?

If you own a New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (not TaNaKh) it may include the Apocrypha, as may a Catholic bible.  If not, this is a link to the book on Sefaria: Click Here
To register, please sign up here below. The Zoom meeting link for class is here.