Reading Ruth: Contemporary Women Reclaim a Sacred Story

by Judith A. Kates (Editor), Gail Twersky Reimer (Editor)

"The Book of Ruth is one of Western civilization's great narratives of women's relationships. This collection of modern-day interpretations brings together the wisdom, sensitivity, and spirituality of the biblical story with the struggles and insights of contemporary women. Readers will be moved and inspired by these essays."
--Susannah Heschel
Editor of On Being a Jewish Feminist

With Reading Ruth, two creative scholars have brought together an amazingly eclectic group of Jewish novelists, essayists, poets, rabbis, psychologists, and scholars--including Cynthia Ozick, Marge Piercy, Francine Klagsbrun, and Nessa Rapoport--to explore one of the most beloved stories in the Bible. In lively essays, poetry, fiction, and personal narrative, the gamut of women's experience in the modern world is illuminated by this ancient story. Whether the essayists explore relationships between sisters, the complex bond between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the place of the "other" in society, the heartache of loss, the limitations of loyalty, or the elaborate connections of family, they give voice to an exciting array of thought and interpretation that endows this sacred tale with new life.

"[A] rich, diverse, and thought-provoking collection."
--Judith Plaskow
Author of Standing Again at Sinai

"Filled with passion, humor, insight, and just the right combination of irreverence and awe, Reading Ruth puts the Book of Ruth right where it belongs--in the hands of women. All of us are the richer for it."
--Ari L. Goldman
Author of The Search for God at Harvard

"The book of Ruth is a gem in its own right. Through Reading Ruth the gem becomes a multifaceted diamond that reflects and refracts a multiplicity of images....Read this book."
--The Rocky Mountain News

Genres: Jewish, Womens, Judaism, Judaica, Nonfiction

386 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 1994

Reviews

[Margaret Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A disclaimer. Judith Kates was a professor of mine at Hebrew College. She was one of the readers of my master's thesis on Rebecca. She is a great scholar and a feminist. This book is a large compilation of articles on Ruth. I began reading last year in preparation for Shavuot where it is traditional to read the Book of Ruth and I was doing an evening on Ruth as the Tikkun Leil Shavuot study session. I did not find what I was looking for in that particular reading. My question then was how does this Moabite woman "convert" and then become the ancestor of King David and maybe the Messiah. What are the implications for us today?

Nonetheless, I knew it was a book I would return to. It is the kind of book to leisurely dip a toe into, and then come back to again and again, every year, increasing our understanding of Ruth and of women in general. It is jam-packed with articles, poetry, short stories, Biblical research, Midrash, new interpretations. My only complaint--there is so much material and not a great index so it is hard to find things. No, not a research book. Rather a book to savor slowly over time.

[Tova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting takes on Megillat Ruth.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rabbi Noa Kushner of The Kitchen in San Francisco recommended this book to me to help me prepare a reading for the unveiling ceremony of my wife's gravestone. It was, as she hoped, very helpful, but more than that, a fascinating book in its own right. Many points of view, some of which related to the biblical Book of Ruth, were well represented.

[pianogal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one b/c it was from a Jewish perspective. I didn't like this one b/c it got a little too academic at times and there was a lot of repetition across the different articles. Not bad, just dense.

[Laura Boudreau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting stories, a lot of repetition.

[Chava · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a raffle 9 years ago, and I kept it on the shelf with the "Shavuos" material, but never really got to it because I was reading book about Counting the Omer. I finally started this one a little before Shavuos, and it took me almost a month to finish this collections of essays. Some I really enjoyed and related to, others, like the Lesbian overtones in the Story of Ruth, were not really my cup of tea. I'm glad I read the book - several well-known others and scholars, like Cynthia Ozick and Avivah Zornberg, provided insightful commentary and observations. I liked the different takes on who the "star" of the story is - not necessarily Ruth, even though the Megillah bears her name. Also notable, it is one of the few books of the bible that women play such a big role and where their conversations are recorded.

[Cyberpope · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful collection of essays, poems, stories, etc., by a group of women reading/interpreting the Bible's book of Ruth. They are seeking to show that women can do exegesis, too. It's so nice to get the female perspective on this well-known historical romance(or so the traditional(ie male) interpretation); These women see to focus more on the deep woman-to-woman friendship than the later romance aspects. . .

I found it interesting how the insights I heard from my Sunday School class of 8-10 year olds are so similar to the women's POV! (innocence keeps it real? & a truer empathy does likewise?)

[Lsilberman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The views were various. One writer posited a lesbian relationship between Naomi and Ruth. Another pointed out that Naomi may have been expecting more support from family and/or friends when she returned home--instead, she ended up as a beggar, like anyone else without resources. Yet another was disappointed that, in the final analysis, the Book of Ruth isn't really about Ruth at all--it's just an "Origin-of-the-Hero" story (in this case, about King David). And there were those who defended Orpah's decision to remain in Moav. I'm sorry that I didn't take notes. I would certainly recommend this book.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

there's only so many interpretations of ruth you can read in one sitting.... but when you space out how often you pick it up, the commentaries are thought provoking and insightful. it might take me awhile to actually finish this one....perhaps one chapter per day of shavuot?

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed these thought provoking essays, even the ones I disagreed with. Many of the authors brought me to a new understanding of the Book of Ruth, deepening my appreciation of the Biblical tale.

[Deborah Kick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting takes on the Book of Ruth - poems, essays, and more.

[Allison/kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

An academic and personal examination of the Biblical book of Ruth. I like the different interpretations.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with any collection of essays, some are better than others. There were a number in here that I really liked.