Esav and Judith (and Judith): Kristallnacht and Chanukah

(34) When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite;(35) and they were a source of bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.

Esau realized that the Canaanite women displeased his father Isaac. So Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife, in addition to the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, sister of Nebaioth.

Esau took his wives from among the Canaanite women—Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah daughter of Zibeon the Hivite—

and also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

ליצחק ולרבקה TO ISAAC AND REBEKAH, because they worshipped idols (Genesis Rabbah 65:4).

(1) עדה בת אילון ADAH THE DAUGHTER OF ELON — She is identical with Basemath daughter of Elon (cf. 26:34) and she was called Basemath because she offered spices (בשמים) as incense to idols.(2) אהליבמה OHOLIBAMAH is identical with Judith. He (Esau) changed her name to Judith (Jewess), suggesting that she had abandoned idol-worship, so that he might deceive his father.(3) בת ענה בת צבעון THE DAUGHTER OF ANAH THE DAUGHTER OF ZIBEON — If she was the daughter of Anah she could not have been the daughter of Zibeon, for Anah was the son of Zibeon as it is said (v. 24) “And these are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah”! Scripture thus tells us that Zibeon took his daughter-in-law, Anah’s wife, and of them twain Oholibamah was born (so that being a daughter of Anah’s wife she is called also his daughter). This text informs you that these were all of illegitimate birth (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayeshev 1).(1) בשמת בת ישמעאל BASE-MATH ISHMAEL’S DAUGHTER — But elsewhere (28:9) she is called Mahalath! We find in the Agadic Midrash on the Book of Samuel (Ch. 17) that there are three classes whose sins are pardoned: a proselyte, one who is exalted to a high position and a man on his marriage. It derives the proof for the latter case from here; viz., the reason why she was also calleth Mahalath (pardon) was because his (Esau’s) sins were pardoned on his marriage to her (Megillah 17a; cf. also Genesis Rabbah 63).(2) אחות נביות SISTER OF NEBAIOTH — because he gave her in marriage after Ishmael’s death she is called after his name (Nebaioth’s sister).

(1) JUDITH. Judith is a proper name. She did not bear Esau any children.(2) BASEMATH. Basemath is to be identified with Adah. She had two names. There are hundreds of similar instances in Scripture.

(1) BASMATH ISHMAEL’s DAUGHTER. But elsewhere Scripture calls her Mahalath! I have found in the Agadic Midrash on the Book of Samuel: There are three persons all of whose sins are pardoned: a proselyte on conversion, one who is exalted to a high position, and a man on his marriage. It derives the proof for the latter case from here. The reason she was called Mahalath, [from the word mechilah (pardon)], is that Esau’s sins were pardoned when he married her. All this, [including the comment on Verse 2 above], is the language of Rashi.
But Rashi has not explained the reason why the father of Oholibamah, who, according to Rashi, is identical with Judith, is there called Be’eri and here called Anah. And Basmath Ishmael’s daughter is here a proper name while there, according to Rashi, is an adjectival noun on account of her burning the incense! And in Bereshith Rabbah, the Sages have said: “Esau set his mind to repent. Mahalath means that the Holy One, blessed be He, did pardon him for his sins. Basmath means that he was content [with his well-born wives and his decision to repent].” Thus according to the Midrash, both names (Mahalath and Basmath) are descriptive, and their proper names are unknown. For this reason Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has said that she had two names, Adah and Basmath. Also in the case of Abijah, [king of Judah, we find that his mother had two names, Micaiah — II Chronicles 13:2 - and Maacah - ibid., 11:20].
It is possible to say that those two women [mentioned above, 26:34, i.e., Judith and Basmath], died childless perhaps as a punishment because they were a bitterness of spirit unto Isaac and to Rebekah. Esau then married his wife’s sister Adah, the daughter of Elon, and another woman by the name of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. But as regards Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth, [who was originally called Mahalath] , because of the repugnance of her name, [which suggests choli, (sickness)] in the Sacred Language, Esau called her by the honorable name of his first wife Basmath, derived from the word besamim (spices). This was because she was beloved by him since she was of his family and was not evil in the eyes of Isaac his father.

(1) And it came to pass in the twelfth year of King Nebuchadnezzar who dwelt in Nineveh the Great City of God, that Arpachshad King of Media reigned in Achmata the Capital City, which is also called Ekbatana.

(3) And Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes lying by himself on his bed, for he was filled with wine.

(9) Then she went to the pillar of the bed, which was at Holofernes' head, and took down his broadsword from there.

(10) And she approached his bed, and took hold of the hair of his head, and said, "Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day."

(11) And she twice struck his neck with all her might, and she took his head away from him. And she tumbled his body down from the bed, and pulled down the canopy from the pillars; and, soon after, she went out

However, a woman certainly may light, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Women are obligated in lighting the Hanukkah light, as they too were included in that miracle of being saved from the decree of persecution.

Women are obligated to light Hanukkah candles, for they too were included in the miracle. This means that the enemies came to destroy everyone, men, women, and children, and there are those who say that the great miracle occurred through a woman. Her name was Judith, as the story goes, and she was the daughter of Yochanan, the high priest. She was extremely beautiful, and the Greek king wanted her to lay with him. She fed him a dish of cheese to make him thirsty, so that he would drink a great deal and became drunk, and recline and fall asleep. And it happened just that way, and once he was asleep, she took his sword and cut off his head. She brought his head to Jerusalem, and when the armies saw that their leader had been killed, they fled. For this reason, we have the custom of eating a cheese dish on Hanukkah.

MISHNA:A woman is acquired by, i.e., becomes betrothed to, a man to be his wife in three ways, and she acquires herself, i.e., she terminates her marriage, in two ways. The mishna elaborates: She is acquired through money, through a document, and through sexual intercourse. With regard to a betrothal through money, there is a dispute between tanna’im: Beit Shammai say that she can be acquired with one dinar or with anything that is worth one dinar. And Beit Hillel say: She can be acquired with one peruta, a small copper coin, or with anything that is worth one peruta. The mishna further clarifies: And how much is the value of one peruta, by the fixed value of silver? The mishna explains that it is one-eighth of the Italian issar, which is a small silver coin.