"Woman of Valor who can find ? She is worth much more than rubies"...
(Proverbs 31)
The last chapter in the book of Proverbs is a praise of the good wife, a definition of a perfect wife or "ideal woman" in the nation of Israel, who is an industrious housewife, a shrewd businesswoman, an enterprising trader, a generous benefactor and a wise teacher. Traditionally it has been translated "virtuous" or "noble". Some scholars have suggested that it rather means "forceful" or "mighty”.
Many religious Jewish families recite “Woman of Valor” as part of the Friday evening ceremony of receiving the Sabbath and thank in this way to the mother of the house for all her work. Many times, people who are not familiar with Jewish Orthodox life, feel sorry for the woman who gets married by ‘match making’ and in the age of 35 has already 7 or more children. It is very important to understand that most of these women are proud of their big family. They see it as their destiny and duty and receive a lot of love and recognition from their community. Every Jewish woman knows that without her, there would not be a strong Jewish home. There are exceptions, of-course, women who wish for a different way of life. I am sure some of you saw movies about this subject.
I am not a feminist. This post is not a manifest about equal rights demands for women or anything of the kind. As a woman, wife and a mother, I want to relate to some of the aspects of ‘womanhood’ in Israel, and mention some of the impressive women whom I have met during my work as a tour-guide.
As a young girl growing up in a farming village, I was very much a “Tomboy”. Climbed on trees, wrestled with the boys and lead imaginary armies of good against evil. I was inspired by the prophetess Deborah and other courageous women in the Bible. Never played with dolls but used to go with my father to watch ‘Westerns’ in the club house of the village.
It was obvious that when it is time for me to go to the Army, I will become an officer. I served three years in the Air-force and two more years in the paratroopers. My father was proud of me. For me, as for many Israeli women, there was an uncut long chain connection with the fearless Biblical women.
Another aspect that is driving the young Israeli girls to be proud of their military service, is the tragic story of the Jewish people during the 2nd World War, the Holocaust. Israeli girls are being thought from young age to fight, to excel, to make a difference.
Women have it in their nature to feel close to other women. I call it ‘bundling’… Women feel comfortable to turn to a strange woman in the street to comment about her unique dress and ask her where she bought it… Men are individuals. Often, during my guiding years, the women in the group got together in sort of unspoken kinship. This kinship, in my opinion, is a kinship of strength and common interests, not a kinship of being discriminated against.
Still, in Israel we find women who are fighting to break the glass ceiling. Mostly in the Muslim society and low social economic segments of the society. As we all know, the key to achieve goals and understanding almost in every aspect of life, is education. In the Arab society in Israel, we see more and more women who seek education and naturally lead the changes in the traditional and religious society. The Muslims can marry more than one wife and in the poor Bedouin villages in the Negev desert in south Israel, the women are struggling to better their lives. It is a long and difficult process, but the change can already be seen.
One of the projects I was impressed by, is the Bedouin Embroidery project where I became good friend with Huda, mother of four and a leading member of the organization.
Read more about the Bedouin women embroidery project - https://desert-embroidery.org/
There are many women who touched my life and inspired me, but when I want to choose one who for me is the essence of the Israeli woman, I choose Rona Ramon.
Rona Ramon's life was plagued by tragedy. Her husband Ilan Ramon, an Israeli Air Force pilot who took part in the bombing of Iraq's unfinished Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, was killed in the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003. Their son, Capt. Assaf Ramon, also an IAF pilot, was killed in a training accident in 2009 and Rona decided to bury him near his father. Ramon channeled her grief into a series of social projects. She founded the Ramon Foundation, which strives to provide the young Israeli generation with "academic excellence, social leadership and groundbreaking courage." She also worked for years to promote youth and children in Israel.
Ramon, who researched the different manners with which people cope with loss, gave lectures and workshops, and treated individuals for years, using her personal story as an example and inspiration to many.
I met Rona Ramon during the week of her husband’s funeral. She chose to berry him in a small cemetery overlooking the Jezre’el valley where there is also an airbase.
The background photo of my website was taken from the hill where the cemetery is located. I often call this valley 'The Cradle of Pioneering' because of the stories of the early settling of the land by the Israelites
took place there as well as the first Zionist 19th century first establishments. Many founders and leaders of this country are buried there, including former General Moshe Dayan. The Ramon family lived on the airbase for couple of years and Ilan loved to fly over it. At the time of the Colombia crash in 2003, I was working as a Managing Director of the Regional Council Tourist Board, and I was asked to escort the delegation of NASA astronauts who came for the funeral. I still keep the STS-107 pin I was given by Rona. I remember her sad smile but was already then impressed by her special spirit.
Since then, I occasionally took small groups of tourists to that small and tranquil cemetery where Ilan Ramon and his son, Asaf are buried side by side.
Rona Ramon died of cancer on December 17, 2018 at the age of 54. She left orders to her three remaining children not to attend the funeral. Her body was cremated and put in a gar near the graves of her husband and son. I go there sometimes.
On Independence Day 2016, Rona Ramon was among the 12 honored torchbearers at the annual ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
The theme of 'Woman of Valor' followed me also when guiding Christian groups. One of my favorite churches, is the 'Church of Visitation' in Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, where the summer house of Elizabeth and Zacharias was. Pregnant Mary came to visit her cousin, Elisabeth and only then, Elizabeth found out that she is pregnant with John. A miracle because she was not young at all and the couple gave up on having children.
"And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost." (Luke 1; 39-42)
The church is a Catholic church owned by the Franciscans. It was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi
and the modern building was completed in 1955.
I like this church because it is beautifully decorated with feminine scenes. In the upper level of the church there are amazing wall paintings depicting various women from both the Old and New Testaments. A huge image of a women on top o the globe is a symbol of motherhood, and every woman who visits this church feels something special.
Another favorite visiting site in Jerusalem is the Austrian Hospice in the Old City.
The Austrian Hospice was founded in 1854 as an ecclesiastical foundation by the then Archbishop of Vienna, to whom the institution still belongs today. Emperor Franz Joseph is also considered one of our founding fathers. In 1869 Franz Joseph was in fact a guest at our venerable house.
The building, standing behind a closed brown door in the corner of Via Dolorosa and Al-Wad street, serves a hostel for pilgrims and a center for social and cultural work, aiming to bring peace to all religions living side by side in Jerusalem. It has a breath taking roof-top look-out and a Vienna style coffee shop, where you can sit in the garden and enjoy a nice cup of coffee with apple 'Strudel" and whipped cream. The sister who ran the coffee-shop, sister Benedict, always welcomes me with a big smile and I practice my poor German language with her. Make sure you visit this place next time you are in Jerusalem. It's a pearl.
If you stayed with me in this long post, I want to finish with a short video clip that was made for a special tour I initiated and guided for women leaders of churches. The name of the program was of-course: "Women of Valor"
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