Each Friday night, as the family gathers around the Shabbat table, we sing “Eshet Chayil,” the ode of the Jewish woman.
“Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain,” we declare in its closing.
What exactly does that mean?
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, his son Rabbi Elazar, and the Rebbe each provide a message of encouragement to the Jewish people. The inspiration begins with the Talmud, continues through the Zohar, and receives a new layer of insight through the teachings of Chassidism.