For Generations to Come

by Jill Maidhof

I don’t know what it’s like in your neck of the woods, but in Kansas it’s SUMMERTIME! I hope that you’re enjoying the sunshine and getting enough rain to nourish your garden – and enough Chai Mitzvah to nourish your need for meaningful conversations and fellowship. 

I’d like to share a discussion my group had about the book of Ruth last month. After reading the text provided in the Chai Mitzvah Sourcebook, someone asked, “but what happened to Ruth after her son was born?”

“Ruth, Naomi, and Obed,” by Simeon Solomon

After reading the text provided in the Chai Mitzvah Sourcebook, someone asked,
“but what happened to Ruth after her son was born?”

Together we found an English version of the Book of Ruth and were taken aback to read that 16Naomi took the child [Ruth’s son] and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.17 And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying there is a son born to Naomi…..”

We discovered that after bearing a son, Ruth’s name disappears from the text. This led to a fascinating discussion: Was Ruth merely a means to an end so that after a son was born to carry on the family line she was discarded? Could it be that it was necessary to emphasize Naomi’s relationship to King David because she was born Jewish while Ruth was “merely” a convert? If this was the case, was Ruth truly accepted as a member of the tribe? On the other hand, was it simply the custom of the day to defer to elders when a child is born? 

True to Jewish tradition, our discussion left us with more questions than answers, but the point is this: it never was our goal to ferret out the facts. As distinct from the many excellent educational programs now available online and in person, Chai Mitzvah’s mission is not to enhance Jewish literacy, but rather to build strong Jewish communities. 

We’ve seen how small groups become caring self-contained communities, and they’re just the start. We urge each member to strengthen local Jewish organizations and affinity groups by taking advantage of the wonderful programs that those groups offer: learn something Jewish! Experience a new Jewish ritual! Do a mitzvah! Together and one step at a time, we can create robust  Jewish communities for generations to come.