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Ruth

Ruth the Moabite Breaks a Pattern of Seduction

Lot’s older daughter gets him drunk and conceives the forefather of the Moabites. Tamar, Boaz’s foremother, conceals her identity from her father-in-law, Judah, to bear his child. Although Naomi encourages Ruth to seduce Boaz, Ruth reveals her identity to him, thereby correcting the legacy of her foremothers, including that of the daughters of the Moabites, who seduced the Israelites into apostasy.

Dr.

Gili Kugler

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The Book of Ruth: A Serious Comedy

The story has a comic undergirding as Naomi and Ruth teach the staid patriarch Boaz a humanitarian lesson.

Prof.

Nehama Aschkenasy

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The Dark Side of the Book of Ruth: Sexual Harassment in the Field

When Boaz sees Ruth gleaning in the field, and learns who she is, he offers her protection from his own workers’ predatory behavior, giving us a glimpse at what poor women, gleaning in the field, had to contend with.

Prof.

Jonathan Rabinowitz

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The Book of Ruth: When Bad Things Happen to Good People

With its sensitively portrayed characters and quotidian contexts, the story of Ruth and Naomi underscores questions about the good path in life, the choices we make, and especially the role of the deity who controls all. The narrative also touches upon a wide array of issues concerning gender, economic deprivation, the status of the migrant, and other matters.

Prof.

Susan Niditch

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The Book of Ruth? It’s Naomi’s Story

Despite its name in tradition, the story revolves around Naomi—her feelings and her needs.

Prof.

Adele Reinhartz

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The Substance of Kinship: How Ruth the Moabite Became a Daughter in Judah

Ruth’s consumption of barley and wheat gleaned from the field of Boaz was an integral step in her transformation from a “foreigner” who arrived from the fields of Moab to a “daughter” in Judah.

Prof.

Cynthia Chapman

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Megillat Ruth: When Kindness Conflicts with Torah

A tale of chesed and chutzpah

Prof. Rabbi

Tamara Cohn Eskenazi

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Naomi’s Bitter Poem

A look at Naomi’s theology, as expressed in her poem, and how it carries her through her grief and back into productive engagement.

Prof. Rabbi

Jonathan Magonet

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Ralbag’s Surprising Take on Ruth's Conversion

Prof.

Menachem Kellner

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Book of Ruth: Achieving Justice Through Narrative

The book of Ruth presents a different model of justice from that afforded by statute, custom, and precedent, one that seeks restorative as opposed to retributive justice.[1]  

Prof. Rabbi

Pamela Barmash

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