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May 12, 2015
Why Read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot?
The connection between the two isn't obvious.
On the holiday of Shavuot, which begins this year on May 24, many Jews follow the ancient custom of reading the book of Ruth in the synagogue. The connection between this book and the holiday is not obvious; Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah, while Ruth is the story of a Moabite convert to Judaism who is the ancestress of King David. Micah Goodman argues that the book was chosen to make a point about the connection between the universal and the particular:
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Why Read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot?
The connection between the two isn't obvious.