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.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.