אֵשֶׁת חַיִל מִי יִמְצָא

A woman of valour who can find? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, and he hath no lack of gain. She doeth him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchant-ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth food to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, And maketh strong her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good; Her lamp goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household; For all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh for herself coverlets; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, When he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh linen garments and selleth them; And delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing; And she laugheth at the time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And the law of kindness is on her tongue. She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children rise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth her: ’Many daughters have done valiantly, But thou excellest them all.’ Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain; But a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her works praise her in the gates.

For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall watch over thee, Discernment shall guard thee; To deliver thee from the way of evil, From the men that speak froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, And delight in the frowardness of evil; Who are crooked in their ways, And perverse in their paths; To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the alien woman that maketh smooth her words; That forsaketh the lord of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house sinketh down unto death, And her paths unto the shades; None that go unto her return, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life; That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous.

My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding; That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; But her end is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on the nether-world; Lest she should walk the even path of life, Her ways wander, but she knoweth it not. Now therefore, O ye children, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house; Lest thou give thy vigour unto others, And thy years unto the cruel; Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labours be in the house of an alien; And thou moan, when thine end cometh, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, And the man that obtaineth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, And the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies; And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, And happy is every one that holdest her fast.

My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, Write them upon the table of thy heart. Say unto wisdom: ‘Thou art my sister’, And call understanding thy kinswoman; That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the alien woman that maketh smooth her words.

"A valiant woman, who can find" (Proverbs 31:10): That is the Torah; "and further than pearls (peninim) is her price" - as it was 'in front of Me and inside (lefanim)' and Moshe merited to bring it down to earth. "Her husband puts his confidence in her, and lacks no 'booty'" - that there is nothing lacking in it. Another explanation: "A valiant woman, who can find" - They said, "There was a story about Rabbi Meir who was sitting and expounding in the study hall on Shabbat afternoon, when two of his sons died. What did his mother do? She placed both of them on the bed and spread a sheet over them. At the end of Shabbat, Rabbi Meir came home from the study hall. He said to her, 'Where are my two sons?' She said [back], 'They went to the study hall.' He said to her, 'I scanned the study hall and I did not see them.' They gave him the cup of Havdalah and he separated [the days of the week with the closure of Shabbat]. He repeated and said, 'Where are my two sons?' She said, 'They went elsewhere and they are coming now.' She placed food in front of him and he ate and blessed. After he blessed, she said to him, 'I have a question to ask you.' He said to her, 'Say your question.' She said to him, 'Rabbi, before today, a man came and deposited something with me, and now he is coming to take it. Should we return it to him or not?' He said, 'My daughter, one who has a deposit with him must return it to its owner.' She said to him, 'Were it not for your consent, I would not have given it to him.' What did she do? She grabbed his hand, brought him up to that room, had him approach the bed and took off the sheet from upon them. When he saw both of them dead and laying upon the bed, he began to cry and say, 'My sons, my sons, my teachers, my teachers - my sons in the way of the world, my teachers in that they would enlighten my eyes with their Torah.' At that time, she said to Rabbi Meir, 'Rabbi, is this not what I told you - do I not need to return the deposit to its Owner?' He said, '"The Lord has given and the Lord has taken; may the name of the Lord be blessed"' (Job 1:21)." Rabbi Chanina said, "With this thing, she consoled him and his mind became composed - that is is why it states, 'A valiant woman, who can find.'" Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said, "On account of what did the sons of Rabbi Meir become liable and die at one time? Because they were accustomed to leaving the study hall to sit with food and drink." Rabbi Yochanan said, "Even with trifling matters - as when the Torah was given to Israel, he only warned them about the words of Torah, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:16), 'This day the Lord, your God, commands you to do.'"