R. Awira expounded: As the reward for the righteous women who lived in that generation were the Israelites delivered from Egypt. At the time the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself by the Red Sea, they recognised Him first, as it is said: This is my God and I will praise Him.
"Each era is redeemed only in the merit of the women that of the righteous women who live in that era. It is in the merit of the righteous women that the people were redeemed from Egypt and in the time to come it will be in the merit of the women that redemption shall come again." - Rabbi Aca - 4th Century on the Yalkut Shimoni on Megillat Ruth Ch 606:4 - Gershon Winkler ibid.
Comments From the Middles Ages: The Kabbalists
"The reason the wives of the sages of our time are domineering of them is because these men are reincarnated souls of the very men who rebelled during the ancient wilderness journey, and their wives, as we know, the women were not involved in any of these acts of dissention." - Rabbi Chayim Vital 16th Century - (Kabbalist Sefer Sha'ar HaGilgulim, Ch. 20) - The Way of the Boundary Crosser - Gershon Winkler Rowman and Littlefield Publishers 2005
בָּֽטַח בָּהּ לֵב בַּעְלָהּ, וְשָׁלָל לֹא יֶחְסָר.
גְּמָלַֽתְהוּ טוֹב וְלֹא רָע, כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּֽיהָ.
דָּרְשָֽׁה צֶֽמֶר וּפִשְׁתִּים, וַתַּֽעַשׂ בְּחֵֽפֶץ כַּפֶּֽיהָ.
הָיְתָה כָׇּאֳנִיּוֹת סוֹחֵר, מִמֶּרְחָק תָּבִיא לַחְמָהּ.
וַתָּֽקׇׇם בְּעוֹד לַיְלָה, וַתִּתֵּֽן טֶֽרֶף לְבֵיתָהּ וְחֹק לְנַֽעֲרֹתֶֽיהָ.
זָמְמָה שׂדֶה וַתִּקָּחֵֽהוּ, מִפְּרִי כַפֶּֽיהָ נָטְעָה כָּֽרֶם.
חָגְרָה בְעוֹז מׇתְנֶֽיהָ, וַתְּאַמֵּץ זְרוֹעֹתֶֽיהָ.
טָֽעֲמָה כִּי טוֹב סַחְרָהּ, לֹא יִכְבֶּה בַלַּֽיְלָה נֵרָהּ.
יָדֶֽיהָ שִׁלְּחָה בַכִּישׁוֹר, וְכַפֶּֽיהָ תָּֽמְכוּ פָֽלֶךְ.
כַּפָּהּ פָּרְשׂה לֶעָנִי, וְיָדֶֽיהָ שִׁלְּחָה לָאֶבְיוֹן.
לֹא תִירָא לְבֵיתָהּ מִשָּֽׁלֶג, כִּי כׇל־בֵּיתָהּ לָבֻשׁ שָׁנִים.
מַרְבַדִּים עָשׂתָה־לָּהּ, שֵׁשׁ וְאַרְגָּמָן לְבוּשָׁהּ.
נוֹדָע בַּשְּׁעָרִים בַּעְלָהּ, בְּשִׁבְתּוֹ עִם זִקְנֵי־אָרֶץ.
סָדִין עָשׂתָה וַתִּמְכֹּר, וַחֲגוֹר נָתְנָה לַכְּנַעֲנִי.
עוֹז וְהָדָר לְבוּשָׁהּ, וַתִּשׂחַק לְיוֹם אַחֲרוֹן.
פִּֽיהָ פָּתְחָה בְחׇכְמָה, וְתֽוֹרַת חֶֽסֶד עַל לְשׁוֹנָהּ:
צוֹפִיָּה הֲלִיכוֹת בֵּיתָהּ, וְלֶֽחֶם עַצְלוּת לֹא תֹאכֵל:
קָמוּ בָנֶֽיהָ וַיְּאַשְּׁרֽוּהָ, בַּעְלָהּ וַיְהַלְלָהּ:
רַבּוֹת בָּנוֹת עָֽשׂוּ חָֽיִל, וְאַתְּ עָלִית עַל כֻּלָּנָה:
שֶֽׁקֶר הַחֵן וְהֶֽבֶל הַיֹּֽפִי, אִשָּׁה יִרְאַת ה׳ הִיא תִתְהַלָּל:
תְּנוּ לָהּ מִפְּרִי יָדֶֽיהָ, וִיהַלְלֽוּהָ בַשְּׁעָרִים מַעֲשֽׂיהָ:
A woman of valor, who can find? Far beyond pearls is her value. Her husband’s heart trusts in her and he shall lack no fortune.
She repays his good, but never his harm, all the days of her life. She seeks out wool and linen, and her hands work willingly.
