Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elo-henu Melech Ha'olam asher kidshanu bemitzvotav ve'tzivanu la'asok b'divrey Torah.
Blessings to You Ado-nai Our God Ruler of the Universe who made us holy with the mitzvoth and instructed us to be absorbed with the study of Torah.
Summary of the Book of Ruth:
(From Encyclopedia Judaica) - In the days of the Judges, Elimelech (from Beit Lehem) in Judah, emigrated with his wife Naomi and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion to Moab on account of famine. He died there and so did his 2 sons, who had married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Left without either husband or sons, and having no grandchildren, Naomi decided to return to Bet Lehem. The 2 daughters in law wanted to move back to Judah with her, but she bade them stay in their homeland. Orpah obeyed but Ruth vowed that she would share the fortunes of her mother in law. Arriving in Bet Lehem at the beginning of the grain harvest, Ruth took advantage of the privilege of gleaning - a Torah based tzedakah for the poor.
Blessings to You Ado-nai Our God Ruler of the Universe who made us holy with the mitzvoth and instructed us to be absorbed with the study of Torah.
Summary of the Book of Ruth:
(From Encyclopedia Judaica) - In the days of the Judges, Elimelech (from Beit Lehem) in Judah, emigrated with his wife Naomi and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion to Moab on account of famine. He died there and so did his 2 sons, who had married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Left without either husband or sons, and having no grandchildren, Naomi decided to return to Bet Lehem. The 2 daughters in law wanted to move back to Judah with her, but she bade them stay in their homeland. Orpah obeyed but Ruth vowed that she would share the fortunes of her mother in law. Arriving in Bet Lehem at the beginning of the grain harvest, Ruth took advantage of the privilege of gleaning - a Torah based tzedakah for the poor.
(ט) וּֽבְקֻצְרְכֶם֙ אֶת־קְצִ֣יר אַרְצְכֶ֔ם לֹ֧א תְכַלֶּ֛ה פְּאַ֥ת שָׂדְךָ֖ לִקְצֹ֑ר וְלֶ֥קֶט קְצִֽירְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תְלַקֵּֽט׃ (י) וְכַרְמְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תְעוֹלֵ֔ל וּפֶ֥רֶט כַּרְמְךָ֖ לֹ֣א תְלַקֵּ֑ט לֶֽעָנִ֤י וְלַגֵּר֙ תַּעֲזֹ֣ב אֹתָ֔ם אֲנִ֖י יי אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
(9) And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corner of your field, neither shall you gather the gleaning of your harvest. (10) And you shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
The field in which she gleans belongs to a prosperous farmer by the name of Bo'az. When Naomi learns Boaz had shown Ruth special kindness out of appreciation for her devotion to her mother in law, she is doubly delighted because Boaz is a kinsman of Elimelech, and hence of Ruth's dead husband Mahlon, and the old woman could see a prospect of a levirate marriage for Ruth. The levirate marriage with Ruth involves the redemption of the land of the dead husband, which Naomi has sold. Boaz consented to marry Ruth and to redeem the land.
(ה) כִּֽי־יֵשְׁב֨וּ אַחִ֜ים יַחְדָּ֗ו וּמֵ֨ת אַחַ֤ד מֵהֶם֙ וּבֵ֣ן אֵֽין־ל֔וֹ לֹֽא־תִהְיֶ֧ה אֵֽשֶׁת־הַמֵּ֛ת הַח֖וּצָה לְאִ֣ישׁ זָ֑ר יְבָמָהּ֙ יָבֹ֣א עָלֶ֔יהָ וּלְקָחָ֥הּ ל֛וֹ לְאִשָּׁ֖ה וְיִבְּמָֽהּ׃ (ו) וְהָיָ֗ה הַבְּכוֹר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֵּלֵ֔ד יָק֕וּם עַל־שֵׁ֥ם אָחִ֖יו הַמֵּ֑ת וְלֹֽא־יִמָּחֶ֥ה שְׁמ֖וֹ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
(5) If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not be married abroad unto one not of his kin; her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her. (6) And it shall be, that the first-born that she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead, that his name be not blotted out of Israel.
So Boaz fulfills the ancient duty of 'establishing the name of the dead upon his inheritance' (Ruth 4:5, Deut. 25:6) Through this marriage, Boaz and Ruth produce the line of King David.
*Ruth, like Abraham, chooses to journey from east to west out of an imperative - is the imperative personal? spiritual? Both?
(טז) וַתֹּ֤אמֶר רוּת֙ אַל־תִּפְגְּעִי־בִ֔י לְעָזְבֵ֖ךְ לָשׁ֣וּב מֵאַחֲרָ֑יִךְ כִּ֠י אֶל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר תֵּלְכִ֜י אֵלֵ֗ךְ וּבַאֲשֶׁ֤ר תָּלִ֙ינִי֙ אָלִ֔ין עַמֵּ֣ךְ עַמִּ֔י וֵאלֹהַ֖יִךְ אֱלֹהָֽי׃
(16) And Ruth said: ‘Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God;
What are Ruth's motives for following her mother in law back to Judah?
