SHAVUOT: The Book of Ruth -- Ethics of a Righteous Gentile.

The cohen will wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Adonai, with the two lambs; these will be holy for Adonai for the cohen. On the same day, you are to call a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live. " 'When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to the corners of your field, and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am Adonai your God.' " 

 והניף הכהן אתם על לחם הבכרים תנופה לפני יהוה על־שׁני כבשׂים קדשׁ יהיו ליהוה לכהן׃ 
 וקראתם בעצם היום הזה מקרא־קדשׁ יהיה לכם כל־מלאכת עבדה לא תעשׂו חקת עולם בכל־מושׁבתיכם לדרתיכם׃ 
 ובקצרכם את־קציר ארצכם לא־תכלה פאת שׂדך בקצרך ולקט קצירך לא תלקט לעני ולגר תעזב אתם אני יהוה אלהיכם׃

(Lev 23:20-22 CJB)

AT SHAVUOT IT IS TRADITIONAL TO READ THE BOOK OF RUTH. 

RUTH the Righteous Gentile

Back in the days when the judges were judging, at a time when there was a famine in the land, a certain man from Beit-Lechem went to live in the territory of Mo'av -- he, his wife and his two sons. (Rth 1:1 CJB) 

• This is about a man was from Bethlehem, a region of Judea.
• In our story, this man represents the Judeans: THE JEWS
• The Jews had gone to exile within the nations because the living conditions in Judea Israel had become unlivable because of a famine. 

The man's name was Elimelekh, his wife's name was Na`omi, and his two sons were named Machlon and Kilyon; they were Efratim from Beit-Lechem in Y'hudah. They arrived in the plain of Mo'av and settled there. Elimelekh, Na`omi's husband, died; and she was left, she and her two sons. They took wives for themselves from the women of Mo'av; the name of the one was `Orpah; and the name of the other was Rut. They lived there for about ten years. (Rth 1:2-4 CJB) 

• The 2 sons married Gentiles
• Their wives were not only Gentiles but Moabites whom Hashem said were forbidden to enter the congregation of Israel for 10 generations.    Deut 23:3
• What were these boys thinking?! (Or were they thinking...) 

Then Machlon and Kilyon died, both of them; and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband. So she prepared to return with her daughters-in-law from the plain of Mo'av; for in the plain of Mo'av she had heard how Adonai had paid attention to his people by giving them food. (Rth 1:5-6 CJB) 

• Things were doing better in Israel now. 

She left the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law and took the road leading back to Y'hudah. Na`omi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Each of you, go back to your mother's house. May Adonai show grace to you, as you did to those who died and to me. May Adonai grant you security in the home of a new husband." Then she kissed them, but they began weeping aloud. They said to her, "No; we want to return with you to your people." Na`omi said, "Go back, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb who could become your husbands? Go back, my daughters; go your way; for I'm too old to have a husband. Even if I were to say, 'I still have hope'; even if I had a husband tonight and bore sons; would you wait for them until they grew up? Would you refuse to marry, just for them? No, my daughters. On your behalf I feel very bitter that the hand of Adonai has gone out against me." Again they wept aloud. Then `Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Rut stuck with her. She said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god; go back, after your sister-in-law."   (Rth 1:7-15 CJB) 

• When a woman married a man, she married into his household, his business, and his religion.
• By marrying these Judeans, these women had de-facto become Jewish. They were living as Jews.
• Orpah decided that she didn't mind returning to her gods. 