She is like a merchant’s ships; from afar she brings her sustenance. She rises while it is still nighttime, and gives food to her household and a ration to her maids.
She considers a field and buys it; from the fruit of her handiwork she plants a vineyard. She girds her loins with might and strengthens her arms.
She senses that her enterprise is good, so her lamp is not extinguished at night. She puts her hand to the distaff, and her palms support the spindle.
She spreads out her palm to the poor and extends her hands to the destitute. She fears not snow for her household, for her entire household is clothed with scarlet wool.
Bedspreads she makes herself; linen and purple wool are her clothing. Well-known at the gates is her husband as he sits with the elders of the land.
Garments she makes and sells, and she delivers a belt to the peddler. Strength and splendor are her clothing, and smilingly she awaits her last day.
She opens her mouth with Wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She anticipates the needs of her household, and the bread of idleness, she does not eat.
Her children rise and celebrate her; and her husband, he praises her: “Many daughters have attained valor, but you have surpassed them all.”
False is grace, and vain is beauty; a G-d-fearing woman, she should be praised.
Give her the fruit of her hands, and she will be praised at the gates by her very own deeds.
“The translation of the Hebrew eishet chayil is usually rendered as a woman of valor. In truth it means much more. The Hebrew chayil means strength; a chayal is a soldier. At first glance, strength wouldn’t appear to be the trait for which women ought most to be admired. We tend to identify strength with physical power. But King Solomon had greater insight. True strength comes from within. It is the power to perform the menial with dignity, the everyday task with enthusiasm, the raising of children with heroic discipline and unstinting devotion, the infusion of the home 43 with holiness, and the creation of that indefinable warmth and joy that define a beautiful family. It is the true meaning of a wife and a mother. This is what every husband is expected to acknowledge as we enter the Sabbath. The day that brings with it sanctity should inspire an expression of gratitude not only to God but to the one most responsible for bringing God into the home. Every man is asked to make his wife feel that in his eyes she is the most wonderful of all women. The man isn’t simply supposed to think it – he is required to say it. Just because men will never ask for directions when they’re lost doesn’t mean that they are exempt from expressing their appreciation for what they’ve found.” – Rabbi Benjamin Blech
“But then the verse continues, comparing a Jewish woman to a pearl – yet even that is not as precious as she is. But why a pearl? There are many precious jewels. Why not the diamond or ruby (as the word is often mistakenly translated). Unlike these other gems, the process of the creation and formation of the pearl most brilliantly describes the development of a Jewish woman. Just as one must seek to find the woman of valor, so too must one seek to find the pearl. The pearl 18 is hidden within an oyster and rests at the bottom of the ocean. The external of the oyster however is ugly, hiding the beauty within. And yet the name in Hebrew for the pearl, pnimim, relates to the word for both panim, meaning “face” as well as “pnimiyut” which means “internal.” While the pearl has a harsh and rough external casing but is beautiful within, the Jewish woman’s true beauty lies within but shines and can be seen through the outside as well. Just as our face is the portal to our internal selves, our faces represent the beauty of our souls and should reflect what lies within, not hide it. The Jewish woman of valor is not one who has it all, but one who works and betters all that she has. The pearl is the result of a process, and not an easy one at that. The pearl is formed inside the shell of certain mollusks as a defense mechanism against a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside its shell, or an attack from outside that could injure the mantle tissue. The mollusk therefore creates a pearl sac to seal off the irritation. What this means is that our beauty, our strength, our accomplishments, take work, often very hard work. We might have a lot of barriers in our way, but with the right mentality, and keeping focused on our goal, we will become stronger and better because of the adversity. If anything, those tests and 19 challenges will allow our true beauty to shine forth and will show us and those around us the strength we have within that otherwise may not have been revealed.” – Sara Esther Crispe
“Scholars say that the custom of singing Eishet Chayil at the Friday night table was initiated by kabbalists in the 17th century, who viewed Shabbat as an occasion of mystical union within the divine and understood the Eishet Chayil allegorically as a representation of the Shekhinah, the feminine presence of God.1 In a sense, we were living out our own contemporary allegorical interpretation of Proverbs 31, with the Woman of Valor being the Sabbath, whom we had welcomed with renewed energy into our midst. There is allegory and there is literal reading. Singing Eishet Chayil was also an occasion to offer appreciation for my mother, who cooked and baked and sewed and prepared the Shabbat dinner we so much enjoyed. The valorous woman in Proverbs 31 never sits still, let alone rests. Her light never goes out and she rises from her bed when it is still dark. Was that not just like my own mother, who teemed with nervous energy, walked more quickly than anyone else in the family, and had this uncanny ability to wake up in the middle of the night in response to the sound of my footsteps approaching my parents’ room?” - Wendy Zierler