Ruth Rabbah 4:2 & Yalkut to Judges #42
"And they took them wives of daughters of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth" (Ruth 1:4) Orpah, because she turned her back (o'ref) on her mother in law; and Ruth, because she understood (ra'atah) her mother in law's true wish.
Ruth and Orpah, so said R. Bebai in the name of R. Reuben, were the daughters of Eglon [King of Moab], to whom the Holy One said: Rising from your throne in deference to me.(Judges 3:20, Right before Ehud slaughtered him...) you accorded Me honor. As you live, I shall cause to rise out of you a son whom I will seat on My throne.
*Ruth was a daughter of royalty - how does this fact shape our perceptions of her possible choices?
Quoted in Sefer Ha'Agadah, Bailik & Ravnitzky, Shocken, 1992, p. 112.
"And they took them wives of daughters of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth" (Ruth 1:4) Orpah, because she turned her back (o'ref) on her mother in law; and Ruth, because she understood (ra'atah) her mother in law's true wish.
Ruth and Orpah, so said R. Bebai in the name of R. Reuben, were the daughters of Eglon [King of Moab], to whom the Holy One said: Rising from your throne in deference to me.(Judges 3:20, Right before Ehud slaughtered him...) you accorded Me honor. As you live, I shall cause to rise out of you a son whom I will seat on My throne.
*Ruth was a daughter of royalty - how does this fact shape our perceptions of her possible choices?
Quoted in Sefer Ha'Agadah, Bailik & Ravnitzky, Shocken, 1992, p. 112.
Pesikta Zutarta (11th Century Midrash by Tovia b. Eliezer)
"(Ruth said to her) One way or another I intend to convert, and so why would I abandon you and leave you? Better that [I convert] through you then with someone else. Since [Naomi] heard this, she began to teach Ruth the laws, saying, 'We do not leave the Shabbat area on Shabbat,' as we see Ruth says 'Where you go, I will go'...It is forbidden to live in a home without a mezuzah, and Ruth says, 'Where you lodge, I will lodge.' 'We have 613 mitzvoth', Naomi said, which corresponds (by the sounds of the letters of am'ech) to [610 - 'ch' chamesh me'ot/500, a'yin/eser/10, mem/me'ah/100], so we have 613 mitzvoth and Ruth says, 'Your people are my people, and Your God my God', she is referring to the whole Torah.
"(Ruth said to her) One way or another I intend to convert, and so why would I abandon you and leave you? Better that [I convert] through you then with someone else. Since [Naomi] heard this, she began to teach Ruth the laws, saying, 'We do not leave the Shabbat area on Shabbat,' as we see Ruth says 'Where you go, I will go'...It is forbidden to live in a home without a mezuzah, and Ruth says, 'Where you lodge, I will lodge.' 'We have 613 mitzvoth', Naomi said, which corresponds (by the sounds of the letters of am'ech) to [610 - 'ch' chamesh me'ot/500, a'yin/eser/10, mem/me'ah/100], so we have 613 mitzvoth and Ruth says, 'Your people are my people, and Your God my God', she is referring to the whole Torah.
Malbim (19th c. Russia)
'For where you go, I will go' - That is to say, 'Don't think that the purpose of my journeying [with you] is different from your reason for going there, [which is] so that you can fulfill the mitzvoth that are tied to the Land, for Torah and for mitzvoth whereas I [Ruth] am going for some other purpose...do not think I hope for some temporary success that I will marry a rich man or the like...I already have grasped (studied? become familiar with?) the Torah of your God and the customs of your people, and I am like one of you."
'For where you go, I will go' - That is to say, 'Don't think that the purpose of my journeying [with you] is different from your reason for going there, [which is] so that you can fulfill the mitzvoth that are tied to the Land, for Torah and for mitzvoth whereas I [Ruth] am going for some other purpose...do not think I hope for some temporary success that I will marry a rich man or the like...I already have grasped (studied? become familiar with?) the Torah of your God and the customs of your people, and I am like one of you."
Alshech (16th c. Tzfat)
'To abandon you, to turn away from you' - and you alone, but not from God, even if I were to go away from you.
'To abandon you, to turn away from you' - and you alone, but not from God, even if I were to go away from you.
Heinrich Graetz "History of the Jews" Vol 1, pp. 370-371, JPS, 1946.
...the Moabitess (Ruth), after having connected herself closely with the people of Israel and acknowledged their God, gave proof of such virtues as grace a daughter of Israel: chastity, refinement of feeling, and cheerful self-sacrifice.
...the Moabitess (Ruth), after having connected herself closely with the people of Israel and acknowledged their God, gave proof of such virtues as grace a daughter of Israel: chastity, refinement of feeling, and cheerful self-sacrifice.
Cynthia Ozick "Ruth" in 'Congregation: Contemporary Writers on the Jewish Bible', Ed. David Rosenberg. Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich, 1987. Ozick is an American writer, b. 1928.
