Voices From the Periphery: The Story of Ruth

(1) It so happened that in the days when the Judges ruled, there was a famine in the land; and a man of Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the country of Moab.

A man went- This man was very rich, and one of the pillar of the community. He left the land of Israel to live outside the land because of his stinginess, as he was tired of people coming to him for support.

(9) "They married Moabite women (Ruth 1:4)": Rabbi Beivai in the name of Rabbi Reuben said: "Ruth and Orpah were the daughters of King Eglon of Moab

​Is this Naomi: The “hey” is vowelized with a “hataf” because it is in the interrogative. Is this Naomi who used to go out in covered wagons and with mules? Have you seen what happened to her because she left the Holy Land?

And Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai would likewise say: Elimelech and his sons Mahlon and Chilion were prominent members of their generation and were leaders of their generation. And for what reason were they punished? They were punished because they left Eretz Yisrael to go outside of Eretz Yisrael, as it is stated concerning Naomi and Ruth: “And all the city was astir concerning them, and the women said: Is this Naomi?” (Ruth 1:19). The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the phrase: “Is this Naomi”? How does this indicate that her husband and sons were punished for leaving Eretz Yisrael? Rabbi Yitzḥak says that the women said: Have you seen what befell Naomi, who left Eretz Yisrael for outside of Eretz Yisrael? Not only did she not escape tribulations there, but she lost her status entirely.

(1) The two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them and, bowing low with his face to the ground, (2) he said, “Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant’s house to spend the night, and bathe your feet; then you may be on your way early.” But they said, “No, we will spend the night in the square.” (3) But he urged them strongly, so they turned his way and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. (4) They had not yet lain down, when the townspeople, the men of Sodom, young and old—all the people to the last man—gathered about the house. (5) And they shouted to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may be intimate with them.” (6) So Lot went out to them to the entrance, shut the door behind him, (7) and said, “I beg you, my friends, do not commit such a wrong. (8) Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you please; but do not do anything to these men, since they have come under the shelter of my roof.” (9) But they said, “Stand back! The fellow,” they said, “came here as an alien, and already he acts the ruler! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” And they pressed hard against the person of Lot, and moved forward to break the door. (10) But the men stretched out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. (11) And the people who were at the entrance of the house, young and old, they struck with blinding light, so that they were helpless to find the entrance. (12) Then the men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? Sons-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else that you have in the city—bring them out of the place. (13) For we are about to destroy this place; because the outcry against them before the LORD has become so great that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” (14) So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law as one who jests. (15) As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two remaining daughters, lest you be swept away because of the iniquity of the city.” (16) Still he delayed. So the men seized his hand, and the hands of his wife and his two daughters—in the LORD’s mercy on him—and brought him out and left him outside the city. (17) When they had brought them outside, one said, “Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away.”...(30) Lot went up from Zoar and settled in the hill country with his two daughters, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar; and he and his two daughters lived in a cave. (31) And the older one said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to consort with us in the way of all the world. (32) Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may maintain life through our father.” (33) That night they made their father drink wine, and the older one went in and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she rose. (34) The next day the older one said to the younger, “See, I lay with Father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go and lie with him, that we may maintain life through our father.” (35) That night also they made their father drink wine, and the younger one went and lay with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she rose. (36) Thus the two daughters of Lot came to be with child by their father. (37) The older one bore a son and named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. (38) And the younger also bore a son, and she called him Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

(1) In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite residing at the other end of the hill country of Ephraim took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. (2) Once his concubine deserted him, leaving him for her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah; and she stayed there a full four months. (3) Then her husband set out, with an attendant and a pair of donkeys, and went after her to woo her and to win her back. She admitted him into her father’s house; and when the girl’s father saw him, he received him warmly....(8) Early in the morning of the fifth day, he was about to leave, when the girl’s father said, “Come, have a bite.” The two of them ate, dawdling until past noon. (9) Then the man, his concubine, and his attendant started to leave. His father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is waning toward evening; do stop for the night. See, the day is declining; spend the night here and enjoy yourself. You can start early tomorrow on your journey and head for home.” (10) But the man refused to stay for the night. He set out and traveled as far as the vicinity of Jebus—that is, Jerusalem; he had with him a pair of laden donkeys, and his concubine was with him. (11) Since they were close to Jebus, and the day was very far spent, the attendant said to his master, “Let us turn aside to this town of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” (12) But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside to a town of aliens who are not of Israel, but will continue to Gibeah. (13) Come,” he said to his attendant, “let us approach one of those places and spend the night either in Gibeah or in Ramah.” (14) So they traveled on, and the sun set when they were near Gibeah of Benjamin.

(15) They turned off there and went in to spend the night in Gibeah. He went and sat down in the town square, but nobody took them indoors to spend the night. (16) In the evening, an old man came along from his property outside the town. (This man hailed from the hill country of Ephraim and resided at Gibeah, where the townspeople were Benjaminites.) (17) He happened to see the wayfarer in the town square. “Where,” the old man inquired, “are you going to, and where do you come from?” (18) He replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the other end of the hill country of Ephraim. That is where I live. I made a journey to Bethlehem of Judah, and now I am on my way to the House of the LORD, and nobody has taken me indoors. (19) We have both bruised straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and your handmaid, and for the attendant with your servants. We lack nothing.” (20) “Rest easy,” said the old man. “Let me take care of all your needs. Do not on any account spend the night in the square.” (21) And he took him into his house. He mixed fodder for the donkeys; then they bathed their feet and ate and drank. (22) While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the town, a depraved lot, had gathered about the house and were pounding on the door. They called to the aged owner of the house, “Bring out the man who has come into your house, so that we can be intimate with him.” (23) The owner of the house went out and said to them, “Please, my friends, do not commit such a wrong. Since this man has entered my house, do not perpetrate this outrage. (24) Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. Let me bring them out to you. Have your pleasure of them, do what you like with them; but don’t do that outrageous thing to this man.” (25) But the men would not listen to him, so the man seized his concubine and pushed her out to them. They abused her all night long until morning; and they let her go when dawn broke. (26) Toward morning the woman came back; and as it was growing light, she collapsed at the entrance of the man’s house where her husband was. (27) When her husband arose in the morning, he opened the doors of the house and went out to continue his journey; and there was the woman, his concubine, lying at the entrance of the house, with her hands on the threshold. (28) “Get up,” he said to her, “let us go.” But there was no reply. So the man placed her on the donkey and set out for home.