Eshet Chayil
A woman of valour... or woman of worth..."
The expression, Eshet Chayil, is the Hebrew expression for a 'Woman of valour', or 'Woman of worth...', and it is also the title of a hymn which is customarily recited on Friday evenings, after returning from synagogue, and before sitting down to the Shabbat evening meal...
The Hebrew word, 'Eshet', is the contruct form of 'Isha' (woman), and 'Chayil', denotes such qualities as... bravery, capability, triumph or wealth... An Eshet Chayil, represents virutes of courage and strength...
Eshet Chayil is also a twenty-two verse poem with which King Solomon concludes the book of Proverbs. The poem has an acrostic arrangement in which the verses begin with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in regular order.
The poem describes the woman of valor as one who is energetic, righteous, and capable - The first verse translated says...
"An accomplished woman, who can find? - Far beyond pearls is her value..."
Eshet Chayil additionally forms an integral part of the Jewish Wedding ceromony...
According to Aggadic Midrashim (interpretation of the non-legal portions of the Hebrew Bible), the poem was originally composed by Abraham as a eulogy for his wife Sarah... According to Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah, the poem is a reference to the Shabbat Queen, the spiritual soul-mate of the Jewish nation...
It has become a Jewish custom for men to recite this hymn at the end of the week, and thus to think about, and be thankful for all that his wife has done for him and their family throughout the past week...
So, who is this woman? - She knows exactly who she is!!
If you have found the above information to be of interest, although they are not necessarily connected directly, please take a look at the following pages within this site, namely... loshon hara, neshuma and chai.
Copyright 2003 - 2012 © Jeremy Lebor. All rights carefully reserved.
