Ruth, one of the five scrolls incorporated in the Ketuvim (Hagiographa) section of the Bible. In the synagogue it is customary to read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot. Among the reasons given are that the events recorded in Ruth took place at harvest time (Ruth 2:23); that Ruth was the ancestor of David (Ruth 4:17) who, traditionally, died on Shavuot; that Ruth's "conversion" to Judaism is appropriate reading for the festival which commemorates the giving of the Torah; and that Ruth's loyalty is symbolic of Israel's loyalty to the Torah.

Ecclesiastes is read in the synagogue on the intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot or, when there is no intermediate Sabbath, on Shemini Azeret. In some Oriental rites, it is read in the sukkah. Ecclesiastes (11:2) has been interpreted by some commentators as an allusion to the duty to rejoice during the eight days of Sukkot (cf. Deut. 16:15). The warning (Eccles. 5:3–4) not to defer the fulfillment of vows (including donations to the poor and to the sanctuary) was also thought to be particularly appropriate at the last festival of the annual cycle. Others have suggested that the somber and pessimistic outlook of Ecclesiastes fits the atmosphere of autumn.

For hundreds of years the Yemenite Jewish communities followed their traditional ways of secular and religious life, not being influenced by external trends and currents. Some customs in the Yemenite prayer rites go back to the prayer book of R. Saadiah Ga'on. From the 16th century on the Kabbalah and especially later its Lurianic school and system found its way to Yemen and influenced Jewish literary production in the areas of commentaries to the Bible, prayers, and liturgic poetry. All of this rich history is reflected in this work.