Tzaddeket

Rus

רות

The princess of Moav who left everything to cling to Naomi and to Hashem, and became the mother of the royal house of Dovid.

YahrzeitNot recorded

Biography

A Princess of Moav

Rus a"h, the convert who became the mother of the royal house of Dovid, was born a princess in the land of Moav. Chazal teach that she and her sister-in-law Orpah were daughters of Eglon, king of Moav, a descendant of Balak. When the judge Ehud came to Eglon and announced that he had a word of Hashem for him, the king rose from his throne out of respect. The Midrash says that Hashem repaid that moment: from you, He said, I will raise a son who will sit on the throne of Hashem.

In the days when the Shoftim judged Israel, a famine struck the land, and a man of Beis Lechem named Elimelech went down to Moav with his wife Naomi and their two sons, Machlon and Kilyon. Chazal describe them as leaders of their generation, and they teach that the family was punished for leaving Eretz Yisroel. Elimelech passed away there, and his two sons married the princesses of Moav, Machlon taking Rus as his wife. Rashi notes how distinguished the family was, for a king gave them his daughter.

About ten years later Machlon and Kilyon died as well, leaving no children. Naomi was left alone in a foreign land with her two daughters-in-law, who had stood by her through every loss. When she heard that Hashem had remembered His people and given them bread, she set out for home, and both young widows went with her. The Midrash finds meaning in the name Rus: she was the one who saw the truth in her mother-in-law's words.

Your People Are My People

On the road Naomi turned to her daughters-in-law and begged them to go back to their mothers' homes, blessing them for the kindness they had shown to the dead and to her. Twice they wept and refused. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye and returned to her people and her gods, but Rus clung to her. Rus answered Naomi with the words that have defined a ger ever since: wherever you go I will go, your people are my people, and your God is my God.

Chazal hear in her answer a whole conversation. Naomi set before her the mitzvos and the punishments a Jew accepts, and Rus answered each one in turn, until Naomi saw how firm her decision was and said no more. From this exchange the chachamim learned how a ger is to be received: told of the mitzvos and their weight, but not overwhelmed. Rashi points out that from that moment the verse speaks of the two of them as equals, for the two of them went on together, and he concludes that converts are very dear to Hashem.

They reached Beis Lechem at the start of the barley harvest, the season of the Omer, and the whole town was astir. Chazal say that on that very day the wife of Boaz passed away, and the people had gathered for her levayah; as one woman left the world, the woman who would take her place arrived. The women stared and asked, can this be Naomi? Do not call me Naomi, she answered, call me Mara, for I went away full and Hashem has brought me back empty.

Gleaning in the Field of Boaz

To support the two of them, Rus went out to glean the stalks that the Torah leaves for the poor. The Midrash says she was forty years old at the time. Without knowing it she came to the field of Boaz, a relative of Elimelech and one of the leading men of the generation, whom Chazal identify with the judge Ivtzan of Beis Lechem.

Boaz noticed her at once. Chazal teach that what caught his eye was her wisdom and her modesty, which set her apart from all the other gleaners. He told her to stay in his field, near his young women, and to drink from the water his workers had drawn. When she bowed and asked why he showed such kindness to a foreigner, he answered that he had heard everything she had done for her mother-in-law: how she had left her father, her mother and the land of her birth to join a people she had never known. He blessed her that her reward should be complete from the God of Israel, under whose wings she had come to take shelter.

At mealtime Boaz invited her to sit with the reapers and handed her roasted grain, and she ate until she was satisfied and still had some left to bring home to Naomi. Chazal heard prophecy in that meal: the kingdom of Dovid would come from her, and her descendants would eat, be satisfied and leave over, in this world, in the days of Moshiach, and in the world to come. She went on gleaning through the barley harvest and the wheat harvest, from the time of the Omer until Shavuos, and then stayed at home with her mother-in-law.

When the harvest was done, Naomi sent her to the threshing floor at night to ask Boaz, as a redeeming kinsman, to marry her and keep alive the name of Machlon. Boaz praised her for her loyalty, promised to settle the matter, and sent her home before dawn with six measures of barley.