But Rut said, "Don't press me to leave you and stop following you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die; and there I will be buried. May Adonai bring terrible curses on me, and worse ones as well, if anything but death separates you and me." (Rth 1:16-17 CJB) 

• The Tana'ch often uses opposites in order to teach us principles. In Ruth and Orpah we are taught about two opposite kind of followers.
• Orpah was a convenience disciples. This or that was the same to her. It was solely a cognitive mental experience to her, an emotion.
• Ruth on the opposite had experienced the truth with her physical senses. She could not go back on it without lying to herself and her own senses. Peter the disciple makes the difference between the two in these words, 'For when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, we did not rely on cunningly contrived myths. On the contrary, we saw his majesty with our own eyes. For we were there when he received honor and glory from God the Father; and the voice came to him from the grandeur of the Sh'khinah, saying, "This is my son, whom I love; I am well pleased with him!" We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.' (IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT WE TOLD YOU IS NOT CONCOCTED STORIES THAT WE MADE UP; THESE ARE THINGS WE WITNESSES WITH OUR OWN PHYSICAL SENSES) (2Pe 1:16-18)
• Look at how many people who thought they loved each other end up in divorces. Emotions cannot be relied on. They change all the time with the weather, through something someone tells us, or something we eat. Those whose faith is only an emotional reality are unstable like the sea, and like Orpah will not mind going back, like divorcing. 

When Na`omi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. So the two of them went on until they came to Beit-Lechem. When they arrived in Beit-Lechem, the whole city was stirred with excitement over them. The women asked, "Can this be Na`omi?" "Don't call me Na`omi [pleasant]," she answered them; "call me Marah [bitter], because Shaddai has made my life very bitter. I went out full, and Adonai has brought me back empty. Why call me Na`omi? Adonai has testified against me, Shaddai has afflicted me."  (Rth 1:18-21 CJB) 

• Jews returning knowing they had been chased by the hand of Adonai because of their disobedience. 

This is how Na`omi returned, with Rut the woman from Mo'av, her daughter-in-law, accompanying her from the plain of Mo'av. They arrived in Beit-Lechem at the beginning of the barley harvest. (Rth 1:22 CJB)

• Neomi returned to Beth'lechem right after Passover, with the beginning of the counting of the omer; at the beginning of the barley harvest season.
• IMAGERY: At the beginning of the barley harvest season, the Jexiled Jew comes back with the reaping of an extra person in the Jewish community; an extra person reaped from the Gentiles. 

Na`omi had a relative on her husband's side, a prominent and wealthy member of Elimelekh's clan, whose name was Bo`az. Rut the woman from Mo'av said to Na`omi, "Let me go into the field and glean ears of grain behind anyone who will allow me to." She answered her, "Go, my daughter." (Rth 2:1-2 CJB) 

• Ruth was a good convert. She did her homework on Jewish law. She knew the law of gleaning.
• Where is this law of gleaning placed in the Torah? Right with the Laws concerning Shavuot, laws which ends the counting of the omer. " 'When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to the corners of your field, and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am Adonai your God.' " (Lev 23:22) The time of Neomi and Ruth's return to Beth-lechem. 

So she set out, arrived at the field and gleaned behind the reapers. She happened to be in the part of the field that belonged to Bo`az from Elimelekh's clan, when Bo`az arrived from Beit-Lechem. He said to the reapers, "Adonai be with you"; and they answered him, "Adonai bless you." Then Bo`az asked his servant supervising the reapers, "Whose girl is this?" The servant supervising the reapers answered, "She's a girl from Mo'av who returned with Na`omi from the plain of Mo'av. She said, 'Please, let me glean and gather what falls from the sheaves behind the reapers.' So she went and has kept at it from morning until now, except for a little rest in the shelter." Bo`az said to Rut, "Did you hear that, my daughter? Don't go to glean in another field, don't leave this place, but stick here with my working girls. Keep your eyes on whichever field the reapers are working in, and follow the girls. I've ordered the young men not to bother you. Whenever you get thirsty, go and drink from the water jars the young men have filled." (Rth 2:3-9 CJB) 

• Boa'az is the kinsman redeemer. He knows he is a relative to Neomi, so therefore to Rut.
• He is a good Jew fulfilling his family responsibilities.
• Everything he says here are Torah commands:
  • Protection against oppressing the foreigner (even from an enemy country as Ruth was)
  • The Laws of gleaning.
  • Going above and beyond the commandment.
• Bo'az is a very Torah observant Jew. 

