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0:18 All right, good morning everyone. Good morning everyone. Our great success has shown to continue. This is actually our last our last installment on on Megillat Ruth. Although I want to be clear we didn't we didn't do the Megillah justice, but at least hopefully we got to see a number of different parts of this profound story. So today I want to take us towards the end of the story. So remember again last week 0:42 we spoke about what is perhaps the most dramatic and intriguing part of the entire Megillah. Where Naomi tells Ruth to go ahead and come under the cover of darkness, lay down by Boaz's feet. He's going to tell you what to do. We saw the symbolism of the taking off of the shoe. And now we fast forward a little bit. So remember after that encounter Boaz is resolute to go ahead and marry Ruth. There was a problem. What was the 1:06 problem? Remember again we spoke about the idea last week that this whole idea of Boaz marrying Ruth was rooted in this extension of Yibbum. Remember biblical Yibbum, a man Reuben is marrying, for example, Reuben is married to Rachel. Reuben dies without children. There is a biblical obligation upon Reuben's brother Shimon to marry his sister-in-law. 1:25 There was an extension of that concept called Geulah. And Geulah which means redemption was simply again that the closest relative would go ahead and marry the widow. So therefore that's that's what's sparking this whole thing for Boaz to marry Ruth, but there was a problem. What was the problem? Boaz says to Ruth, "I am not the closest relative. 1:46 There is someone closer than me. There is there is there is a there is a there is a closer relative than me. Therefore again, before so to speak I exercise the right of Geulah of redemption, it really has to go to the closer relative because remember again, this is not all altruistic because remember whoever marries the widow also technically speaking gets claim to the estate. So not that there was much of an estate because remember again, Elimelech had 2:09 become before he died they become impoverished, right? Naomi comes back impoverished, but still whatever ancestral holdings there were would also go to the go to the redeemer. So therefore, Boaz says to Ruth, "I I'm ready to marry you, but I have to go through the right process and I first have to have to first give this or you have to the opportunity has to first be presented to the closer relative. So now 2:32 after that, so this individual, interestingly enough, he's not identified in the Megillah. In the Megillah, he's just called he's just called Ploni Almoni. Ploni Almoni just means Joe Schmo. Joe Schmo, right? He's not named. It's actually interesting in general why he's not named. Not our topic, we'll save that for for next year Megillat Ruth. So let's take a look at pick up in number 2:55 one. Boaz said to the elders, "So Boaz said to the elders and to all the people who were assembled, you are witnesses today to all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon from Naomi. So now Boaz says, "All of you witness today that ultimately again by marrying Ruth, I acquire essentially the estate I 3:19 acquire the estate of Elimelech, of Mahlon and Chilion, everything from Naomi." Pasuk 10, verse 10. "The gun Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Chilion I have acquired for me as a wife to go ahead and establish memory for her deceased husband I have acquired for me as a wife to go ahead and establish memory for her 3:43 deceased husband." So now again, we spoke about this a little bit last week as well, the memory the neshama of her deceased husband so that his name is not cut off from his inheritance. So this way again, we spoke about this a little bit last week as well, the memory the neshama of her deceased husband so that his name is not cut off from his inheritance. So this way again, we spoke about this a little bit last memory of Mahlon will live on. His memory will not be erased. You are all witnesses to this today. 4:04 Again, this was a big thing for us all because it was a big thing because remember again, this is the book end of the Megillah. Because what happened at the beginning of the Megillah? What happened at the end of perek aleph? Remember again, when Naomi and Ruth come back to Canaan, everyone was gathered. Remember again, why was everyone gathered? Because Boaz's wife had passed away. So, in the beginning of this Megillah, ultimately Boaz was a widower. 4:25 And then Baruch Hashem, at the end of the Megillah, Boaz is getting remarried. Incredible. So, that's why it's beautiful. So, everybody's very happy for Boaz and they give him a bracha. What's the bracha? Hashem should make this woman who is coming into your home K'Rachel U'Leah. 4:43 So, by the way, that we have when we have the bracha, you see Mechael O'Kean K'Sarah Rivka Rachel V'Leah. Ultimately, at least the Rachel and Leah part has its has its origin in Megillat Ruth. So, they say, "This one should be like Rachel and Leah Asher Banu Shteiham Es Bais Yisrael. V'Asah Chayil B'Ephratah U'Krah Shem B'Veis Lach." And by Bais Lach it means Peretz. Asher Yaladeti 5:06 Marali Yehudah Min HaZera Sheli Asher Hu Tov. V'Yikach Boaz Ruth Perek Gimel Verse 13. V'Yikach Boaz Es Ruth V'Tehi Lo L'Ishah V'Yavo Eilah V'Yiten Hashem Lah Herayon V'Teled Ben. Ultimately again, and then what happens? Beautiful It's a beautiful ending to the story. 