Mother of Royalty

The next morning Boaz sat at the town gate with ten elders. The nearer kinsman, who had the first right of redemption, declined, and a shoe was drawn off to seal the transfer, as was the custom in Israel. Before the elders and all the people, Boaz acquired the field of Elimelech and took Rus as his wife. Chazal explain that he gathered the elders to make the halachah known in public: the Torah's ban on a Moavi applies to the men of Moav, not to its women. The people blessed her to be like Rachel and Leah, who built the house of Israel. The Midrash says Boaz was eighty and Rus forty, and that both were granted children through the blessings of tzaddikim.

Hashem granted that Rus conceive, and she bore a son. The women of Beis Lechem said to Naomi that her daughter-in-law, who loved her, was better to her than seven sons. Naomi held the child to her heart and raised him, and the neighbors named him Oved. Oved was the father of Yishai, and Yishai was the father of Dovid.

Generations later, when Doeg questioned whether Dovid could belong to the congregation of Israel, the beis midrash answered with the same halachah that Boaz had taught: a Moavi, and not a Moavis. Dovid thanked Hashem for loosening the bonds that might have held back his family. Rebbi Yochanan teaches that she was named Rus because from her came Dovid, who poured out to Hashem a flood of songs and praises. Chazal say that she lived to see the reign of Shlomo HaMelech, her great-great-grandson, and that when Shlomo set a throne beside his own for the mother of the king, it was for Rus, the mother of royalty.

Shmuel HaNavi wrote her story, and it stands at the head of the Kesuvim. The Megillah does not tell of her passing, and no yahrzeit or kever is recorded. Yet every Shavuos, the season of her gleaning, Jews read Megillas Rus aloud, to learn that the Torah was given through hardship and poverty, as Rus knew when she left a palace to stand under the wings of the Shechinah. Chazal teach that among her descendants will be Moshiach himself.

Stories

Your God Is My God

On the road from Moav, Naomi tried again and again to send Rus home, and each answer Rus gave became a law for every future ger.

Naomi and her two widowed daughters-in-law were walking toward Eretz Yisroel when Naomi stopped. Go back, my daughters, she pleaded. I have no more sons to give you as husbands, and my lot is bitter. Orpah kissed her and turned for home. Rus would not let go. The Midrash tells that Rus said to her: do not weigh me down with your doubts. I am going to become a Jew in any case; better that it be through you than through anyone else.

When Naomi heard this, Chazal relate, she began to teach her the laws of a ger. On Shabbos, my daughter, we may not walk beyond the techum. Rus answered: where you go, I will go. We may not be alone with a man forbidden to us. Rus answered: where you lodge, I will lodge. We have been given six hundred and thirteen mitzvos. Your people are my people. We are forbidden to serve idols. Your God is my God. Naomi spoke of the four death penalties of the beis din, and Rus said: where you die, I will die. She spoke of the two burial places set aside by the court, and Rus said: and there I will be buried.

When Naomi saw how firm her resolve was, she stopped trying to turn her back. From that moment, Rashi notes, the verse speaks of the two of them together, as equals, for the two of them walked on until they came to Beis Lechem. From this conversation the chachamim learned the way a ger is received to this day: he is told of the mitzvos and their weight, but he is not overwhelmed.

Source: Rus 1:8–19; Gemara, Yevamos 47b (Talmud Bavli); Midrash Rus Rabbah 2:22–24; Rashi on Rus 1:16, 1:18–19. English: The William Davidson Talmud (Koren–Steinsaltz); The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022); The Metsudah Five Megillos (Lakewood, 2001).

Practical lessonAnswer one doubt at a time

Rus did not answer Naomi with one grand speech. She met each hard question with a short, clear commitment. If there is a mitzvah you have been hesitating to take on, such as davening with a minyan, a set time for learning, or more care with your words, write down the one thing that makes it feel hard. Then write one short sentence of answer, the way Rus did: where you go, I will go. Take that single step this week, and let the next question wait for its turn.

