Stylistically, the book of Ruth is unlike any other book in Scripture; even the talmudic rabbis were moved to ask why it should be considered part of the canon. Adele Berlin argues that its major themes are in fact deeply tied to those underlying the Tanakh as a whole: God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants, His promise to give them the land of Israel, the development of Abraham’s family into the Jewish people, their settlement in and possession of the land, and their exile and return. She writes:

The book of Ruth, too, is about exile and return, land and people. Like Abraham, and like the family of Jacob, the family of Elimelekh was forced by famine to leave its home in the land of Israel and to preserve itself in a foreign land. When the famine abates, Naomi, [the wife of the now-deceased Elimelekh], returns to Bethlehem. Far from being a casual move, the importance of returning is emphasized in the first chapter by the repetition of the root shuv, “return,” twelve times as Naomi bids her daughters-in-law [Ruth and Orpah] return to their families in Moab and as she returns to Judah with Ruth. . . .

Land [likewise] plays a large role in the book of Ruth. First, Ruth establishes a physical connection with her newly adopted land as she gleans in Boaz’s field. Second, and more complicated, Naomi offers for sale or redemption a parcel of land that once belonged to her husband, Elimelekh. . . .

However, the family and people part of the covenant theme is more prominent than the land part in the book of Ruth. At first it would seem that the ties that bind Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah [the widow of Naomi’s other son] after the deaths of their husbands do not make them a family in any customary sense. [Yet] Ruth’s poetic words [to Naomi], “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge,” are rightly famous, both for their beauty of expression and for their sentiment.

“Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” is a radical thought because it signals that Ruth is changing her identity in a world where that was almost inconceivable. The ancient world had no mechanism for religious conversion or change of citizenship; the very notion was unthinkable. . . . But from Ruth’s point of view, she is becoming an Israelite. She is joining herself to Naomi not only on the private family level, but also on the national peoplehood level.

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.