Book of ruth

Motherhood as a metaphor: The role of women as facilitators - opinion

Life is extremely imperfect and challenging; the goal of the individual must be to overcome adversity and sorrow to achieve meaning for oneself and for others, whoever they may be.

 An illustrative image of a woman with a musical instrument.
 ‘Ruth in Boaz’s Field’ by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld.

Ruth the Moabite, King David’s ancestor, was a righteous convert

 ‘BOAZ AND RUTH’ by Rembrandt, circa 1637-40. Through acts of kindness, dedication, and determination, Ruth becomes the worthy great-grandmother of King David.

Shavuot 2025: Diving into the Book of Ruth, a reminder tradition can grow

 INTERIOR MINISTER Moshe Arbel arrives for a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.

Would Ruth, a convert, be good enough for Israeli citizenship? - opinion


Shavuot: 7 things converts can teach us about Judaism

Just as our sages learned about Jewish affirmations from Ruth, so I have found through my work with converts that we can learn much about Judaism from them.

 FOR MANY converts, the original impetus was not actually a Jewish partner. Pictured: Huppa in Cape Town, 1979.

Editor's Notes: Love the convert

As Jews in Israel and around the world read the Book of Ruth during the holiday of Shavuot, it is worth asking how beloved converts truly are today.

 THEN-JEWISH AGENCY CHAIRMAN Natan Sharansky speaks at a protest held outside the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem, in 2016. The signs read ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ and ‘Judaism without coercion.’

Ruth's quiet revolution and what we can do - opinion

This heart-warming positive and optimistic storyline describes a dynamic affirmed by research and experience. Acts of kindness and generosity are, indeed, contagious.

 SUPPLYING FOOD to the needy: Chessed is kindness and goodness beyond measure, beyond what may be required, or different from what might appear to be required.

On Jewish hubris and Jewish pride - opinion

intermarriage is a phenomenon that is one painful by-product of Jewish integration into the broader, multi-cultural society that has surrounded us.

 AN IDF officer salutes, at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, in front of a statue of Mordechai Anielewicz, commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the kibbutz’s old, destroyed water tower, as the nationwide siren to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day sounds, in 2011.

‘Your nation is my nation’: Reading the Book of Ruth - opinion

Ruth’s declaration are an important primary source for the validity of conversion to Judaism and its requirements.

 THE LATE Rabbi Ovadia Yosef teaches a lesson at his home in Jerusalem, 2013. The rabbi ruled that in most cases a declaration of Jewish status is all that is required of olim, and investigations are not halachically necessary.

How Christians are blessing Israel after the 'rapture'

Opinion: There are many ways that Christians can support Israel even after their deaths, the author explains.

 Anne Graham Lotz and Jonathan Feldstein

Second Nurture: Learning lessons on adoption from Ruth

What better place than a strong, loving, community like synagogues for a young person who needs a family?

"As a society we generally look at adoption as a way to fulfill the desire of an adult to be a parent, especially when a biological child is not a likely option.​"

The Book of Ruth: The tale of King David's ancestry is a taste of perfection

Long before science fiction contemplated revisiting and revising events of former years, the Bible did so, in the Book of Ruth.

‘Ruth in Boaz’s Field’ by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1828.

Shavuot: Lessons learned from the Book of Ruth

This narrative has uncanny resonance and meaning in the world seized by global pandemic. The world that was, has been forced into a transformation through what is best described as a rite of passage.

‘Ruth in Boaz’s Field’ by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1828.