Shavuot
The holiday of Shavuot begins this evening. It marks the giving of the Torah on Mount
Sinai. Each of the major holidays has a megillah assigned to
them. On Passover we read Song of
Songs. On Sukkot we read from
Ecclesiastes. On Shavuot we read from
the Book of Ruth. This fascinating story
tells the tale of Ruth, a Moabite, who marries into the Israelite family of
Naomi. Sadly their husbands die and so
Naomi urges her to return to her own country.
Ruth refuses and pledges herself to Naomi and her people. “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. 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.” (Ruth 1:16-17)
And with these words Ruth pledges herself not only to her
mother in law but to the Jewish people.
Why is this story assigned to Shavuot?
One reason is that just as the Jewish people choose the Torah so too
does Ruth. Her personal choice is
mirrored in the people’s communal decision to accept the Torah’s privileges and
responsibilities.
There is, however, another reason hidden within the
tale. Ruth is a Moabite. The Moabites were Israel’s enemy. She is therefore the stranger par
excellence. No one can be more distant
from the Jewish people. Yet she still
chooses to wed herself to the Jewish people.
Even more significantly she is welcomed into the communal fold.
When Ruth and Naomi arrive in Bethlehem, one of the city’s
leading citizens, Boaz, treats them with compassion. Boaz lives by the Torah’s command: “When you
reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn
back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the orphan, and the widow—in order
that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.” (Deuteronomy 24:19) The Book is therefore a test of society’s
ability to live by the commandments of the Torah. Ruth is a stranger. She is an orphan. She is a widow.
These categories represent the powerless in ancient
Israelite society. They lack a
protector. Boaz rushes, without
hesitation and doubt, to Ruth’s defense. “When Ruth got up again to glean, Boaz
gave orders to his workers, ‘You are not only to let her glean among the
sheaves, without interference, but you must also pull some stalks out of the
heaps and leave them for her to glean, and not scold her.’” (Ruth 2:15-16) The fact that Ruth and Boaz are later
married, and live happily ever after, is secondary.
Boaz welcomes the stranger, the orphan and the widow. His act reminds us of our own
obligations. The Book of Ruth calls us once
again to the demands of a life wedded to Torah.
As we celebrate the giving of the Torah we must also ask about its
central obligations. The Book of Ruth
spells out these obligations. Always
reach out to those in need.
Each and every year when we read this book we are asked by
its story if we are living up to these demands.
Are we treating with compassion the weakest and most vulnerable in our
society?
Boaz and Ruth have a child and a measure of joy is
restored in Naomi’s heart. She is told, “Blessed
be the Lord who has not withheld a redeemer from you today!” (Ruth 4:14) And then we read the most unlikely of
epitaphs. Their great grandson is King
David. From David’s line, the tradition
teaches us, the messiah will be called.