= Ruth 1
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== Ruth 1
1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
3 And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.
7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
9 The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.
14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or 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:
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
21 I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
== Notes
== Cross Reference
== Concordance
== Commentary
== Rashi
==== Verse 1
And it happened in the days when judges judged. [During the period] before King Shaul reigned, when the generations were administered by judges;1 and this occurred in the days of Ivtzan, as our sages said, “Ivtzan is Bo’az.”2
And a man went. He was very wealthy,3 and the leader of the generation. He left Eretz Yisroel for regions out of the land because of stinginess, for he was miserly toward the poor who came to press him;4 therefore he was punished.5
==== Verse 2
Ephrathites. Important people, and similarly, “the son of Tochu, the son of Tzuph, an Ephrathite,”6 [meaning] an aristocrat. Look how important they were, for Eglon the King of Mo’av married off his daughter to Machlon, as the Master said, “Rus was the daughter of Eglon.”7 Another explanation of “Ephratites,” [they were from Beis Lechem,] because Beis Lechem is called Ephros.8
==== Verse 3
Naomi’s husband. Why is this stated again? From here they derived, “A man does not die except for his wife [i.e., she feels the loss more than anyone].9 ([Another interpretation:] And it states, “Naomi’s husband,” i.e., that because he was Naomi’s husband and ruled over her10 and she was subordinate to him, therefore the Divine Attribute of Justice struck him and not her.)11
==== Verse 5
Both. What is the meaning of “also” גַם? First they were struck by financial loss and their camels and their cattle died; afterwards they “also” died.12
==== Verse 7
She left the place. Why is this stated? It is already stated, “and she returned from the fields of Mo’av,”13 and from where could she return if not from the place where she had been? Rather the phrase tells us that the departure of a righteous person from a place is noticeable and makes an impression; its splendor departs, its glory departs, the praise of the city departs. And similarly, “And Yaakov left Be’er Sheva.”14
==== Verse 12
For I am too old to have a husband. That I should marry him and bear sons, that you would marry them, for they would not be forbidden to you [to marry] and you would not be forbidden to them as far as [the prohibition against marrying] the wife of an older brother who died before he was born, for she [the widow] does require a levirate marriage because Machlon and Chilyon were not [halachically] married to them because they were gentiles and had not converted,15 and now they were coming to convert as it is stated, “We will return with you to your people.”16 From now on we will become one people.
Even if I could say, “I have yet hope.” For even if my heart told me that I have hope to marry again and to bear sons.
Even if I were to have a husband tonight. And more than this, even if I were to conceive male offspring tonight.
And even if I were to bear sons. Or even if I had already borne sons.
==== Verse 13
Would you wait for them. This is a question posed in wonder, “Would you perhaps wait for them until they grew up?”17 This תְּשַׂבֵּרְנָה is an expression similar to, “whose hope שִׂבְרוֹ is in Adonoy his God.”18
Would you shut yourselves in. An expression of עוֹג, being bound and imprisoned, as in, “He made a [confining] circle and stood within it.”19 Others interpret it as an expression of עִגּוּן, anchoring [i.e., being unable to marry], but that cannot be, for if so the nun should have been punctuated with a dagesh or it should have been spelled with two nuns.20
For against me is directed the hand of Adonoy. Rabbi Leivi said, “Wherever it mentions “the hand of Adonoy,” it refers to a plague of pestilence, and the classic example is, “Behold the hand of Adonoy is directed [at your livestock ... a very heavy pestilence].”21
==== Verse 15
See, your sister-in-law has gone back. In this [word], the accent is at the beginning [on the first syllable] under the shin, because it is in the past tense. [But,] “and in the morning she would return,”22 the accent is at the end [on the last syllable], on the bais, because it is in the present tense, and so it is in all similar cases.23
==== Verse 16
Do not urge me. Do not press me.
For wherever you go, I shall go. From here our Rabbis of blessed memory derived24 that if a [prospective] proselyte comes to convert, we inform him of some of the punishments [for violating the commandments] so that is he decides to renege [from his intention to convert], he can renege; for out of the words of Rus, you can learn what Naomi said to her. [Naomi said.] “We may not venture outside the boundary [of 2000 cubits beyond city limits] on Shabbos.” She [Rus] replied to her, “For wherever you go I shall go.”25 [Naomi then said,] “We are prohibited to allow a woman to be secluded with a man who is not her husband.” She [Rus] replied, “Where you lodge, I will lodge.” [Naomi said,] “Our nation is separated from other nations by 613 commandments,” [and Rus replied,] “Your people are my people.” [Naomi said,] “Idolatry is forbidden to us,”26 [to which Rus replied,] “Your God is my God.” [Naomi then said,] “Four [types of] death penalties were delegated to Beis Din [to punish transgressors],” [and Rus replied,] “Where you die, I will die.” [Naomi continued,] “Two burial plots were delegated to Beis Din [to bury those executed], one for those stoned and those burned, and one for those decapitated and those strangled.” She [Rus] replied, “And there I shall be buried.”
==== Verse 17
So may Adonoy do to me. As He has begun to afflict [me], for His hand has gone forth against me to kill my husband and to cause me to lose my possessions.
And even more. If anything but death separates me from you.
==== Verse 18
She refrained from further discussion with her. From here they derived, “we neither overburden him [a prospective convert], nor are we meticulous with him.”27
==== Verse 19
So the two of them went on. Rabbi Abahu said, “Come and see how dear the proselytes are before the Holy One, Blessed Is He. As soon as she decided to convert, Scripture compared her to Naomi [by stating, “the two of them...”].28
The whole city was astir. The whole city became astir. They had all gathered to bury the wife of Bo’az, who had died that very day.29
Is this [really] Naomi. The hai is vowelized with a chataf because it is in the interrogative. Is this Naomi who was accustomed to travel in covered wagons and with the mules?30 Have you seen what has befallen her because she went abroad [i.e., outside Eretz Yisroel]?
==== Verse 21
I had gone forth full. With wealth and sons. Another interpretation [of “full”] is that she was pregnant.
Has testified against me. Has testified against me that I had sinned before Him. Another explanation is that the Divine Attribute of Justice has humbled me, as in, “And the pride of Yisroel shall be עָנָה humbled.”31
==== Verse 22
At the start of the barley harvest. The verse speaks about the harvest of the Omer.32