Two Stalks, Not Three

A princess gleaning among the poor caught the eye of Boaz, not by her looks, but by her wisdom and her modesty.

It was barley harvest in Beis Lechem, and Rus went out to the fields to collect the gleanings left for the poor. The verse says that she went and came. Chazal explain that she walked back and forth along the road, again and again, until she found decent people to walk beside. Then she came to the field of Boaz.

Boaz arrived from town and asked the overseer of his reapers: whose young woman is this? Chazal wonder at the question, for it was not his way to ask about women. He asked, they explain, because he saw wisdom and Torah in the way she gleaned. When two stalks fell together, she took them; when three fell together, she left them, for the halachah is that three stalks are not gleanings and still belong to the owner. He saw modesty too. The other women bent low to gather and laughed with the reapers. Rus gathered the standing stalks while she stood and the fallen stalks while she sat, so that she never had to bend over, and she kept to herself.

The overseer told Boaz that she had worked since morning and rested only a moment. The Midrash adds that she took very little, hardly enough for herself, let alone for Naomi waiting at home. Boaz told her to glean in no other field, and quietly told his young men to pull stalks from the bundles and drop them in her path, without letting her feel ashamed. That evening she beat out what she had gathered, about an ephah of barley, and carried it home to her mother-in-law.

Source: Rus 2:2–18; Gemara, Shabbos 113b (Talmud Bavli); Midrash Rus Rabbah 4:4–7 and 5:7–8; Rashi on Rus 2:5. English: The William Davidson Talmud (Koren–Steinsaltz); The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022); The Metsudah Five Megillos (Lakewood, 2001).

Practical lessonLet your conduct introduce you

Rus never told Boaz who she was. Her careful, modest way of working said it for her. Think of a place where people see you without knowing you: the office, the bus, the store, the shul kitchen. This week, choose one small habit there that shows who you are, such as returning a cart, speaking softly on the phone, or taking only your share at a kiddush. And if you are a Boaz in someone's life, find a quiet way to drop a few extra stalks in their path without making them ask.

Six Measures of Barley

On a night that could have ended in shame, Rus and Boaz both acted with such purity that Chazal saw kings and Moshiach in the barley he gave her.

When the harvest ended, Naomi told Rus to bathe, anoint herself, put on her garments and go down to the threshing floor where Boaz slept, and ask him to redeem the family. The Midrash says the garments were her Shabbos clothes, and that Naomi told her: my merit will go down with you. Rus answered that she would do everything she was told. But the verse records that she went down first, and only afterward did as she was told. Chazal explain that she did not dress up on the road, so that no one who saw her would suspect her. They apply to her the verse: give to the wise, and she will grow wiser still.

At midnight Boaz woke and found a woman at his feet. I am Rus your maidservant, she said; spread your robe over me, for you are a redeemer. He blessed her for not running after younger men and promised, as Hashem lives, to see the matter through. The Midrash relates that all that night Boaz lay on his face and davened: Master of the world, You know that I did not touch her; let it not become known that a woman came here, so that Your name will not be profaned through me.

Before anyone could recognize another, he filled her shawl with six measures of barley. Chazal ask how a woman could be expected to carry such a load. It was a sign, they say: six descendants would come from her, each blessed with six blessings, among them Dovid HaMelech, Daniel, Chananya, Mishael and Azarya, and Moshiach.

Source: Rus 3:1–18; Gemara, Shabbos 113b and Sanhedrin 93a–b (Talmud Bavli); Midrash Rus Rabbah 5:12, 7:1–2. English: The William Davidson Talmud (Koren–Steinsaltz); The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022).

Practical lessonGuard how it looks, too

Rus and Boaz did nothing wrong that night, and still both of them worried about how it would look. Rus waited to dress until she arrived; Boaz davened that no one would misunderstand. This week, before you do something perfectly innocent that others might misread, such as a closed-door meeting, a late call, or a private conversation in a public place, pause for a moment. Open the door, invite a third person, or explain in a sentence what is happening. Protecting Hashem's name sometimes takes only one small, thoughtful step.

