(י) אשתחיל מי ימצא ורחק מפנינים מכרה
(יא) בטח בה לב בעלה ושלל לא יחסר
(יב) גמלתהו טוב ולארע כל ימי חייה
(יג) דרשה צמר ופשתים ותעש בחפץ כפיה
(יד) היתה כאניות סוחר ממרחק תביא לחמה
(טו) ותקם בעוד לילה ותתן טרף לביתה וחק לנערתיה
(טז) זממה שדה ותקחהו מפרי כפיה נטע [נטעה] כרם
(יז) חגרה בעוז מתניה ותאמץ זרעותיה
(יח) טעמה כיטוב סחרה לאיכבה בליל [בלילה] נרה
(יט) ידיה שלחה בכישור וכפיה תמכו פלך
(כ) כפה פרשה לעני וידיה שלחה לאביון
(כא) לאתירא לביתה משלג כי כלביתה לבש שנים
(כב) מרבדים עשתהלה שש וארגמן לבושה
(כג) נודע בשערים בעלה בשבתו עםזקניארץ
(כד) סדין עשתה ותמכר וחגור נתנה לכנעני
(כה) עזוהדר לבושה ותשחק ליום אחרון
(כו) פיה פתחה בחכמה ותורתחסד עללשונה
(כז) צופיה הליכות ביתה ולחם עצלות לא תאכל
(כח) קמו בניה ויאשרוה בעלה ויהללה
(כט) רבות בנות עשו חיל ואת עלית עלכלנה
(ל) שקר החן והבל היפי אשה יראתיי היא תתהלל
(לא) תנולה מפרי ידיה ויהללוה בשערים מעשיה
(10) What a rare find is a capable wife! Her worth is far beyond that of rubies.
(11) Her husband puts his confidence in her, And lacks no good thing.
(12) She is good to him, never bad, All the days of her life.
(13) She looks for wool and flax, And sets her hand to them with a will.
(14) She is like a merchant fleet, Bringing her food from afar.
(15) She rises while it is still night, And supplies provisions for her household, The daily fare of her maids.
(16) She sets her mind on an estate and acquires it; She plants a vineyard by her own labors.
(17) She girds herself with strength, And performs her tasks with vigor.
(18) She sees that her business thrives; Her lamp never goes out at night.
(19) She sets her hand to the distaff; Her fingers work the spindle.
(20) She gives generously to the poor; Her hands are stretched out to the needy.
(21) She is not worried for her household because of snow, For her whole household is dressed in crimson.
(22) She makes covers for herself; Her clothing is linen and purple.
(23) Her husband is prominent in the gates, As he sits among the elders of the land.
(24) She makes cloth and sells it, And offers a girdle to the merchant.
(25) She is clothed with strength and splendor; She looks to the future cheerfully.
(26) Her mouth is full of wisdom, Her tongue with kindly teaching.
(27) She oversees the activities of her household And never eats the bread of idleness.
(28) Her children declare her happy; Her husband praises her,
(29) “Many women have done well, But you surpass them all.”
(30) Grace is deceptive, Beauty is illusory; It is for her fear of the LORD That a woman is to be praised.
(31) Extol her for the fruit of her hand, And let her works praise her in the gates.
I Deserve A Song
By Tamara Cohen
I remember well Shabbat evenings around our family table. When it came time for my father to sing Eshet Chayil, A Woman of Valor, my mother, the proud feminist, wanted the song. Every word of it. She'd worked hard. The bags under her eyes were dark. A three-course meal was ready in the kitchen even though she'd only left her office an hour before. She wanted the song. Yes, she knew the words. Written by men of another time, Eshet Chayil didn't exactly describe her own sense of the way things should be. But it was there: two minutes built into the traditional Friday night ritual that were just for her. Two minutes when she could sit back and close her eyes and feel, yes, yes, I deserve a song.
I deserve a song. I deserve a song and so much, much more. I deserve a song.
Because an Eshet Chayil is a woman of strength and woman of strength is not hard to find.
She is my mother, my grandmother, my sister, my friend.
She is my beloved, my teacher, my daughter, my companion, my neighbor.
I too am a woman of strength.
Eshet Chayil Bi Emtza.
A woman of strength within myself I will find.
This Shabbat, I will find her again and give her a song and so much more.