Reading Ruth: Contemporary Women Reclaim a Sacred Story

Jacket Description/Back: In Reading Ruth, thirty contemporary Jewish novelists, essayists, poets, rabbis, psychologists, and scholars - including Cynthia Ozick, Marge Piercy, Francine Klagsbrun, and Nessa Rapoport - explore this biblical work and reclaim it for women on their own terms. In lively essays, poetry, fiction, and personal narrative, a breathtaking gamut of women's experience in the modern world has been brought to bear to illuminate women's connection to the ancient sources. Whether they explore the 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, these extraordinary intellects give voice to the exciting array of thought and interpretation that endows this sacred tale with new life. For Jewish women and all readers who want to probe the deeper levels of an ancient text, and feminists who crave a connection to our spiritual foremothers, Reading Ruth is a fascinating exploration - representing an exciting, innovative, and dynamic encounter between women and the Bible. Jacket Description/Flap: "The Book of Ruth is one of Western civilization's great narratives of women's 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 women's 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 Harvard"The book of Ruth is a gem in its own right. Through Reading Ruth the gem becomes a multifaceted diamond thatreflects and refracts a multiplicity of images.... Read this book."--The Rocky Mountain NewsMarc Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 369-379). Publisher Marketing: In Reading Ruth, thirty contemporary Jewish novelists, essayists, poets, rabbis, psychologists, and scholars - including Cynthia Ozick, Marge Piercy, Francine Klagsbrun, and Nessa Rapoport - explore this biblical work and reclaim it for women on their own terms. In lively essays, poetry, fiction, and personal narrative, a breathtaking gamut of women's experience in the modern world has been brought to bear to illuminate women's connection to the ancient sources. Whether they explore the 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, these extraordinary intellects give voice to the exciting array of thought and interpretation that endows this sacred tale with new life. For Jewish women and all readers who want to probe the deeper levels of an ancient text, and feminists who crave a connection to our spiritual foremothers, Reading Ruth is a fascinating exploration - representing an exciting, innovative, and dynamic encounter between women and the Bible. Publisher Marketing: "The Book of Ruth is one of Western civilization's great narratives of women's 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 women's 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 Harvard"The 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 Review Citations:

Library Journal 10/15/1994 pg. 63 (EAN 9780345380333, Hardcover)

Library Journal 11/15/1994 (EAN 9780345380333, Hardcover)

Wilson Public Library Catalog 01/01/1995 pg. 15 (EAN 9780345380333, Hardcover)

Kirkus Reviews 09/15/1994 pg. 1246 (EAN 9780345380333, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Kates, Judith A Judith A. Kates teaches Hebrew Bible and Jewish interpretive traditions at theRabbinical School of Hebrew College and in many programs of adult learning. She is the coeditor (with Gail Twersky Reimer) of Reading Ruth: ContemporaryWomen Reclaim a Sacred Story and Beginning Anew: A Woman's Companion tothe High Holy Days. Contributor Bio:  Reimer, Gail Twersky Reimer received her Ph. D. in English literature from Rutgers University and is associate director of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.