"יש אומרים שיש לאכול גבינה בחנוכה לפי שהנס נעשה בחלב שהאכילה יהודית את האויב"

“Some say that cheese should be eaten on Chanukah because the miracle occurred thanks to the dairy that Yehudit fed the enemy.” (Orach Chaim, 670:2)

The oppressors had decreed that a maiden before her marriage must first cohabit with the Governor, but the daughter of Yochanan the Kohen Gadol outwitted him. She was a very beautiful woman, and she reluctantly pretended to accede to his request. She prepared dishes of cheese for him, which made him thirsty. He then drank wine, became intoxicated, and fell asleep — whereupon she cut off his head and brought it to Jerusalem. Finding that their commander was dead, the enemy armies became panicky and fled (Mishnah Berurah).

QUESTION: What is common denominator between Chanukah and Shavuot that on both a dairy meal is eaten?

ANSWER: On the first day of Shavuot it is customary to eat a dairy meal. One of the explanations given for this custom is based on a Midrash (Shochar Tov, Psalms 8) that when Moshe came up to heaven to receive the Torah, the angels objected, claiming “Bestow Your glory on the Heavens.” They wanted the Torah for themselves and opposed its being given away to humans.

Hashem told them, “How can you request the Torah if you violated it when you visited the house of Avraham to inform him of the forthcoming birth of Yitzchak? The Torah forbids the eating of meat with milk, and the Torah says ‘He took cream and milk and the calf that he prepared, and placed these before them, and they ate’ ” (Bereishit 18:8).

Consequently, we received the Torah and not the angels because of the milk they ate together with the meat. Therefore, on the first day of Shavuot, which commemorates our receiving the Torah, we eat a dairy meal.

The Greek-Syrians intended to stop the Jews from studying Torah so that it would be forgotten, as we recite in the al hanissim prayer, “The wicked Hellenic government rose up against Your people to make them forget Your Torah.” Their plan was nullified with the victory of the Hasmoneans. Thus, in a sense, Chanukah is the day when Torah was again given to the Jewish people.

As explained above, Yehudit’s use of cheese, a dairy product, led to the defeat of the Syrian Greeks. Hence, there is a parallel between Chanukah and Shavuot: on both occasions we received the Torah thanks to milk, and on both holidays we commemorate this by eating cheese and dairy products.

(בני יששכר, ועי' סדר הדורות ג"א תרכ"ב)