Redemption After Loss

This year we are welcoming Shavuot in a time of loss. So much of our experience since Purim has been marked by loss and grief: loss of friends and relatives, loss of financial stability, loss of community and ritual celebration. We are used to gathering together on Shavuot, studying God’s Torah together, even staying up all night together. Not this year—another loss. We receive Torah anew on Shavuot, but we also read the story of Ruth on Shavuot. This year, Ruth’s story of redemption after loss is a poignant reminder that our people and the world has suffered before, and nevertheless has transitioned away from a state of seemingly permanent grief and loss to one of unexpected redemption.