(א) אֶפְרָתִים. חֲשׁוּבִים. וְכֵן "בֶּן תֹּחוּ בֶן צוּף אֶפְרָתִי" אֶבְגִּינוֹס. רְאֵה חֲשִׁיבוּתָם, שֶׁהֲרֵי הִשִּׂיא עֶגְלוֹן מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב אֶת בִּתּוֹ לְמַחְלוֹן, דְּאָמַר מַר, רוּת בִּתּוֹ שֶׁל עֶגְלוֹן הָיְתָה. דָּבָר אַחֵר, "אֶפְרָתִים", בֵּית לֶחֶם קְרוּיָה אֶפְרָת:
(1) Ephrathites. Important people, and similarly, “the son of Tochu, the son of Tzuph, an Ephrathite,”6I Shmuel 1:1. [meaning] an aristocrat. Look how important they were, for Eglon the King of Mo’av married off his daughter to Machlon, as the Master said, “Rus was the daughter of Eglon.”7Maseches Sanhedrin 105b. Another explanation of “Ephratites,” [they were from Beis Lechem,] because Beis Lechem is called Ephros.8See Bereishis 48:7, “and I buried her [Rachel] on the way to Ephros which is Beis Lechem.”
(טז) וַתֹּ֤אמֶר רוּת֙ אַל־תִּפְגְּעִי־בִ֔י לְעָזְבֵ֖ךְ לָשׁ֣וּב מֵאַחֲרָ֑יִךְ כִּ֠י אֶל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר תֵּלְכִ֜י אֵלֵ֗ךְ וּבַאֲשֶׁ֤ר תָּלִ֙ינִי֙ אָלִ֔ין עַמֵּ֣ךְ עַמִּ֔י וֵאלֹהַ֖יִךְ אֱלֹהָֽי׃ (יז) בַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר תָּמ֙וּתִי֙ אָמ֔וּת וְשָׁ֖ם אֶקָּבֵ֑ר כֹּה֩ יַעֲשֶׂ֨ה יְהוָ֥ה לִי֙ וְכֹ֣ה יֹסִ֔יף כִּ֣י הַמָּ֔וֶת יַפְרִ֖יד בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵינֵֽךְ׃
(16) But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. (17) Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus and more may the LORD do to me if anything but death parts me from you.”
(א) אַל תִּפְגִּעִי בִי. אַל תִּפְצְרִי בִי: (ב) כִּי אֶל אֲשֶׁר תֵּלְכִי אֵלֵךְ. מִכַּאן אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה, גֵּר שֶׁבָּא לְהִתְגַּיֵּר מוֹדִיעִין לוֹ מִקְצַת עֳנָשִׁים, שֶׁאִם בָּא לַחֲזֹר בּוֹ יַחֲזֹר, שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ דְּבָרֶיהָ שֶׁל רוּת אַתָּה לָמֵד מַה שֶּׁאָמְרָה לָהּ נָעֳמִי. "אָסוּר לָנוּ לָצֵאת חוּץ לַתְּחוּם בַּשַּׁבָּת". אָמְרָה לָהּ, "בַּאֲשֶׁר תֵּלְכִי אֵלֵךְ". "אָסוּר לָנוּ לְהִתְיַחֵד נְקֵבָה עִם זָכָר שֶׁאֵינוֹ אִישָׁהּ". אָמְרָה לָהּ, "בַּאֲשֶׁר תָּלִינִי אָלִין". "עַמֵּנוּ מֻבְדָּלִים מִשְּׁאָר עַמִּים בְּתַרְיַ"ג מִצְוֹת", "עַמֵּךְ עַמִּי". "אָסוּר לָנוּ עֲבוֹדַת כּוֹכָבִים, "אֱלֹהַיִךְ אֱלֹהָי". "אַרְבַּע מִיתוֹת נִמְסְרוּ לְבֵית דִּין, "בַּאֲשֶׁר תָּמוּתִי אָמוּת". "שְׁנֵי קְבָרִים נִמְסְרוּ לְבֵית דִּין, אֶחָד לְנִסְקָלִין וְנִשְׂרָפִין וְאֶחָד לְנֶהֱרָגִין וְנֶחְנָקִין". אָמְרָה לָהּ, "וְשָׁם אֶקָּבֵר":
(1) Do not urge me. Do not press me. (2) For wherever you go, I shall go. From here our Rabbis of blessed memory derived24In Maseches Yevamos 47b. that if a [prospective] proselyte comes to convert, we inform him of some of the punishments [for violating the commandments] so that is he decides to renege [from his intention to convert], he can renege; for out of the words of Rus, you can learn what Naomi said to her. [Naomi said.] “We may not venture outside the boundary [of 2000 cubits beyond city limits] on Shabbos.” She [Rus] replied to her, “For wherever you go I shall go.”25Alternatively, just as you are going to Eretz Yisroel for the sake of your religion, so it is my purpose to go there in order to be able to keep the Torah’s commandments. (Malbim) [Naomi then