She fell on her face, prostrating herself, and said to him, "Why are you showing me such favor? Why are you paying attention to me? After all, I'm only a foreigner." (Rth 2:10 CJB) 

• Gentile Ruth feels unworthy. This section seems to foreshadow the episode between Yeshua and the Canaanite woman.

Yeshua left that place and went off to the region of Tzor and Tzidon. A woman from Kena`an who was living there came to him, pleading, "Sir, have pity on me. Son of David! My daughter is cruelly held under the power of demons!" But Yeshua did not say a word to her. Then his talmidim came to him and urged him, "Send her away, because she is following us and keeps pestering us with her crying." He said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Isra'el." But she came, fell at his feet and said, "Sir, help me!" He answered, "It is not right to take the children's food and toss it to their pet dogs." She said, "That is true, sir, but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their master's table." Then Yeshua answered her, "Lady, you are a person of great trust. Let your desire be granted." And her daughter was healed at that very moment. (Mat 15:21-28 CJB)


Bo`az answered her, "I've heard the whole story, everything you've done for your mother-in-law since your husband died, including how you left your father and mother and the land you were born in to come to a people about whom you knew nothing beforehand. (Rth 2:11 CJB) 

• The Judean kinsman redeemer is grateful to, and honors Gentile Ruth for caring for Jewish Naomi while she was in exile. 

May Adonai reward you for what you've done; may you be rewarded in full by Adonai the God of Isra'el, under whose wings you have come for refuge." (Rth 2:12 CJB) 

• He knows the blessing given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for the Gentiles who bless them. 

 She said, "My lord, I hope I continue pleasing you. You have comforted and encouraged me, even though I'm not one of your servants." (Rth 2:13) 

• Ruth, the true believer is not only thankful but she feels unworthy.
• She knows that her nation has been banished from Israel. She does not feel a spirit of entitlement towards the covenant of Israel.
• She feels that way because of her great faith and understanding of the God of Israel and of his people.
• She foreshadows the following episode with Yeshua: One of the P'rushim invited Yeshua to eat with him, and he went into the home of the Parush and took his place at the table. A woman who lived in that town, a sinner, who was aware that he was eating in the home of the Parush, brought an alabaster box of very expensive perfume, stood behind Yeshua at his feet and wept until her tears began to wet his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her own hair, kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them. When the Parush who had invited him saw what was going on, he said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what sort of woman she is, that she is a sinner." Yeshua answered, "Shim`on, I have something to say to you." "Say it, Rabbi," he replied. "A certain creditor had two debtors; the one owed ten times as much as the other. When they were unable to pay him back, he canceled both their debts. Now which of them will love him more?" Shim`on answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt." "Your judgment is right," Yeshua said to him. Then, turning to the woman, he said to Shim`on, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house -- you didn't give me water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair! You didn't give me a kiss; but from the time I arrived, this woman has not stopped kissing my feet! You didn't put oil on my head, but this woman poured perfume on my feet! Because of this, I tell you that her sins -- which are many! -- have been forgiven, because she loved much. But someone who has been forgiven only a little loves only a little." (Luk 7:36-47 CJB)

When meal-time came, Bo`az said to her, "Come here, have something to eat, and dip your piece of bread in the [olive oil and] vinegar." She sat by the reapers, and they passed her some roasted grain. She ate till she was full, and she had some left over. (Rth 2:14) 

• The kinsman redeemer invites the Gentile (from an enemy country) to his table. Something unheard of, but that we find in the stories of:
  • Isaac setting up and banquet in front of the Philistines who made peace with him after cheating from his father's wells. (Gen 26:30)