Teachings

A Kiss for the World, Clinging for Hashem

The Noam Elimelech warns against a familiar thought: the day is still long; once I finish with the business of this world, I will start serving Hashem. Do not say so, he teaches, for our days on earth pass like a shadow. Instead, give the affairs of this world only a kiss. A kiss is a brief touch of the lips; so let your mind brush against worldly matters only as much as you must, and then cleave to the Creator with your whole being. The Rebbe finds this hinted in Megillas Rus: Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Rus clung to her. The name Orpah recalls the oref, the back of the neck, a picture of physical things, which receive only a kiss. The name Rus recalls saturating Hashem with songs and praises, and that service needs complete deveikus.

Noam Elimelech, Bereishis, Vayetzei (on Bereishis 29:7 and Rus 1:14)

Practical lessonKiss the errand, cling to the prayer

Notice tomorrow how much of your mind your errands and messages take, even while you daven or learn. Before Shacharis, write down the three tasks that are pulling at you, and tell yourself they will get their kiss later. Then, for the length of one tefillah, Shemoneh Esrei or even just the first blessing, give Hashem your whole attention. When a worldly thought pushes in, picture Orpah turning back toward Moav, and return to clinging like Rus.

The Throne of Humility

When Boaz comforted her, Rus answered that she was not even like one of his maidservants. The Bas Ayin teaches that these words reveal her inner trait of humility and submission. Chazal say that the offerings of her royal forebears in Moav, which were brought for the sake of reward, earned them the merit that Rus would descend from them. Through Rus's humility, the Bas Ayin explains, those offerings were finally lifted up and repaired. That is why Shlomo set a throne for the mother of the king, whom the Gemara identifies as Rus, the mother of royalty. The throne, through which holiness is drawn down, belongs to the mother of the king, and the Hebrew words em melech share their numerical value with anavah, humility. This, he adds, is why Megillas Rus is read on Shavuos, a festival bound up with humility.

Bas Ayin, Shavuos (on Rus 2:13 and Melachim I 2:19)

Practical lessonTake the lower seat

Rus was a princess who spoke of herself as less than a maidservant, and it was her humility that earned the throne. This week, choose one place where you usually claim your due: the front of the line, the last word in an argument, the credit for a shared success. Let it go once, quietly and without comment. If you are thanked or praised, answer simply that you were glad to help. Notice afterward how much lighter it feels not to need the seat.

Why This Megillah Was Written

When Naomi blessed her daughters-in-law, she said: may Hashem deal kindly with you, as you dealt with the dead and with me. The Midrash explains the kindness she meant: they had tended to their husbands' shrouds, and they had given up their kesubos so as not to burden her. Rebbi Zeira then makes a striking observation about the whole book. This Megillah, he says, contains nothing about tumah or taharah, nothing forbidden and nothing permitted. Why, then, was it written? To teach how great the reward is for those who do acts of kindness. Rus was kind to Naomi, Boaz was kind to Rus, and from a chain of quiet kindnesses came Oved, Yishai, Dovid HaMelech, and in the end Moshiach.

Midrash Rus Rabbah 2:14 (on Rus 1:8)

Practical lessonStart a chain of kindness

Rus's kindness to one lonely widow became the beginning of the royal house of Israel. You will never know where your kindness leads, but you can begin it. This week, choose someone who is carrying a loss or living alone, an older relative, a widowed neighbor, a new family in shul. Call, visit, or bring something to eat, and do it again the following week. Kindness that continues, like Rus's, is the kind that builds.

Seforim

Megillas Rus: The book of Rus, one of the Kisvei HaKodesh, written by Shmuel HaNavi and read on Shavuos.

Family & talmidim

Teachers: Naomi (her mother-in-law, who taught her the ways of Israel)

Children: Oved, father of Yishai and grandfather of Dovid HaMelech

Historical sources