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עוז והדר לבושה ותשחק ליום אחרון.

“Strength and majesty are her dress; she joyfully laughs about the last day.”

This verse seems hard to understand at first. The contrast of nice clothing versus laughing at the day of death is quite disturbing… what is going on here?

The answer is actually quite beautiful….

The first way of dealing with this is to explain that the verse is actually discussing the spiritual attributes that she dons which include her beautiful character traits which she developed by following the Torah (Ralbag). She dons spiritual greatness with an understanding of how precious and special life is.

The Metzudos however translates the opening words to indeed refer to her immaculate and beautiful style of dress. How is the verse to be understood?

The Aishes Chayil works hard and lives a happy and productive life. She lives life with a perspective that she is building her Eternal reward in Olam HaBah every day. She is confident that her choices and actions are proper and she has a sense of satisfaction in her well spent days.

This is a most important and healthy perspective. There are times that we run around from one errand to the next and don’t get a second to catch our breath. One could end the day frustrated feeling that it was filled with only technical pursuits. However, the true servant of Hashem recognizes that s/he spent the day doing exactly what Hashem wanted from him/her and that the runaround was part of his/her journey to build a great and beautiful Olam HaBah. She was using her time exactly as Hashem intended her to; she was doing her exact job. “All of your actions should be L’Shem Shamayim (Avos 2:12),” the entire day was spent doing the will of Hashem. She was honest in business, was taking care of his or her family, doing chessed with her husband and children and there is nothing more meaningful than that.

Chazal compare this world to a wedding (Eruvin 54a). The significance of this is that a wedding has one most important part that makes the entire event. When the Chosson says, “Harei At Mikudeshes Li, you are holy to me…” The lesson is that in this world, we strive to elevate and be MiKadesh the mundane. Whatever we do, we recognize that it is for the sake of bringing out Kiddush Shem Shamayim.

The Aishes Chayil enjoys the process. She recognizes what life is all about and has high goals and aspirations, but at the same time she also understands that Hashem wants her to wear nice clothing that will make her feel beautiful to her and her husband. She elevates every activity to make it eternal. She thus lives a most fulfilling and enjoyable life.

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