When she got up to glean, Bo`az ordered his young men, "Let her glean even among the sheaves themselves, without making her feel ashamed. In fact, pull some ears of grain out from the sheaves on purpose. Leave them for her to glean, and don't rebuke her." So she gleaned in the field until evening. When she beat out what she had gathered, it came to about a bushel of barley. She picked it up and went back to the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and Rut brought out and gave her what she had left over after eating her fill. Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where were you working? Blessed be the one who took such good care of you!" She told her mother-in-law with whom she had been working; she said, "The name of the man with whom I was working today is Bo`az." Na`omi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed by Adonai, who has never stopped showing grace, neither to the living nor to the dead." Na`omi also told her, "The man is closely related to us; he's one of our redeeming kinsmen." Rut the woman from Mo'av said, "Moreover, he even said to me, 'Stay close to my young men until they've finished my harvest.' " Na`omi said to Rut her daughter-in-law, "It's good, my daughter, for you to keep going out with his girls; so that you won't encounter hostility in some other field." So she stayed close to Bo`az's girls to glean, until the end of the barley and wheat harvests; and she lived with her mother-in-law. (Rth 2:15-23 CJB) 

• Now we are at the time of Shavuot: the time of the wheat harvest.
• Firsfruits and Shavuot are the two book ends of the barley and wheat cereal harvesting. 

Na`omi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, I should be seeking security for you; so that things will go well with you. (Rth 3:1 CJB). 

• Now the Jerusalemite Jewish mother wants to care for her Gentile caretaker.
• She wants Ruth to be fully adopted into Israel.
• She doesn't only know Jewish laws, but she knows Jewish customs. 

 Now there's Bo`az our relative -- you were with his girls. He's going to be winnowing barley tonight at the threshing-floor. (Rth 3:2) 

• The harvest season included winnowing the wheat at a "threshing floor," a parcel of ground where there was a prevailing wind. The grain was tossed into the air and fall downwind a small distance; the chaff, being lighter, would be carried further away. When done properly, two piles would result: the furthest would be burned as trash; the closer one would be bagged for the marketplace.
• The harvest was, of course, also a time for celebration, and the evenings were accompanied by festivities for having made payroll another season, etc. After the celebration, the owners typically would sleep near the grain to preclude theft. Ruth is instructed by Naomi to approach Boaz privately at the threshing floor. 

So bathe, anoint yourself, put on your good clothes, and go down to the threshing-floor; but don't reveal your presence to the man until he's finished eating and drinking. Then, when he lies down, take note of where he's lying; later, go in, uncover his feet, and lie down. He will tell you what to do." She responded, "I will do everything you tell me." She went down to the threshing-floor and did everything as her mother-in-law had instructed her. After Bo`az was through eating and drinking and was feeling good, he went to lie down at the end of the pile of grain. She stole in, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night the man was startled and turned over, and -- there was a woman lying at his feet! He asked, "Who are you?" and she answered, "I'm your handmaid Rut. Spread your robe over your handmaid, because you are a redeeming kinsman." (Rth 3:3-9 CJB) Rth 3:9  ויאמר מי־את ותאמר אנכי רות אמתך ופרשׂת כנפך על־אמתך כי גאל אתה׃

• The shul ("skirt"), or hem, was the house emblem of rank or authority in Israel, much like the stripes on the sleeve of a naval officer or airline pilot in our culture.
• Ruth was asking Boaz to put the authority of his house over her. She is invoking her right under the laws of Israel for him to take her to wife.
• Boaz was delighted to accommodate her, but there was an obstacle to be overcome. 

He said, "May Adonai bless you, my daughter. Your latest kindness is even greater than your first, in that you didn't go after the young men, neither the rich ones nor the poor. (Rth 3:10 CJB) 

• Bo'az recognizes Ruth integrity, that her motivations were pure and not selfish.
• She did not see it as gain to be part of Israel but as an element of serving
• That;'s the way we should look at the Torah.
• How does it help us serve and be kind to others, not how it separates and divides us. 

