Washington National Cathedral

The story of Ruth, grandmother of King David, is told in the Old Testament. She arrives in Bethlehem—a widow and a foreigner—and, one night, seeks protection from her kinsman. She makes a simple request, “Spread your cloak over me.”

Even today, many widows and orphans face a similar desperate plight. They embody for us the disenfranchised and neglected. How is care for them a matter of faith? How might we advance the protection of the vulnerable as a matter of moral responsibility and civic responsibility?

Dr. Hibba Abugidieri, the Rev. Katherine Grieb and Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer spoke of what the three Abrahamic traditions teach about our care of these outcasts who shoulder the burden of survival.

Judaism, Islam and Christianity envision very different worlds. But is there a common passion for compassion? Learn where these teachings converge and diverge on the care of the widow and the orphan.