What makes the Book of Ruth one of the most beloved texts in the Jewish canon — and what does it have to say about the choices we face in our own lives?

Dr. Raizi Chechik — founding Director of the Pava Center for Women’s Torah Scholarship at Yeshiva University (https://go.yu.edu/pava), Community Scholar at The Jewish Center of Manhattan, and veteran Jewish educator who has taught in over one hundred communities across the globe — offers a fresh and compelling reading of Megillat Ruth. She reveals what makes it unique in all of Tanach: a story with genuine heroes, but no villains at all. Every character stands at a crossroads — not between good and evil, but between the understandable human impulse to look out for oneself and the transcendent capacity to live for others. Their choices, she shows, are a mirror for our own, and offer inspiration at this crossroads in Jewish history which demands more of every individual. 

Part 3 of our 3-part Shavuot series on Jewish Insights with Justin Pines, made possible by Micah Philanthropies, Ann and Jeremy Pava, Trustees (https://www.micahphilanthropies.org/).

JFNA CEO Eric Fingerhut and Secure Community Network Director Michael Masters discuss Jewish security, the recent Michigan synagogue attack, and the role of federal funding in protecting Jewish institutions. With Teisha Bader.

Eric Goldman sits with Gaylen Ross and Carol King, filmmakers behind Sapiro v. Ford, the true story of a young Jewish lawyer who took on one of America’s most notorious antisemites, the automotive titan Henry Ford.

Abby is joined by author Jenna Weissman Joselit to discuss her groundbreaking new biography of radical thinker Mordecai Kaplan, who reinvented Judaism for modern America. The book, "Mordecai M. Kaplan: Restless Soul," delves deep into the fascinating contradictions that drove one of twentieth-century Judaism's leading luminaries to create a new way of looking at an old faith by "reconstructing" it.

JBS Journalist Micah Halpern discusses how this year’s Passover will be different from all other Passovers—this and more on this episode of "Thinking Out Loud" on JBS.

David Harris recounts the harrowing stories of two recent "Exoduses" of the Jewish people: the Ethiopian Jews dramatically leaving Ethiopia for Israel, and the Soviet Jews making their triumphant escape from the Soviet Union to make new homes around the world, primarily in Israel.  David also revisits his own memories of his involvement in both of these situations.

Robert Siegel is joined by Chuck Freilich, former Israeli Deputy National Security Adviser, and Roya Hakakian of the Middle East Broadcasting Network to examine the current Iran conflict and what may lie ahead.

Montana Tucker joins a can’t-miss lineup in this final session, featuring Jonathan Greenblatt in conversations with Scott Galloway, Bob and Nancy Milgrim and Pamela Nadell, along with a live recording of Dan Senor’s podcast with Masih Alinejad.

Executive Producer Lenny Gold joins Teisha Bader once again to discuss the reception of his film, "Blind Spot," a groundbreaking documentary which exposes campus antisemitism before and after October 7, through the testimony of students, officials, and experts.

Broadway impresario Seth Rudetsky speaks with Abigail Pogrebin about his post-10/7 activism and the painful silence he witnessed from much of the Broadway community as Jewish suffering went unacknowledged.

JBS Journalist Micah Halpern offers his perspective on the complex reality for Jews living under the Iranian regime today—this and more on this episode of "Thinking Out Loud" on JBS.