Co-Sponsored by Congregation Ner Shalom and Congregation Shomrei Torah.

In the Book of Ruth, the companion text for the holiday of Shavuot, Ruth the Moabite famously pledges her loyalty to her Israelite mother-in-law Naomi, saying, “Where you go, I will go. Where you lodge I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God, my God.”

In this ancient story we learn about love, loyalty, and welcoming the stranger. We observe something about how people from different backgrounds and world views can meet meaningfully. And we learn about taking a risk and committing to the path that calls us, even in the hardest of times.

On this traditional night of non-traditional learning, we will be joined by many of our favorite teachers. We will explore themes suggested by the Book of Ruth, and leave with a renewed sense of commitment to our next steps in this painful world.

There is no charge to attend. However, registration is required.

6:00 PM
Opening Ritual
Rabbi Irwin Keller and Julie Batz

6:30 pM
Sacred Risk: Faith, Courage, and Covenant in Biblical Texts
Rabbi Jeremy Morrison

The Book of Ruth highlights that risk and reward are essential components of covenantal relationships. In this session, we will utilize Ruth’s commitment to Naomi (“Wherever you go; I’ll go . . . .” {Ruth 1:16]”) as a framework for explorations of several additional biblical scenes of risk-taking including Hannah’s interactions with Eli in the Temple at Shiloh (1 Sam.1) the Binding of Isaac (Gen. 22), and when Pharaoh’s daughter saves Moses (Ex. 2). What were biblical writers seeking to impart to their contemporaneous audiences? What can we learn from these ancient stories about the risk/reward of living in covenant today?

7:30 pM
In Ruth’s Footsteps: Widowhood—Loss, Loneliness, and Renewal
Rabbi Diane Elliot

All three of the women figures in the Book of Ruth suffer the pain of widowhood in a culture where women’s safety and position were dependent upon their marital status. Each deals with the loss in her own way; ultimately, this tale of grief becomes one of messianic redemption.

What does our tradition teach us about the vulnerabilities and potencies of widowhood? What is shattered and what possibilities open as one grapples with this new state of being? We’ll explore these questions through biblical and rabbinic texts, contemporary poetry, and the heart of our own experience.

7:30 PM
The Book of Ruth: Refructification and Renewal
Shoshana Fershtman, JD, PhD, Jungian Analyst

An exploration of the mythic motifs of the Book of Ruth based on the work of American-Israeli Jungian analyst Yehezkiel Kluger (z”l). 

As the Book of Ruth opens, the land of Israel is in drought due to the patriarchal rulership of Judges and the steady decline of the Sacred Feminine, the eros and sacred wellspring that sustains all life. Naomi and Ruth meet in the land of Moab, where the Sacred Feminine is still revered. When they return to the land of Israel, Ruth enters into union with Boaz, carrier of the Masculine that is centered in the sacred. When these energies come back into balance, the land is refructified and life is renewed for the good, opening the way for Moshiach consciousness.

8:30 pM
Still Becoming: The Spiritual Work of Not Having It Together
Reb Mia Zimman and Nicole Novach

Between school calendars, work, laundry, and the constant return to what needs care, most of us are living in the middle of things—unfinished, uncertain, still becoming.

The Omer invites us to stay with that in-between time, counting the days between Passover and Shavuot—not as a rush toward arrival, but as a practice of bringing attention to what is here. What do we return to each day? What shapes us over time? 

Join us for a reflective session exploring the Omer as a practice of becoming—staying in relationship with what matters, even when we don’t have it all together.

9:30 PM
Holding onto Radical Compassion in an Uncertain World
Rose Aslan

We’ll explore the Book of Ruth through the lens of compassion, looking for where it shows up even when it seems too hard. We’ll draw upon Islamic and Jewish teachings and then move into embodiment practices to feel how that compassion lands in our bodies.

9:30 PM
Crossing Over: What We Leave Behind, a conversation
Doron Hovav

When Ruth follows Naomi into an unfamiliar land, she doesn’t just cross a border. She leaves behind her gods, her family, her people. This conversation uses her story as a lens to explore what immigrants leave behind: culture, identity, status, belonging, and the version of themselves that only existed back home.

10:30 pM
Rabbi Irwin Keller
Finding Ourselves in Torah: a Queer Look in the Book

The story of the bond between Ruth and Naomi is famously a spot where queer people have seen themselves in Torah. Though not always explicit, there are characters and moments in Torah texts that keep grabbing our attention. Are we just projecting or is Torah inviting us to see ourselves reflected? Can we cultivate a way of reading Torah that honors our own lived experience and that connects us to the energetics of the ancestors? Be prepared to say hello to Ruth, Naomi, David, Jonathan, Joseph, and others unnamed.

11:30 pM
Closing Ritual
Rabbi Irwin Keller and Lia Goldman Miller

And join us tomorrow at noon for our Shavuot Tish with two in-person sessions, taught by Barbara Lesch McCaffry and Rabbi Irwin. And cheesecake!