The Shavuot readings reveals the Bible not merely as a divine code but as a call to love, loyalty, humility, and active kindness, embodied by Ruth, the “foreign” woman who becomes the heart of Israel. In recent days, media outlets and Telegram channels have cited the book’s opening verse: “And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land.” These words carry a historical, societal, and political message for Israel today—a warning that the nation’s judges, its legal system, are a problem for the people, rooted in biblical interpretations.

The late Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef wrote in Chazon Ovadia: “When you see a generation struck by famine and great suffering, go and examine Israel’s judges. For every affliction that comes upon the world is only because of Israel’s judges.” This perspective, echoed by Jewish scholars, is more relevant than ever amid Israel’s contentious judicial reform debates. In Jewish thought, the moral and spiritual integrity of judges—or the Supreme Court and political leadership—is crucial to the...

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