‘Ruth’ is a little street in Tel Aviv, nested near Dizengoff Square and off the other little streets named after Biblical heroines such as ‘Esther HaMalka.’ Both Ruth and Esther were immigrants, and so it’s appropriate that the Ministry of Absorbtion for new immigrants should be located here.
While Esther was a covert Jew, Ruth was the most famous convert to Judaism in history. As a Moabite, she was explicitly forbidden to marry an Israelite, but nevertheless she became the great-grandmother of King David.
Jews read the Book of Ruth during the holiday of Shavuot. Today we hear Linda Zisquit’s lively translation of the first chapter, which for at least two years was placed on banners over Chen Boulevard in Tel Aviv between Passover and Shavuot.
Text:
The Book of Ruth – Introduction and free translation by Linda Zisquit
Music:
Michael Levy – King David’s Lyre, Echoes of Ancient Israel
Ayelet Ori Benita – Cycles
Photo: ‘Ruth and the Harvest,’ Illustrated by Ismar David, Jewish Publication Society, [1977].
