For the information of the US State Department, the European Union and Peace Now: This week we will read again the "subversive" text of the Book of Ruth, which takes place in Bethlehem in Judea - where Ruth, the retired Moabite, raised King David's grandfather and father; 1,000 years before the birth of another Jew, Jesus, in the same place; And thousands of years before Arab migrant workers gathered in Bethlehem and began to invent for themselves a history that never existed.
And for the information of all those who deny our right and want to uproot us from here: From Bethlehem, David slid into the Valley of Ella in order to bring food to his brothers, who were facing a campaign against Goliath and the Philistines. After leaving Bethlehem, David established a capital and kingdom 30 kilometers south, in Hebron, and seven years later established the eternal Jewish capital - Jerusalem. Thus, Bethlehem and the Judean Hills are all the source of our right and vitality in all of Israel.
From here, as every year, we will read the Book of Ruth at home this week, and discover once again how this national-romantic drama, 3,000 years after the events narrated in it, is more current than ever.
The scroll is immersed entirely in love for the people and the land. There is a private, symbolic mini-return to Zion, after the family's descent to Moab became disastrous. Ruth's declaration in the scroll also contains an incomprehensible display of loyalty – "For unto whom you go, I will go, and as far as you go, I will go with you, my people, and your God my God" – and it contains far-reaching rewards, expressed in a fate that benefits Ruth.
A message of human love
Not to mention the love of man, which is at the base of the events of the Megillah – Boaz's gratitude and generosity, even when he is first exposed to the poor foreign young woman gathering crops in his field, and later when he falls in love with her and raises her to the top of his joy. But there is a great deal of depth in the scroll that touches on controversial issues that cast a shadow over the current politically correct world.
It's a scroll named after a woman, Ruth, and its two wonderful main characters are women. A scroll that definitely conveys messages of feminism and female power. The two embody paragons of wisdom and perseverance, climbing from underworld to personal and national summit.
In addition, the four chapters of the scroll radiate from an embracing, tolerant, enlightening Judaism. Ruth did not undergo a proper conversion in Sde Moab or in the rabbinical court in Bethlehem. So much so, that according to the frowning and far-reaching code of current Orthodoxy, the entire dynasty of the House of David should not be considered Jewish.
And it should not be forgotten that the messages of the Book of Ruth were not written by chance. Scholars believe that the scroll was written down 500 years later. This was precisely against the backdrop of the fierce debate in which some of the leaders of the time demanded the expulsion of non-Jewish women who married Jews, even though they had joined the Jewish people in their faith.
The Book of Ruth presents an embracing and inclusive approach, which welcomes those who wish to join it while adopting their faith and ways. This is the Book of Ruth - current events from then until today.
And above all - this is a moving love story, a magical move, taking place during the harvest period in the Judean Hills. Story.
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