The Human Side of Shavuot

Mothers-in-law have a bad reputation. They are frequently the butt of comedians' jokes, and are portrayed as constantly suspicious of the spouses their children have unwisely chosen.

A mother-in-law worries her son's shrewish wife will not adequately feed or take care of the "beloved young prince." Or a mother-in-law may fear her brilliant beautiful princess-like daughter has chosen an undeserving lout for a husband. In the face of such hostility, what are kind generous mothers-in-law (they really do exist!) to do?

Fortunately, the upcoming Jewish festival of Shavuot (the Hebrew word for "Weeks"), observed this year on next Friday and Saturday, provides a positive response to this vexing question. That's because a mother-in-law is the heroine of Ruth, the biblical book that is read by Jews on the holiday.

Shavuot is best known as the spring festival commemorating the moment in history when God gave the Torah—the Hebrew Bible—to Moses on Mount Sinai seven weeks and one day following the Exodus from Egypt. It was a time of thunder and lightning, a truly awesome moment in religious history.

But it is Ruth, a charming and carefully crafted short story of only four chapters, that always grabs my attention because it focuses on Naomi, a loving mother-in-law. Ruth is a poignant pastoral tale of loss, love and, ultimately, redemption; a work filled with what we moderns like to call "family values."

The book begins with the Israelite widow, Naomi, living east of the River Jordan with her two sons who have married Moabite women: Orpah and Ruth. Sadly, the two husbands also die leaving Naomi alone with her non-Israelite daughters-in-law. Starting a story with a trio of widows usually spells sadness and gloom, but this is not the case with the sunlit book of Ruth.

Naomi, having lost the three most important men in her life and without much hope for a grandchild, plans to return home and rejoin her Israelite people in Bethlehem. Naomi laments she is too old to bear any more sons for the young widows to marry, and she urges Orpah and Ruth to go back to their mothers' homes and let "God deal kindly with you."

Continued on page 2: Ancient ties to family and the seasons' turning... »