Eishet Chayil and Me

 

Eishet Chayil – Is It Really About Me?

Secretly I have wondered if Eishet Chayil is really about me. Spoken or sung on Shabbos, I can feel my spirit relaxing into the words of Proverbs 31:10-31, but my mind is not convinced it truly applies to me.

Lori Palatnik teaches us that Jewish women must take a stand today, as we took a stand at Mt Sinai. The Jewish women have the privilege and the responsibility of bringing light, not just once in the past, but continuously, now and into the future.  

Eishes chayil mi yimtza ve-rachok mi-peninim michrah
Batach bah leiv ba'alah ve-shalal lo yech'sar. 
Gemalas'hu tov ve-lo ra kol yemei chayeha. 
Dar'eshah tzemer u'fishtim va-ta'as be-cheifetz kapeha.

The first sentence is translated, “A Woman of Valor, who can find?”

Lately I’ve begun to wonder if I am the one who needs to find her. Meaning, the way I take a stand for my family, my community and my people is to fully accept myself as Eishet Chayil when I light my Shabbos candles each week. Yes, I accept the blessing from others with whom I’m gathered, but that’s not the same as accepting the blessing in my own heart.

Yes, Eishet Chayil is really about me, just as I am, where I am, as I am right now.