אֵשֶׁת חַיִל | Éshet Ḥayil (Proverbs 31:10-31) For an Accomplished Woman, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Shared on: 6 November 2014 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories: Mishlei (Proverbs), Se'udat Leil Shabbat

Tags: acrostic, Alphabetic Acrostic, devotional interpretation, אשת חיל eshet ḥayil, interpretive translation, role models, זמירות zemirot

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אֵשֶׁת חַיִל מִי יִמְצָא וְרָחוֹק מִפְּנִינִים מִכְרָהּ	^א An accomplished woman who can find; beyond pearls is your worth.
בָּטַח בָּהּ לֵב בַּעְלָהּ וְשָׁלָל לא יֶחְסָר	^ב By your integrity your husband’s heart is secure; nothing is lacking where you are in charge.
גְּמָלַתְהוּ טוֹב וְלֹא רָע כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיה	^ג Good are you to me, never vexing, all your days (and especially our nights).
דָּרְשָׁה צֶמֶר וּפִשְׁתִּים וַתַּעַשֹ בְּחֵפֶץ כַּפֶּיהָ	^ד Designing in wool and linen, your hands do your bidding with alacrity.
הָיְתָה כָּאֳנִיּות סוחֵר מִמֶּרְחָק תָּבִיא לַחְמָהּ	^ה High business acumen is yours, like that of a world trader, importing food from afar.
וַתָּקָם בְּעוד לַיְלָה וַתִּתֵּן טֶרֶף לְבֵיתָהּ וְחֹק לְנַעֲרֹתֶיהָ	^ו Well before dawn you rise to apportion meals for our family and tasks for your helpers.
זָמְמָה שָׂדֶה וַתִּקָּחֵהוּ מִפְּרִי כַפֶּיהָ נָטְעָה כָּרֶם	^ז Zealously you assess your purchases before buying; a vineyard you plant, the fruit of your hands
חָגְרָה בְעוֹז מָתְנֶיהָ וַתְּאַמֵּץ זְרוֹעוֹתֶיהָ	^ח How mightily you gird your loins. Your embraces are warm and strong.
טָעֲמָה כִּי־טוב סַחְרָהּ לא־יִכְבֶּה בַלַּיְלָה נֵרָהּ	^ט Tastily, you offer your wares; your light radiates undimmed through the night.
יָדֶיהָ שִׁלְּחָה בַכִּישׁור וְכַפֶּיהָ תָּמְכוּ פָלֶך	^י Your hands are firm in what they weave together; your palms support the spinning wheels.
כַּפָּהּ פָּרְשָׂה לֶעָנִי וְיָדֶיהָ שִׁלְּחָה לָאֶבְיוֹן	^כ Kindly, you support the poor, your hands at the service of the needy.
לֹא תִירָא לְבֵיתָהּ מִשָּׁלֶג כִּי כָל בֵּיתָהּ לָבוּשׁ שָׁנִים	^ל Lily white clean is our home and brightly colored its appointments.
מַרְבַדִּים עָשְֹתָה־לָּהּ שֵׁשׁ וְאַרְגָּמָן לְבוּשָׁהּ	^מ Many textured are your weaves; you wear silks and purples in elegance.
נוֹדָע בַּשְּׁעָרִים בַּעְלָהּ בְּשִׁבְתּוֹ עִם זִקְנֵי אָרֶץ	^נ Named and known am I as your husband when I sit in the councils of the elders.
סָדִין עָשְֹתָה וַתִּמְכֹּר וַחֲגור נָתְנָה לַכְּנַעֲנִי	^ס Sheer are the garments you design; your enterprise is valued by the people.
עֹז וְהָדָר לְבוּשָׁהּ וְתִשׂחַק לְיוֹם אַחֲרוֹן	^ע On you dresses become beauty and strength, and your future is happily assured.
פִּיהָ פָּתְחָה בְחָכְמָה וְתוֹרַת חֶסֶד עַל לְשׁוֹנָהּ	^פ Pearls of wisdom come from your lips; your speech is gentle and kind.
צוֹפִיָּה הֲלִיכוֹת בֵּיתָהּ וְלֶחֶם עַצְלוּת לֹא תֹאכֵל	^צ Certain is the way you conduct our home, and immaculate is our kitchen.
קָמוּ בָנֶיהָ וַיְאַשְּׁרוּהָ בַּעְלָהּ וַיְהַלְלָהּ	^ק Courteous are your relatives and friends in their praise of you, and your husband raves about you.
רַבּוֹת בָּנוֹת עָשׂוּ חָיִל וְאַתְּ עָלִית עַל כֻּלָּנָה	^ר Ravishing and skillful are many good women, but you are even more stunning than they.
שֶׁקֶר הַחֵן וְהֶבֶל הַיֹּפִי אִשָּׁה יִרְאַת ה’ הִיא תִתְהַלָּל	^ש Shameless is mere charm and mere dazzling is vain. How you are in God awareness, that is worth extolling!
תְּנוּ לָהּ מִפְּרִי יָדֶיָה וִיהַלְלוּהָ בַשְׁעָרִים מַעֲשֶׂיהָ	^ת Thousandfold may you reap your rewards for your fame deserves to be widely acknowledged.

We are grateful to Gabbai Seth Fishman for his transcription of Reb Zalman’s translation of Eyshet Hayil, originally posted at his website, Jewish Renewal Hasidus.

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“אֵשֶׁת חַיִל | Éshet Ḥayil (Proverbs 31:10-31) For an Accomplished Woman, translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation)

Rabbi Dr. Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi, affectionately known as "Reb Zalman" (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014) was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement. Born in Żółkiew, Poland (now Ukraine) and raised in Vienna, he was interned in detention camps under the Vichy Regime but managed to flee the Nazi advance, emigrating to the United States in 1941. He was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi in 1947 within the ḤaBaD Hasidic movement while under the leadership of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, and served ḤaBaD communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He subsequently earned an M.A. in psychology of religion at Boston University, and a doctorate from the Hebrew Union College. He was initially sent out to speak on college campuses by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, but in the early 1960s, after experimenting with "the sacramental value of lysergic acid", the main ingredient in LSD, leadership within ḤaBaD circles cut ties with him. He continued teaching the Torah of Ḥassidut until the end of his life to creative, free and open-minded Jewish thinkers with humility and kindness and established warm ecumenical ties as well. In September 2009, he became the first contributor of a siddur to the Open Siddur Project database of Jewish liturgy and related work. Reb Zalman supported the Open Siddur Project telling its founder, "this is what I've been looking forward to!" and sharing among many additional works of liturgy, an interview he had with Havurah magazine in the early to mid-1980s detailing his vision of "Database Davenen." The Open Siddur Project is proud to be realizing one of Reb Zalman's long held dreams.

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the Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Tanakh for Karaite and Rabbinic Judaism. It was primarily copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries CE. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17

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