Vatakam beod layla vatiten teref lebeita vachok lanaaroteha

“She rises while it is still night, and gives food to her household and sets out tasks for her helpers.”

Look around your bedroom. Do you know where everything is? Are you pretty familiar with the contents? Probably. And yet, how often do you enter in the dark and walk right into the dresser?

Or have you ever made that ridiculously painful mistake of stepping barefoot on lego in the middle of the night?

Or thought you were grabbing crackers from the dark cabinet only to discover it was a box of cereal?

Clearly if the lights were on we would never do such a thing. We would see exactly where things are and what they are. But turn off the lights and we are dealing with a whole new reality altogether.

When is it dark we can’t see what is around us and others can’t see us, even though everything is the same as it was when it was illuminated. Reality doesn’t change, our perception does. And the dark is much more than the physical. We often use this expression when we can’t follow or understand something. “I have no idea what you are saying. I am completely in the dark.”

In many ways, darkness is used to represent the negative. Scary things happen in the dark (which is why children like to sleep with a nightlight). Loneliness and depression are often compared to feeling like you are alone in the dark.

In Judaism, darkness is related to exile and yet it is only through the exile that we come to reach the redemption. There is the concept that in order for a universal redemption to happen, we must first each experience our own individual redemption. When we deal with our own baggage, issues and limitations we are able to free ourselves. And once we reach that place we are in a position to help others reach theirs.

This verse in Eshet Chayil deals with the ability to utilize the darkness, a time when seemingly nothing productive can happen, and to transform it into a state of light filled with productivity and positivity.

The concept that the woman of valor rises while it is still night shows that she doesn’t wait for things to be clear and easy to move forward. She does what needs to be done because it needs to be done. And it isn’t always easy as it is still dark. There is confusion, there is restriction, there is exile. But yet she rises. She gets up. She doesn’t let circumstances determine her reality. She creates her reality. She doesn’t waste her time fighting darkness head on but rather just adds light through positive action, which immediately makes the darkness dissipate.

When she is up she is busy providing for her family while preparing and guiding those who will help her. The food she is making is not just the physical sustenance they need but also the spiritual and emotional nourishment that will keep them healthy and stable.

And she knows how to delegate. She recognizes that she cannot do it all. No one can. She therefore focuses on where she is most needed and essential and what others can do for her, she guides and directs. Even though she may not be handling everything, she is still involved, ensuring that what is done for her household and family is in accordance with how she feels it should be handled.

It is specifically during the darkness that she is doing what is needed so that others can help her. Success will come both from what she provides and gives and likewise from what she is able to receive.

And while no one escapes darkness, with the right approach and attitude, anyone can not only survive it but thrive from it. But we must be willing to rise, even when it is still dark, and face those challenges. And when we provide and we plan, then we not only use the darkness but transform it. Our actions create that light. And as the Chassidic adage teaches, it only takes a little bit of light to wipe away a lot of darkness.

http://www.interinclusion.org/news/transforming-ourselves-eshet-chayil-part-18/

http://www.interinclusion.org/inspirations/the-garments-of-the-soul-eshet-chayil-part-16/

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