Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Articles written by Donna Kirshbaum


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  • What Boaz can teach in the age of #MeToo

    Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum Rabbi Richard Hirsh|May 22, 2020

    (JTA)-"I have ordered the men not to molest you." (Ruth 2:9) With these words, Boaz, the wealthy landowner, tells Ruth, the destitute Moabite, a stranger in Bethlehem, that she is not only free to glean in his fields and to gather what the reapers may drop, but that she will be safe while doing so. Although Ruth does not work for Boaz, her situation is not unlike that of women today who depend for their livelihoods on men with power. As such, the Book of Ruth-which is read on Shavuot, the...

  • What sex in traditional Shavuot reading can teach today's teens

    Donna Kirshbaum|Jun 10, 2016

    OMER, Israel (JTA)—As Jews, we tend to pride ourselves on our tradition’s values and how we pass them on to future generations; values such as education, tzedakah, loving the stranger, pursuing justice and tikkun olam, “repair of the world.” But if you were to start a conversation today with a teenager, would you be ready to articulate Jewish values related to dating and sexuality? Several such values can be gleaned straight from the Book of Ruth customarily read during the holiday of Shavuot, which begins this year on the evening of June 11...