Reading Ruth: Contemporary Women Reclaim a Sacred Story

The Book of Ruth is one of Western civilizations great narratives of womens 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 FeministWith 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 womens 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 HarvardThe 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