Ruth Redeemed

Ah, the story of Ruth... I know that many of you had already heard of this story prior to our Megillot class; well, I hadn't. It just wasn't one of those things that we learned in school ever, and I never bothered to look at it on my own. Therefore, when we started chavruta on Ruth a couple of weeks ago, I was entirely shocked at what I was reading. As many of you who were in the classroom with me at the time can remember, I was pretty outraged while reading the story. The first half of the Megillah seemed like a big blur about some unfortunate family moving from place to place. Next, I was also pretty amused when, in perek 3, I read what seemed to be Boaz advising Ruth against the "walk of shame". In perek 4 it seemed like Boaz was making a deal with a bunch of old people over who was going to keep Ruth. Needless to say, I was not impressed with Ruth in the least. Naomi was a "madam", Ruth was a stale wanton, and Boaz was some gross old guy who I guess was nice to tell his workers not to rape Ruth.

Quite an impression. It's a good thing Mrs. Perl swooped in,re-wrote the Megillah, and saved the story for me. Now, Baruch Hashem, after learning it in class, things make a lot more sense to me. Now I appreciate the story as a whole and think it's really lovely that we read it on Shavuot. Let me explain. 

Because who needs a picture of real Ruth when we
can have a picture of Babe Ruth? Am I right?

First off, who woulda thunk the setting would have been so important? I mean, sure, the fact that the Sefer starts off with "וַיְהִי, בִּימֵי שְׁפֹט הַשֹּׁפְטִים" should have been a hint, but for some reason I ignored it on my first go-around. In class, when we looked into sources from this time, the story was already starting to make more sense. The situation at this time was horrible: people were disgusting to one another, there was no social order, and, though people always had the word of God on their mouths, they weren't exactly 'religious' people. During this time period, there was no king and each man (or woman) did what was good in his (or her) own eyes. People were committing rape and idolatry all over the place. It was not a pretty scene. Enter: the story of Ruth. For the sake of time and interest, I am not going to go over the whole story. Rather, I'm just going to talk about the three main characters and what I think about their progressions throughout the sefer.

Ruth: Ruth gets to go first because she's the best. She is one of the most- if not the most- selfless person I have ever read or heard about. This Moavite woman (yes, Ruth) marries this guy (who cares about his name) who is originally from Chevron. When he, his dad, and his brother all die and Ruth's mother in law, Naomi wants to go back to Chevron, and doesn't invite her to go with. Actually, Naomi explicitly tells Ruth not to go. But Ruth, looking out for her mother-in-law, and the overall name of her husband's family, insists on going back with Naomi. Though Naomi ignores her, she never ceases to be right there by her side, supporting her through all their financial woes. She gives up her home, her youth, her life, really, all to make sure that Elimelech's family's name wasn't forgotten. She never stops to think "What about me?"-she's always thinking of the bigger picture. I can't stress this enough. Also, just a little bit more into the 'not-Jewish' thing: Ruth wasn't just a non-Jew, she was a Moavite. Jewish people actively rejected the Moavites from their society. Somehow, through all of that, she decided that she wanted to become one of them, and she wanted to help them. I can think of no woman other than Ruth who is more deserving to be the mother the malchut. Ruth doesn't go through much of a transformation, I think that's safe to say, in this sefer. I do not mean to imply that she is a static character, I only wish to convey that Ruth has been awesome since the first time we hear her speak. From the very beginning she is the "Avraham" of the story who leaves her homeland without a second thought. She gets more righteous and more selfless in her actions as the Sefer goes on, but something tells me she had it in her from the beginning. Ruth is "the woman". Can you even imagine making the kind of sacrifices Ruth made? I know I can't.. 

Boaz: He's good guy by the end of the sefer, but at the beginning of Ruth he seemed only slightly different from the regular people at the time. When we are first introduced to Boaz, we are told that he is related to Elimelech and we know that he is a prominent, land owning man of the town. Yet, when Ruth and Naomi come in town- and he knows he is in town- he does not extend a hand to their aid. Why not, Boaz? Huh? Too cool for fam? Later, when he is introduced to Ruth, he doesn't inform her of their relation. Sure, he tells his worker-men not to molest her, which is sweet, and he also lets her pick food there, which is also nice, he never actively does anything to help Ruth and Naomi out. Holding him to our ethical standards, he really fails. Holding him to the standards at the time, he'd rank above the average man, but not very much higher. Later, when Ruth visits him in the middle of the night (surprise!), she reminds him of his duties as a redeemer. Something about Ruth's message (Ruth is awesome. See above) suddenly awakens this moral part in him, and he becomes a changed man. He realizes that he is the redeemer with certain obligations. He actively sends things back with Ruth for Naomi. In the next perek he comes up with this brilliant plan to see whether the other redeemer (who is first in line to redeem) is a good guy (spoiler alert: he's not!). At the end of the sefer, I feel good about Boaz. Does Ruth deserve better? Of course. But, at least by the end of it he understands and appreciates her mission (plus he can support her financially which was very important). Thoughts on Boaz? Yay or nay? 

Naomi: Naomi goes from being a terrible wench to an okay human being. Let's face it, folks: Naomi is an opportunist. She follows the bread. There's a famine- she leaves. Famine is over- she goes back. Her daughter-in-law is following her and potentially useless baggage- she doesn't speak to her. Her daughter-in-law can bring in the dough- she's all of a sudden "my daughter". Naomi is not consistent and shows no real growth that one can prove as genuine. I don't buy that Naomi is a good person because at the end, once Ruth redeems the family for her, Naomi takes care of her grandchild. Sorry- not impressed. Naomi may not be the owner of a brothel that I once thought she was, but she's not much better now that I know the real her. Yes, this sounds harsh. It's true- she was not worse than any of the other people at her time. At least she didn't commit any crimes! While this is correct, let's not forget that Naomi is the melodramatic old lady who told her old gossip buddies to call her "Bitter" because God has ruined her life. Eyeroll. Oh, Naomi. What about that wonderful Ruth girl who you have been so lucky to have for company all this way? Are your thoughts on Naomi as harsh as mine?