What "natural" reasons might such a young woman have for leaving her birthplace? Surely there is nothing advantageous in Ruth's clinging to Naomi. Everything socially rational is on the side of Ruth's remaining in her own country...But even if Ruth happened to think beyond exigency-even if she were exceptional in reaching past common sense toward ideal conduct- she need not have thought in the framework of the largest cosmic questions...
...here is what Ruth might have replied:
Mother in law, I am used to living in your household, and have become accustomed to the ways of your family. I would no longer feel at home if I resumed the ways of my own people. After all, during the ten years or so I was married to your son, haven't I flourished under your influence? I was so young when I came into your family that it was you who completed my upbringing. It isn't for nothing that you call me daughter. So let me go with you.
Mother in law, you are heavier in years than I and along in a strange place, whereas I am stalwart and not likely to be alone for long. Surely I will have a second chance, just as you predict, but you - how helpless you are, how unprotected! If I stayed home in Moab, I would be looking after my own interests, as you recommend, but do you think I can all of a sudden stop feeling for you, just like that? No, don't expect me to abandon you - who knows what can happen to a woman of your years all by herself on the road? And what prospects can there be for you, after all this long time away, in Bethlehem? It's true I'll seem a little odd in your country, but I'd much rather endure a little oddness in Bethlehem than lose you forever, not knowing what's to become of you. Let me go and watch over you.
...Your God shall be my God: Ruth's story is kindled into the Book of Ruth by the presence of God on Ruth's lips, and her act is far, far more than a ringing embrace of Naomi, and far, far more than the simple acculturation it resembles. Ruth leaves Moab because she intends to leave childish ideas behind. She is drawn to Israel because Israel is the inheritor of the One Universal Creator.
What "natural" reasons might such a young woman have for leaving her birthplace? Surely there is nothing advantageous in Ruth's clinging to Naomi. Everything socially rational is on the side of Ruth's remaining in her own country...But even if Ruth happened to think beyond exigency-even if she were exceptional in reaching past common sense toward ideal conduct- she need not have thought in the framework of the largest cosmic questions...
...here is what Ruth might have replied:
Mother in law, I am used to living in your household, and have become accustomed to the ways of your family. I would no longer feel at home if I resumed the ways of my own people. After all, during the ten years or so I was married to your son, haven't I flourished under your influence? I was so young when I came into your family that it was you who completed my upbringing. It isn't for nothing that you call me daughter. So let me go with you.
Mother in law, you are heavier in years than I and along in a strange place, whereas I am stalwart and not likely to be alone for long. Surely I will have a second chance, just as you predict, but you - how helpless you are, how unprotected! If I stayed home in Moab, I would be looking after my own interests, as you recommend, but do you think I can all of a sudden stop feeling for you, just like that? No, don't expect me to abandon you - who knows what can happen to a woman of your years all by herself on the road? And what prospects can there be for you, after all this long time away, in Bethlehem? It's true I'll seem a little odd in your country, but I'd much rather endure a little oddness in Bethlehem than lose you forever, not knowing what's to become of you. Let me go and watch over you.
...Your God shall be my God: Ruth's story is kindled into the Book of Ruth by the presence of God on Ruth's lips, and her act is far, far more than a ringing embrace of Naomi, and far, far more than the simple acculturation it resembles. Ruth leaves Moab because she intends to leave childish ideas behind. She is drawn to Israel because Israel is the inheritor of the One Universal Creator.
How does Ruth's motivation to a spiritual, and physical, journey reflect the Jewish people's spiritual journey at Shavuot?
Se'fat Emet Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger (Poland, 1870-1905)
The essence of receiving the Torah is that Israel's souls were drawn near to their own 'place' and source, as in [the verses:]'Face to face the Lord spoke to you'(Deut 5:4) and 'I am the Lord your God'.(Ex 20:2), when each one saw and understood the divine power that God had placed within each soul of Israel.
On Shavuot there are two sorts of drawing near. The hearts of Israel draw near to God, and the Ever-present draws close to Israel. These two forms of closeness are the two loaves that are waved on this day...God, in the Torah, delights in the closeness of Israel's hearts to heaven, so there this day is called 'the day of offering the first fruits.'
(Translations by Rabbi Arthur Green from 'The Language of Truth', JPS, 1998.
The essence of receiving the Torah is that Israel's souls were drawn near to their own 'place' and source, as in [the verses:]'Face to face the Lord spoke to you'(Deut 5:4) and 'I am the Lord your God'.(Ex 20:2), when each one saw and understood the divine power that God had placed within each soul of Israel.
On Shavuot there are two sorts of drawing near. The hearts of Israel draw near to God, and the Ever-present draws close to Israel. These two forms of closeness are the two loaves that are waved on this day...God, in the Torah, delights in the closeness of Israel's hearts to heaven, so there this day is called 'the day of offering the first fruits.'
(Translations by Rabbi Arthur Green from 'The Language of Truth', JPS, 1998.