Given the Jewish people's history of persecution and the inherited trauma that seems built into our DNA, it might seem strange that anyone might want to join our tribe of their own free will. While people have been converting to Judaism for millennia, the question of how to organically integrate "outsiders" into our communities is still a point of contention in Israel, the U.S. and around the world. There is a tradition that dictates that someone must ask a rabbi three times before they are allowed to begin a conversion process.
Below are excerpts from a famous passage of The Book of Ruth, where Ruth, a Moabite woman, declares her intention to follow her mother-in-law back to her homeland in Judah.
(18) When [Naomi] saw how determined she was to go with her, she ceased to argue with her;
What does Naomi's initial discouragement of the initial offer by her daughters-in-law to join her in Judah reveal about our community's attitudes to Jews by choice? What about Ruth's plea makes her change her mind?
Ruth in the Era of #MeToo
Ruth has often been considered one of the strongest female icons of the Tanakh for both Jews and Christians for her devotion to Naomi, and yet very little attention is often paid to her trajectory once she reaches the Land of Judah.
Below are excerpts from her "courtship" with Naomi's kinsman Boaz.
What does Ruth's initial surprise at his kindness to her as an outsider suggest about the typical treatment of foreigners in Judah? What responsibility do we have to treat people outside of our community with respect?
(13) She answered, “You are most kind, my lord, to comfort me and to speak gently to your maidservant—though I am not so much as one of your maidservants.”