5:21 Boaz and Ruth get married and Ruth becomes pregnant. Source 2. V'Eilah Toldos Peretz. Peretz Halid Es Chetzron. Chetzron Halid Es Ram. Ram Halid Es Aminadav. A whole genealogy here. Aminadav Halid Es Nachshon. Nachshon Halid Es Salmon. Salmon Halid Es Boaz. 5:39 This is where it becomes important for us. You know, Boaz's father was a man by the name of Salmon. So, Salmon Boaz. Boaz and Ruth a son. Their son is named Obed. Obed the Obed holy this Yishai. Obed has a son by the name of Yishai. 5:56 The Yishai holy as David. And Yishai has a son by the name of David. So the end of the Megillah ends with this genealogy going already all the way from before Boaz from Boaz and so so again just genealogy Boaz have a son Obed. Obed has a son Yishai. Yishai has a son David. 6:16 This is genealogy. And by the way the Megillah ends with this why because remember I'm not going to mention this. I think I mentioned all of them in the beginning of this series. Who wrote Megillat Ruth? It was Shmuel Hanavi. He wrote Megillat Ruth. Why did why did Shmuel Hanavi write Megillat Ruth? Because David's detractors often tried to I should say delegitimize him from the throne by claiming he wasn't Jewish. 6:40 That his ultimate great grandmother wasn't Jewish. She was a Moabite woman. So the whole point of this story Shmuel Hanavi wrote it to show that this is David Hanavi's Yichus. David Hanavi was Jewish wasn't entitled to the throne good. So what I want to draw your attention to something very interesting. We made mention of this last week also but I think it bears some level of repetition. Which if you go back to source number one right? So let's just frame the story over here. Boaz is 7:02 getting ready to marry Ruth. Right? He's gone ahead and he's already asked the closer relative for permission. Do you want to redeem her? But all relatives said no. So Boaz getting ready to marry Ruth. If you notice back in source number one look at the underlined line and how does it introduce her? Vegam es Ruth Hammo'aviyah. 7:20 Once again once again now we are we are at the conclusion of the story already. It once again calls her Ruth the Moabite. And the question is why? Right? At the end of the day remember remember there's no other Ruth in the story. It's not like there's like Ruth the Moabite and like Ruth Schwartz. You know there's there's there's one Ruth over here and she's been like we are we understand she's a Moabite. We we've been following 7:44 the story from its inception. Why the need to say this again? And again, interestingly enough, what I do want to point out is this is the last time that she is referred to as Ruth the Moabite. If you notice, if you notice in chapter 3, I'll be back in chapter 1 in just a moment. In chapter 3, verse 13, it says as Ruth. If you notice again, by the 8:08 time we get to the end of the story, when Boaz marries Ruth, it no longer refers to her as Ruth the Moabite, right? But rather again just as Ruth. But why in chapter 10, in verse 1, the last chapter of Megillah Ruth? So why is it in this last chapter that we've been we've been following the story from its inception? Boaz is right about to marry Ruth, yet the Megillah feels the need once again, by the way, unless you were 8:30 unsure who we're talking about, it's Ruth the Moabite, Ruth the Moabite. So the question is the question is why? Why the need to refer to her in this way? So take a look at number three. David writes in chapter 18 something beautiful. David writes, "I found David my servant so David writes in I this is interesting. This is David 8:54 writing about himself. I found David my servant I found my servant David I've anointed him with oil. So what's the obvious question? What's the obvious question? So first of all, what does it mean I found my servant David? Right, this is David, this is David writing about his own experiences. So what does it mean when it says I obviously I found 9:18 each other. What do you mean I found David? Was he lost? He was what what does that phrase mean? So if you take a look at number four, the says By the way, what I also want to point out is there are a number of times throughout the where David makes a veiled reference to to great-grandmother Ruth. And it's really quite beautiful. So, watch what's happening over here. So, the Alshich 9:40 says, "What does it mean Matsasi David that I have found?" Well, what does it mean found? So, the Alshich writes something very beautifully. He says, "V'shira Kosuv, Kiva Ocha V'mosi Bachurei Me'am, Shadai Hu Yashbir Amus." So, the Alshich means to tell us outside. The Alshich says very simply, what it means is as follows. 10:00 Remember the story in Navi when David is anointed king? David was still the king. Remember this is in the aftermath in Shmuel Aleph, Perek Tes Vav, chapter 15, where remember Shaul is given the command to wipe out Amalek. Shaul doesn't listen. 