I have been teaching about women in Tanach for almost 30 years. I have taught “Eishet Chayil” many times, using it as an example of how Torah verses exist on multiple levels simultaneously. I had a lot of personal investment in this book. I really wanted it to be good. I wanted it to be serious.
For many Jews, “Eishet Chayil” is among the most well-known of all biblical texts. It’s sung weekly at the Shabbat table on Friday night.
Eishet Chayil: Woman of Valor – Heroines of Our History is a commentary on the 22 verses of Proverbs 31, based on midrash, the Talmud, classic rabbinic texts, and Chabad Hassidut. It is published by Kehot, the central publishing house of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
The book does not merely explain “Eishet Chayil”; it positions it as a sweeping theological and historical statement about Jewish womanhood and Jewish survival. The tone is set early on, with sentences like, “At every critical juncture of our long and challenging history, you will find the fearless and wise eishet chayil shepherding us toward our destiny.”
One of the book’s central claims is clear and consistent: Jewish history does not merely include women; it is propelled by them. Again and again, the text returns to moments of national crisis, such as the Exodus from Egypt, receiving the Torah at Sinai, entry into the Land of Israel, exile, and redemption, and identifies women as the stabilizing, faith-driven force when the men falter.
This is not framed as a feminist re-reading of Jewish history. On the contrary, the tone is traditional. The argument is that the Torah itself, read carefully and honestly, already tells this story.
These women are not presented as abstractions or ideals floating above real life. They are decisive, strategic, sometimes confrontational, and often willing to act against prevailing norms. From Yocheved and Miriam defying Pharaoh, to Batyah rescuing Moses, to Esther risking her life in the palace of Achashverosh, the heroines of Eishet Chayil are portrayed as moral actors operating under pressure, not passive figures rewarded for quiet piety.
At the same time, the book is very clear about what gives these women their strength. It is not ego or ambition for its own sake. It is an unwavering alignment with divine purpose. Over and over, the commentary emphasizes faith, intuition, self-sacrifice, and responsibility for the future. Motherhood is not treated as a limitation here but as a locus of power. The Jewish woman is described as the “guardian of Jewish destiny,” entrusted with transmitting Jewish identity itself.
A significant portion of the book draws explicitly on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who viewed women as central to the final redemption and encouraged women’s Torah study, leadership, and spiritual activism within the framework of Jewish law. This book expresses a belief in the meaningful role women play in shaping history.
And yet, something about the tone feels a little off to me. Like King Solomon’s words from the Book of Proverbs themselves, these pages are filled with men talking about women, rather than women speaking about their own lives. On the other hand, how could it be otherwise? Our biblical heroines didn’t exactly publish memoirs.
Underlying assumption of women in Jewish history
For all its lauding of women and the roles we play in Jewish history, there remains an underlying traditional limitation: the assumption that powerful women operate behind the scenes. This limitation occasionally peeks through in sentences like, “We know the eishet chayil. She doesn’t seek the limelight.”
This is not a light or casual book, despite its accessible structure. It contains extensive footnotes and 40 pages of back matter, including an explanation of the sources used and an extensive index.
Eishet Chayil: Woman of Valor is ultimately a work of affirmation of women, of tradition, and of a redemptive arc of history. It will resonate most with readers who take Jewish texts seriously and are willing to see women not as footnotes to Jewish history but as one of its driving forces.
One look at this coffee table-style book, and you know this is no ordinary publication: The hardcover edition is housed in a purple linen slipcase. The Hebrew title is embossed, and the English title is printed in silver on the slipcase. The pages are edge-painted purple, and the book includes a sewn-in purple ribbon marker. The endpaper features lavender flowers on a purple background, and even the inside of the slipcase is decorated with purple flowers.
It’s a beautiful book, illustrated by Lia Baratz, featuring watercolor flowers, fruits, leaves, bows, and birds. Don’t let the price scare you. If you’re interested in learning more about women in Tanach, this book offers a wealth of information in a gorgeous package.
The writer is a freelance journalist and expert on the non-Jewish awakening to Torah happening in our day. She is the editor of three books on the topic: Ten from the Nations; Lighting Up the Nations; and Adrift among the Nations.
EISHET CHAYIL: WOMAN OF VALOR HEROINES OF OUR HISTORY By Rabbi Yosef Marcus Kehot Publication Society 296 pages; $75