Eishes Chayil: Ancient Wisdom for Women of Today. It’s been thirteen years of writing, editing, thinking – what does the Torah and Chazal tell me what it means to be a Jewish woman?
There have been so many competing forces telling me what I could or could not be, how I should or should not act. I needed a guide that was timeless, authentic and true. I turned away from others’ opinions and opened the sources that have served as a guide in all the other areas of my life – the Torah as interpreted by Chazal.
Mishlei, written by Shlomo HaMelech, ends with a poem describing the ideal Jewish woman. The Midrash, written by our great Rabbis, added depth to this poem by connecting each line to a woman in Jewish History who embodied the positive traits being described.
As I learned, I found myself empowered and growing as an individual, as a wife and as a mother. My choices in life came from a deeper place – one connected to my Creator rather than the fads of the moment or the fears of the petty. I wrote about the truths I discovered in the ancient wisdom that has been available to us for centuries.
This book Eishes Chayil: Ancient Wisdom for Women of Today is my journey. It took 13 years to research, write, and edit before it finally arrived in bookstores.
I hope you find the words of Chazal and Shlomo HaMelech as meaningful and transformative as I have.
Best,
Shira
