Why is “Eshet Chayil” traditionally sung before the Shabbat meal?
Published June 16, 2022
“A woman of valor, who can find? Her worth is far beyond rubies…” So begins a 22-verse acrostic poem from the Book of Proverbs. The poem showers praise on an unnamed woman of valor—eshet chayil, in Hebrew—and is sung in some Jewish families on Friday night before the Shabbat meal. In the final installment of our Word of the Week series, we talk with Rena Nickerson, Miriam Anzovin and Rachel Stomel about the meaning of Eshet Chayil today and their memories of singing it growing up.
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