5 Odd Things About Ruth

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The Scroll of Ruth (Megillat Ruth) will be read into the night in synagogues the world over next week as part of the pilgrimage festival of Shavuot (Weeks), occurring 7 weeks after the last pilgrimage festival of Pesach (Passover), the third such festival being Sukkot (Tabernacles) in autumn.  Let’s look at some odd things about Ruth.

Shavuot marks the giving of Torah— Moses coming down Mount Sinai wielding heavy tablets of stone, etched with God’s will on them. It coincides (and contrasts) with the Christian festival of Pentecost, when God sent His Holy Spirit down in the form of tongues of fire.

Let’s take a look at five odd things about the Book of Ruth.

1. WHY READ RUTH RIGHT NOW?

Why do rabbis choose this season of Shavuot, otherwise marked by cheesecake and white clothing, to read Ruth into the depths of the uncanny night in their synagogues? Well, Ruth contains:

• The genealogy of David (and, for Christians, points onwards down to Christ).
• The action coincides with the present season of barley and wheat harvests in Israel.

Maybe, too, it is because Ruth goes to claim Boaz at night. What do you say?

2. THE TITLE OF THIS MEGILLAH (SCROLL)

Why is this book of the Bible called Ruth when it’s very clearly about succession? It starts with Elimelech:

It happened in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to sojourn in the country of Moab

Ruth 1:1

It ends with Obed, whose birth fixes the broken line of succession, following Ruth’s quasi-Levirate marriage to redeeming relative, Boaz.

Arguably, Naomi features more prominently than Ruth in this story. Her emotional journey is more obvious.

3. MORE ODD THINGS ABOUT RUTH: NAOMI’S HIDDEN AGENDA

Naomi is distraught, feeling that she has failed her late husband and lost everything. On top of all that, the Book of Ruth reminds us that her daughter-in-law is a Moabitess, a gentile foreigner from a formerly unfriendly race. When Naomi attempts to send back Ruth and her other daughter-in-law, Orpah, to their families, this may not be the self-sacrificing gesture of goodness that is often attributed to her but rather a sign of how ashamed she is that they are not Jewish. She knows she will be facing shock surprise when she returns to her hometown of Bethlehem and may be dreading having to arrive there with these two.

As you may be aware, Orpah leaves but Ruth sticks like glue to Naomi, declaring her faith in the God of Israel in one of the most Bible’s most beautiful speeches:

 “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

Ruth 1:16-17

Naomi’s reaction? Silence.

4. GO SEDUCE HIM

Out of desperation after the barley and wheat harvests are done and Boaz’s kindness to Ruth comes to an unexpected end, (the phone does not ring), Naomi hatches a bold plan, sending Ruth to him by night. Ruth, who initially disobeyed Naomi’s order to go back home to Mum and Dad, is obedient in this, which could potentially ruin her reputation forever in this honour-shame, biblical society, were she to be seen.

5. PLONI ALMONI

Suddenly, at the 11^th hour, a closer redeemer than Boaz shows up! He withdraws, however, when he understands that the redemption of Naomi’s field comes with strings attached to it, namely marrying Ruth.

This character does not merit a proper name. Instead, Boaz hails him as, “Ploni Almoni.” Ploni, according to Rashi, points to something covered. The only other place in the Bible where we find this expression is 1 Samuel 21:3, as an unspecified place that is kind of ‘in the middle of nowhere’. So, Ploni Almoni is like ‘Mr. Nobody’.

I urge you now, at this season of Shavuot, to go read this delightful and moving story of devotion between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. Then please let me have your views in the comments below.

And happy cheesecake eating.

Meet me on Zoom THIS TUESDAY, June 11, to follow the tradition of synagogues worldwide in reading the Scroll o f Ruth on erev Shavuot, and delve deep into the meaning of this lovely story of one woman’s courage. There is no charge for this 90-minute exploration of 4 BIG BOLD DECISIONS IN RUTH, along with prayer, fellowship, a lot of learning and shared joy.  Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85321348137?pwd=xp5rbInhZaBnLm5PVt4CvDsmHgsb3D.1 / Meeting ID: 853 2134 8137 Passcode: 4bbdr

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