After a brief introduction to the section of the Hebrew Bible called “The Five Scrolls” (Megillot), we will explore two of these, the Book of Ruth and the Book of Esther. We will discover how the circumstances of each of these women thrust them into playing a pivotal role in ensuring the future of the Jewish people. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Rabbi Laura Schwartz Harari has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College. She completed her rabbinical studies on the Los Angeles campus of The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where she received her Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters in 2006 and rabbinic ordination in 2008. Prior to her study for the rabbinate, Rabbi Harari had a distinguished career in Jewish Education for over twenty-five years.