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
,
,
Whom does this law address?
Prof. Rabbi
Marty Lockshin
,
,
Dr. Rabbi
Shmuly Yanklowitz
,
,
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.
Dr.
Gregg E. Gardner
,
,
An attempt to control the disparity between the rich and the poor and create a righteous society
Prof.
Yairah Amit
,
,
Men and women are prohibited from wearing each other’s clothes (Deuteronomy 22:5). What is the motivation behind this law, and why is this behavior “abhorrent to YHWH”?
Dr.
Hilary Lipka
,
,
