Eishet Chayil - Woman of Valor Lia Baratz

At every critical juncture of Jewish history, you will find the fearless and wise Woman of Valor, the Eishet Chayil, shepherding her people towards its destiny. Unfazed by the Pharaohs and the Hamans, indifferent to the Golden Calves and the “realists,” she is the anchor and rudder of her people, keeping them on course and guiding them through stormy seas to their destiny.

Through the lens of King Solomon’s poem Eishet Chayil, this book tells the story of twenty-four of these heroines of history. From well-known figures like Sarah and Queen Esther to the lesser-known, like Michal and Tzlelponit. Meet Naamah, the musician who transcends the corruption of her day; Yocheved and Miriam, the midwives who defy the all-powerful Pharaoh; Chanah, who shakes heaven and earth to have a child; Serach, who stands up to the powerful general Joab and saves a town from destruction; Bruriah, the Talmudic scholar whose words of consolation are cited to this day.

Drawing on thousands of years of Jewish scholarship from across the globe, with an emphasis on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, this book offers a multifaceted exploration of the poem’s meanings. Discover how Eishet Chayil is simultaneously a tribute to individual greatness, an ode by Abraham to his wife Sarah, as well as an allusion to Judaism’s greatest women.

The book is designed to be accessible enough for the Bat Mitzvah girl, yet rich with scholarship and citations that will be new to seasoned students of Torah, including many sources translated for the first time. Adorned with the beautiful artwork of Israeli artist Lia Baratz, this work of wisdom and beauty is a fitting homage to the rock of the Jewish people, the Woman of Valor.