And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you everything you say, for all the city leaders among my people know that you are a woman of good character. (Rth 3:11 CJB) 

• Her good character spoke louder than her Moabite background. 

 Now, it is true that I am a redeeming kinsman; but there is a redeemer who is a closer relative than I am. (Rth 3:12) 

• There is a nearer kinsman who would have to first step aside for Boaz to assume his role.
• This is a cloud over the otherwise joyous proceedings.
• Boaz takes on the task of confronting this nearer kinsman, in front of the city council, to force the issue.

Stay tonight. If, in the morning, he will redeem you, fine! -- let him redeem you. But if he doesn't want to redeem you, then, as Adonai lives, I will redeem you. Now, lie down until morning."(Rth 3:13) 

• When a widow requested the next of kin to perform the role of the goel, or kinsman-redeemer, he wasn't forced to. In fact, there were three conditions to be met.
  • He had to be qualified as a kinsman;
  • He had to be able to perform;
  • He had to be willing. 

She lay at his feet until morning; then, before [it was light enough that] people could recognize each other, she got up; because he said, "No one should know that the woman came to the threshing-floor." He also said, "Bring the shawl you are wearing, and take hold of it." She held it while he put six measures of barley into it; then he went into the city. (Rth 3:14-15 CJB) 

• A dowry? 

When she came to her mother-in-law, she asked, "Who are you? My daughter?" She told her everything the man had done for her. (Rth 3:16) 

• Are you Mrs Bo'az? 

Then she added, "He gave me these six measures of barley; because he said to me, "You shouldn't return to your mother-in-law with nothing." Na`omi said, "My daughter, just stay where you are, until you learn how the matter comes out; for the man won't rest unless he resolves the matter today." Meanwhile, Bo`az had gone up to the gate and had sat down there, when the redeemer of whom Bo`az had spoken passed by. "Such-and-such," he said, "come over, and sit down"; so he came over and sat down. He took ten of the city's leaders and said, "Sit down here"; and they sat down. Then he said to the redeeming kinsman, "The parcel of land which used to belong to our relative Elimelekh is being offered for sale by Na`omi, who has returned from the plain of Mo'av. (Rth 3:17-4:3 CJB) 

• There were two issues at stake
  •  Redeeming of the land for Naomi
  • Taking of Ruth to wife
  • As far as the land is concerned, the man appears to be willing.

I thought I should tell you about it and say, 'Buy it in the presence of the people sitting here and in the presence of the leaders of my people. If you want to redeem it, redeem it. But if it is not to be redeemed, then tell me, so that I can know, because there is no one else in line to redeem it, and I'm after you." He said, "I want to redeem it." Then Bo`az said, "The same day you buy the field from Na`omi, you must also buy Rut the woman from Mo'av, the wife of the deceased [son], in order to raise up in the name of the deceased an heir for his property." (Rth 4:4-5 CJB) 

• For some undisclosed reason, he is unable to perform where Ruth is concerned.
• That clears the way for our hero, Boaz, to fulfill his role as the goel. 

The redeemer said, "Then I can't redeem it for myself, because I might put my own inheritance at risk. You, take my right of redemption on yourself; because I can't redeem it." In the past, this is what was done in Isra'el to validate all transactions involving redemption and exchange: a man took off his shoe and gave it to the other party; this was the form of attestation in Isra'el. So the redeemer said to Bo`az, "Buy it for yourself," and took off his shoe. (Rth 4:6-8 CJB) 

• The giving of the shoe needs an explanation. If the nearer kinsman declined the responsibility, he would have to yield one of his shoes and could also suffer the indignity of being spit upon. When he declined, he performed the traditional gesture by yielding his shoe to Boaz. The shoe was intended to be a symbol of disgrace, but to Boaz it was a marriage license! 