said,] “We are prohibited to allow a woman to be secluded with a man who is not her husband.” She [Rus] replied, “Where you lodge, I will lodge.” [Naomi said,] “Our nation is separated from other nations by 613 commandments,” [and Rus replied,] “Your people are my people.” [Naomi said,] “Idolatry is forbidden to us,”26Although idolatry is forbidden to Noahites, they are forbidden to worship idols only if they do so exclusively, but not if they worship God in conjunction with their idolatry. (Torah Temimah) [to which Rus replied,] “Your God is my God.” [Naomi then said,] “Four [types of] death penalties were delegated to Beis Din [to punish transgressors],” [and Rus replied,] “Where you die, I will die.” [Naomi continued,] “Two burial plots were delegated to Beis Din [to bury those executed], one for those stoned and those burned, and one for those decapitated and those strangled.” She [Rus] replied, “And there I shall be buried.”
(ג) עץ הדעת משיא לתת לב אל הטוב והרע ומזה והאדם ידע נתן לב עליה ומזה נקרא הקרוב מודע כאמרו מודע לאישה שדרכו לתת לב לצרכי קרובו כאמרו ואח לצרה יולד:
(3) ועץ הדעת, a tree whose fruit results in those who eat from it gaining greater understanding of the relationship of good and evil. The word דעת, which appears here for the first time, helps us understand Genesis 4,1 והאדם ידע את חוה אשתו. Without this verse we would have been puzzled by the Torah telling us something that was so obvious. Who does not “know” his wife, especially when he had described her as “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!” (2,23) In our verse we are told that the words ידע, דעת do not primarily refer to factual knowledge but to conceptual knowledge. This also helps us to understand why relatives, as in Ruth 2,1 are referred to as מודע לאישה, “someone whom her late husband had been intimate with, had been related to by blood.” It is normal for blood relations to be concerned with the physical and emotional needs of their kin. (compare Proverbs 17,17.)
(א) ויאמר בועז הלוא שמעת בתי, איך דנים אותך פה לכף זכות ועל כן אל תלכי ללקוט בשדה אחר, שיוכל להיות שבעל השדה שם לא יפיק ממך רצון, וגם לא תעבורי מזה, אף בשדותי (כי בועז היה לו שדות רבים) לא תעבורי לשדה אחר, שיוכל היות שהנערים שם והממונה עליהם ישנאו אותך, ויותר מזה וכה תדבקין עם נערותי, כי גם בשדה זה היו בצד א' פועלים נערים, ובצד א' נערות שקצרו את השדה לא תלכי ללקט בצד של הנערים רק בצד של הנערות:
(1) How are they judging you here? To your merit! Therefore, do not go to reap in another field, where the owner might not be willing to let you. And do not go away from here, even among my fields (for Boaz had many fields), where the men might hate you. More so, stay close to my girls, because on this field there are men on one side, and women on another. Stay on the side of the women.
(א) מֹדַעְתָּנוּ. קְרוֹבֵנוּ: (ב) הִנֵּה הוּא זֹרֶה. הַמּוֹץ. וונטו"ר בְּלַעַ"ז: (ג) הַלָּיְלָה. שֶׁהָיָה הַדּוֹר פָּרוּץ בִּגְנֵבָה וְגָזֵל, וְהָיָה יָשֵׁן בְּגָרְנוֹ לִשְׁמֹר גָּרְנוֹ:
(1) Our kinsman. Our relative. (2) Behold, he will be winnowing. The chaff, vraner in O.F. (3) Tonight. Because the generation was unrestrained in theft and robbery; he would sleep in his granary to guard his granary.