Ideas to Jump-Start Your own Creative Interpretations

Visual

  • Sketch a map of the story as you imagine it: a map of Bethulia, the enemy camp outside the gates, and Judith’s path from her home to Holofernes’ tent.
  • Taking a cue from the Noguchi/Graham collaboration, design a piece of jewelry for Judith
  • Draw a theater set (realistic or abstract) for Judith and Holofernes’ encounter in the tent

Music

  • Write your own wordless melody (in Hebrew, a “niggun”) capturing a moment in the story.  Perhaps imagine what Judith might hum to herself while getting dressed for Holofernes, or walking through the dark streets of the city, or carrying Holofernes’ head back to the gates, or all three.

Movement

Create a short dance about one or more of these moments in Judith’s story:

  • leaving the city gates and walking into Holofernes’ tent
  • taking Holofernes’ sword from his bedpost and cutting off his head
  • walking back to the camp with Holofernes’ head
  • placing Holofernes’ head atop the city gate

Writing

  • Summarize Judith’s story in six words
  • Write a journal entry in Judith’s voice, describing her encounter with Holofernes. Take liberties; as Judith, are you confident, or shaking with fear? Are you repulsed by the general, or tempted by him? Are you disgusted by the gory scene, or do you delight in it?
  • Write about your own response to Judith’s story. You could start with the phrase, “Reading about Judith’s story, I feel…” and freewrite from there. What emotions does it evoke in you? Does it relate to anything in your own life or the lives of those around you?

Rituals

  • Create a ritual based on Judith for Chanukah time or Rosh Chodesh Tevet
  • Create a symbolic meal based on Chanukah traditions around Judith. (This could be a delicious meal you might actually make at home - but you could also use creative license to come up with something you would never cook, for example, including poisonous ingredients to symbolize Judith’s actions!)

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Ideas to Jump-Start Your own Creative Interpretations." (Viewed on November 30, 2024) <https://jwa.org/node/22776>.