Ruth, Book

How the mistaken exchange of the letter gimel for a vav corrupted the meaning of a key verse in Ruth

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

The agricultural allocations for the poor outlined in Leviticus and Deuteronomy are a series of negative commandments, in which God forbids Israelite householders from gathering some of their produce and requires them to leave it for the poor. The rabbis took these laws a step further, granting the poor property rights over the allocations even before they are gathered.