dead husband— to keep his name alive in the only possible way. That is what we call“ true ḥesed”— the kind that cannot be repaid. Ruth migrated out of selflessness.
Recommended reading:
• Julia Kristeva, Strangers to Ourselves, trans. Leon S. Roudiez( New York: Columbia University Press, 1991), esp. chap. 3.
• Ilana Pardes, Ruth: A Migrant’ s Tale( New Haven- London: Yale University Press, 2022).
Dr. Ed Greenstein is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Bar-Ilan University. His annotated translation of the Book of Job( Yale University Press) has been widely acclaimed.
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