Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

Regarding Ruth

Upon the arrival of Shavu’ot, Jews around the world will read Megillat Root (The Scroll of Ruth). The Bible presents Shavu’ot as Chag Hakatzir, The Harvest Festival (of wheat), and the tale of Ruth takes place in this harvest season.

Wheat, however, is only a backdrop to the greater significance of this Shavu’ot story.

The story opens with Naomi, a Judahite, forced to leave Beit Lechem/Bethlehem, ‘The House of Bread’, due to famine! She finds sustenance in the fields of Moab, where one of her sons marries the Moabite, Ruth. After ten years in Moab, and now bereft of her husband and sons, Naomi returns with Ruth to Beit Lechem, for she hears that bread can be had there, once again.

Ruth, the Moabite, is often quoted for her ‘immortal words’ to Naomi: “Your people are my people, and your God my God”. Indeed, she converts into the Jewish community, and the traditional term used for conversion, “coming under the wings” of the God of Israel, makes its appearance in this scroll, where it is applied to Ruth.

Ruth the Moabite, is presented as the exemplary convert. Significantly, the title Eshet Chayil/Woman of Valor (literally, ‘Wife of the man of valor’), also the name of a well-known song chanted on Shabbat, is used in the Bible only in reference to Ruth, in this scroll bearing her name. Moreover, when we bless our daughters saying: “May God make them like…Rachel and Leah, we are reminded of the words of Boaz, who becomes the husband of Ruth, and is called Ish Gibor Chayil/The Mighty Man of Valor: “May the Lord make the woman (Ruth)…like Rachel and Leah”.

All this is quite remarkable. But, the truly radical point of this scroll and its story, and its message for us on Shavu’ot, can only be fully comprehended when we consider the following words of the Bible: “A Moabite can never enter the community of the Lord”.

On Shavu’ot, called Zeman Matan Torateinu/The Time of the Giving of Our Torah, we read a biblical story that subverts a biblical law and celebrates the Moabite Ruth as the quintessential convert to Judaism.

As to why this is so, we will explore in next week’s Ma Nishma, as we welcome Shavu’ot.