AS: What was your goal in writing The Eishes Chayil Yamim Noraim Treasury?

DW: My goal was to provide women of all ages the opportunity to tap into the inspiration, greatness, and beauty of the Yamim Noraim through divrei Torah, explanations of customs, uplifting stories, and practical insights, and to show the unique and significant role women play. For someone to be able to open up the sefer to any page and find an inspiring message that can move them along their path of growth. 

AS: It’s often hard for mothers taking care of young children to feel connected to the Yamim Noraim. Any advice for them?

DW: Rav Eliyahu Lopian said that women who are home on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, caring for their children, do not require lengthy tefillos in order for their tefillos to be accepted. Hashem designed for them a special pipeline that carries their tefillos directly to Him. They may not have many hours to daven, but they are connected to that special pipeline. Mothers should remember that caring for their children is an act of chessed that can be performed only by them. As soldiers in Hashem’s army, we understand that everyone has different duties and responsibilities, and each and every one of us serves a unique and vital purpose.

AS: Can you share a brief, inspiring story with us?

DW: Chaya Salomon was a teacher in the Noam Meiri school in Lod, Israel. She was beloved by her students and was taken from us in a terrorist shooting in 2017. At the end of each school year, Morah Chaya would send the following message with her students’ report cards:

When I give out report cards at the end of the school year, I’m always reminded of another report card, the one given by our Father in Heaven. Instead of the regular subjects and test grades, Hashem gives grades in the following subjects — friendliness, patience, understanding, love, kindness, responsibility, humility, gratitude. This report card is more important than any other grade. Life is so busy that we sometimes forget that having good middos is the real test in life.

Rosh Hashanah is the day that Hashem gives each of us our individual report cards. Let us take a lesson from Morah Chaya to ensure that we are focusing on what are truly priority in life: middos, tefillah, and working to live a more elevated and meaningful life.  

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