Bo`az addressed the leaders and all the people: "You are witnesses today that I am purchasing from Na`omi all that belonged to Elimelekh and all that belonged to Kilyon and Machlon. Also I am acquiring as my wife Rut the woman from Mo'av, the wife of Machlon, in order to raise up in the name of the deceased an heir for his property; so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his kinsmen and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today." All the people at the gate and the leaders said, "We are witnesses. May Adonai make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Le'ah, who between them built up the house of Isra'el. Do worthy deeds in Efrat; become renowned in Beit-Lechem. May your house, because of the seed Adonai will give you from this young woman, become like the house of Peretz, whom Tamar bore to Y'hudah." (Rth 4:9-12 CJB) 

• As they celebrated the wedding of Ruth and Boaz at the end of Chapter 4, we encounter a rather strange remark in verse 12: "May your house be like Perez..." If you understand the sordid tale of Judah and Tamar,which leads to the illegitimate birth of Perez, you might be inclined to think, "Same to you, fella!" What kind of a "toast" or blessing is that?
• To understand what lies behind this unusual prophecy, we need to remember that in the case of an illegitimate son, there could be no inheritance for ten generations.  Appended to the Book of Ruth is the genealogy from Perez, and ten generations leads us to David, anointed King over Israel!
• When Israel clamored for a king and Samuel anointed Saul,we often get the impression that David was an "afterthought" when Saul didn't work out. Not so. Here, as early as the time of the Judges, is a prophecy that David was God's destined choice for King. Perhaps that is why Samuel had to go to the tribe of Benjamin, rather than the royal tribe of Judahfor his selection: the curse on Perez's line hadn't run out yet.

So Bo`az took Rut, and she became his wife. He had sexual relations with her, Adonai enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women said to Na`omi, "Blessed be Adonai, who today has provided you a redeemer! May his name be renowned in Isra'el. May he restore your life and provide for your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him." Na`omi took the child, laid it on her breast and became its nurse. The women who were her neighbors gave it a name; they said, "A son has been born to Na`omi," and called it `Oved. He was the father of Yishai the father of David. Here is the genealogy of Peretz. Peretz was the father of Hetzron, Hetzron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of `Amminadav, `Amminadav was the father of Nachshon, Nachshon was the father of Salmon, Salmon was the father of Bo`az, Bo`az was the father of `Oved, `Oved was the father of Yishai, and Yishai was the father of David. (Rth 4:13-22 CJB) 
 
AND WHO IS THE FIRST KINSMAN REDEEMER? THE SADUCEEAN SYSTEM THAT REFUSED THE COMING OF THE NATIONS INTO THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL.
 
A CONNECTION WITH SHAVU'OT AND THE GIVING OF THE TORAH: 

• On Shavu'ot in the desert Gentiles were present when the Torah was given to Israel.
• With Ruth, at Shavuot,  Israel brought in a righteous Gentile who ended up being the great grand-mother of Yeshua
• On Shavu'ot/Pentecost, the Spirit of God was given to the disciples in the form of different tongues so they could bless the Gentiles in teaching them about the God of Israel. (Acts 2)

 
FROM PAUL:
Therefore, remember your former state: you Gentiles by birth -- called the Uncircumcised by those who, merely because of an operation on their flesh, are called the Circumcised --at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of Isra'el. You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God's promise. You were in this world without hope and without God. But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah's blood. For he himself is our shalom -- he has made us both one and has broken down the m'chitzah which divided us by destroying in his own body the enmity occasioned by the Torah, with its commands set forth in the form of ordinances. He did this in order to create in union with himself from the two groups a single new humanity and thus make shalom, and in order to reconcile to God both in a single body by being executed on a stake as a criminal and thus in himself killing that enmity. Also, when he came, he announced as Good News shalom to you far off and shalom to those nearby, news that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. On the contrary, you are fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's family. You have been built on the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself. In union with him the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with the Lord. Yes, in union with him, you yourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for God! (Eph 2:11-22)
 
SHABBAT SHALOM AND CHAG SAMEACH

 שבת שלום וחג שמח