The Woman of Valor: Who Can Find Her?

Proverbs ends with a famous alphabetical poem — one verse for each Hebrew letter — describing an ideal wife who is also a businesswoman. She wakes before dawn, runs an agricultural estate, buys and sells real estate, plants a vineyard, makes and sells linen garments, gives to the poor, and stays up late. 'Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders.' The poem is written from a man's perspective and concludes with a ranking: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.' Jewish families recite it at the Sabbath table every week. Feminists argue about what it means.