Book Review | Praise Her Works

Each woman is 'uniquely' righteous

As a single Jewish woman and a feminist, I had little appreciation for Eishet Chayil (Woman of Valor), the traditional Jewish poem found in Proverbs 31:10-31, believed to be written by King Solomon. Eishet Chayil is sung in traditionally observant Jewish homes on the Friday night of Shabbat, by husband to wife, or sometimes by the entire family. It is also sung to a bride from her groom at the wedding and is additionally recited in honor of a woman at her funeral.

Eishet Chayil begins, "A woman of valor, who can find? Her worth is far beyond that of rubies". What could I not appreciate about this statement?! Of course, I agree that a woman is worth a great deal more than jewels. What disturbed me was that the subsequent lines of Eishet Chayil tell of a superwoman-like female who seems to do it all: work, clean, nurture, feed, provide, teach, do tzedakah – and do it with a smile and be happy too! I do not know any woman who can do all that with such vigor and happiness. Is this poem intended to model for me the image of a "woman" I should aspire to be? If so, then I was not much interested. Therefore, I did not much appreciate this poem and never challenged myself to look at it from another perspective.

That was before I read Praise Her Works: Conversations with Biblical Women, edited by Penina Adelman. In the process of preparing a meaningful celebration for her daughter's impending bat-mitzvah, author Penina Adelman encountered a 13th-century Yeminite collection of midrashim (rabbinic commentary that serves to further explain the text) called Midrash ha-Gadol (the Great Midrash). Contained in Midrash ha-Gadol is a list of 22 righteous women, each one being connected with a particular line of the 22-verses of Eishet Chayil. Intrigued by the women who are included on the list and those whom are not included, Adelman began what would be a fascinating journey of her own learning into the lives of these 22 women. Along the way, Adelman enlisted other Jewish women writers and scholars to learn with her and to also provide their own commentary, culminating in the compilation of Praise Her Works.

The structure of the book is clear and consistent. There are 23 chapters (Adelman adds Vashti as a foil to Esther: Woman #22), each devoted to one woman. Each chapter begins with the line from Eishet Chayil to which she is attributed and the midrash that the rabbis offer to explain why this woman corresponds to this particular line of the poem. The chapter then proceeds with 5 components: the history of the woman, commentary, the voice (in 1st person) of the woman, a message from her and then questions and sources "for further thought". The chapters are authored by various women, reflecting their particular commentaries as well.

Like Adelman, I too am fascinated by the women the rabbis chose to include on this list. Of course, the great matriarchs of Sarah , Rebecca, Rachel and Leah are included, but in addition, there are women included of whom I knew nothing. Women such as the "Widow of Tzarephath", Rachav and the wife of Obadiah are included in this list of "righteous women". I was struck by the thinking of the rabbis to include such women and further enlightened to learn of the lines attributed to each of these women from Eishet Chayil, each highlighting a different quality of "righteousness".

For example, the 13th line of Eishet Chayil honors Rachav. Who is Rachav? Prior to the Israelites entrance into the land of Israel, Joshua dispatches "spies" to scope out the territory. Two of these spies stay at the house of a woman named Rachav, a prostitute. The King of Jericho learns of the spies at Rachav's home and demands Rachav send them to him. She confirms that they were at her home but claims that she no longer knows where they are, while all the while hiding them on her rooftop. Rachav subsequently assists the spies in escaping from the city, but not before having them promise to spare the lives of her family.

What is interesting (and is to the rabbis as well) is that Rachav states to the spies, "I know that the Lord has given the country to you . . . for we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Sea of Reeds for you when you left Egypt" (page 99, Adelman). Rachav is redeemed in the eyes of the rabbis not only based on her assistance of the spies, but also because her words convey a genuine faith in the God of the Israelites. Stephanie Newman Samuels, a teacher at the Maimonides School on Brookline, MA, provides the voice of Rachav for this particular chapter. She creates an image of a woman who was always listening to the "stories" she heard of the Israelites (from the many men she had met), even as a young child. She was more than intrigued by these people and their God, and therefore, her later turn to a new life with the Israelites was natural to her character.

Praise Her Works gives voice to the women who are often skeletal characters in the traditional text. While some more traditional Jewish scholars and educators may take issue with the liberty and contemporary "midrash" with which the writers in this book engage to tell the stories of these righteous women, it is thought provoking nonetheless. The reality is that we do not hear her voice frequently enough in our tradition, while we know she existed. This book challenges us to consider the fullness of these women, the righteous women of our tradition.

Through my journey in this book, I not only learned the stories of women untold to me, but I also developed a deeper perspective and new appreciation of Eishet Chayil. Each woman is uniquely "righteous" and has an individual lesson to offer to the tradition and to the world. I now understand Eishet Chayil as not the model of one woman whom I should aspire to be like, but as a menu of models of Jewish women – all of them uniquely righteous. Thank you, Penina Adelman!

Ronit Sherwin is the Executive Director of Nishmah: The St. Louis Jewish Women's Project. Beginning in January 2006, Ronit will be teaching a monthly course based on Praise Her Works, in partnership with CAJE, to be held at the Saul Mirowitz Reform Jewish Academy. Contact Ronit at 314-454-1968 or via e-mail at ronit@nishmah.org for more information.

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