10:16 He does not wipe out Amalek, right? For what- for whatever the reason it was. Shmuel says to Shaul, "Because you have gone ahead and defied Hakadosh Baruchu, the Ribono Shel Olam is going to take the monarchy back from you." At that point, a little while later, so Shmuel anoints David. So, this is a very interesting anointing because there was already a sitting king, which of course caused a tremendous amount 10:39 later on of animosity between David and Shaul, who to complicate things even more became son-in-law and father-in-law, right? Because remember Shaul does I mean David marries Shaul's daughter Michal. So, again, but we'll we'll get to that a different time. In any event, the Alshich says, "David was plucked from obscurity." So, you have you have to you have to appreciate something very interesting. David Hamelech, uh we always speak about this. 11:02 David Hamelech had every single challenge you could think of in life David had. The only thing that David never struggled with was money. He had a lot of money. He came from a wealthy family. As king, guess one of the perks is that you're very wealthy. 11:19 But every other problem you want could think of, he had. And including growing up, he was very much like the marginalized child. How do we know this? Interestingly enough, so just a little bit of navi over here. When Hashem says to Shaul, sorry, Hashem says to Shmuel the navi, go to the house of Yishai, and one of the sons of Yishai is going to be become the king. Okay? 11:41 So, he comes to Yishai. He He says to Yishai, Yishai, gather your sons. He gathers his sons. So, and and Yishai's sons were mighty warriors, accomplished warriors in Shaul's army. So, so Shmuel is looking son, he's looking for like the word of God to come to him. 11:57 Son, son, son, son, son, God's not signaling signaling that any of them are the king. So, finally he says to Yishai, do you have any other sons? Yishai's like, no. So, Shmuel's like, are you sure you don't have any more sons? 12:15 And Yishai's like, oh yeah, there's one more. So, can you imagine being the oh yeah, there's one more kid, right? Like in other words, that it doesn't even dawn on your father to gather you with the other sons, and when the navi asks you, do you have another son, your first response is no. 12:33 And then only after you're prodded, do you are you reminded that you have another son. There was a a really complicated family dynamic that David Hamelach grew up with, which just, by the way, I just want to point out something else. If you notice, all of our great people come from really complicated family dynamics. Right? They would never get a shidduch today. Never 12:56 get a shidduch today, right? But it it it is fascinating to see they all come from complicated family dynamics. Why is that? To teach us a very important lesson. You don't choose your family. You don't choose the dynamics you grew up with, but never let complicated or compromised dynamics make you think that you can't become someone Avraham Avinu's father threw him into a fiery furnace because he wouldn't 13:20 worship idolatry. Whatever problems you have with your parents, right? I guarantee you they never tried to throw you into a fiery furnace. Right? Rachel and Leah, right? We're treated like property by their father, Laban, right? So, I'm just pointing out over here every single great person comes from some type of difficult family, right? 13:41 Jacob had a brother that wanted to kill him. Everybody every single great person comes from a complicated dynamic. People, you know, in today's day and age we love to blame non-accomplishment on parental failures. 13:58 I This is the way I am because my mother was this, my father father was this, my home life was this. And by the way, that's real. There's no question that when you grow up with trauma in your childhood, and you grow up with with deficient parenting, it absolutely leaves its mark on you. But, don't think that there's anything in this world that you can't transcend. And don't think that there's anything in this world that you can't overcome. Everything leaves 14:21 its scars, and everything leaves its bruises. But, at the end of the day, nothing can stand in the way of your self-actualization if you are ready to put your mind to it. So, says the Alshich, this is what it means Matsati David Ati. I found David. 14:36 I found David. There are some people who are destined for greatness that you could tell already from the beginning that they're destined for greatness. And there are some people who are plucked from obscurity to become great. David was plucked. David was plucked. He was the forgotten child. He was the shepherd of his father's flock. That's what he did. If anybody, right, in David Melech's high school yearbook, right, no one ever wrote, you know, future king of Israel, 15:00 right? Just it just wasn't just wasn't there. No one had any great hopes or aspirations for him. He was a regular kid. Matsati David Ati. I saw, which is It's also There's so much to say about this because so much of what the beauty of our relationship with Hashem is that the rest of the world kind of only sees me for the way I present outside. 15:18 Hakadosh Baruch Hu sees who what and what I could be on the inside. Matzati David HaMelech. Okay, so if we skip down a little bit, look at verse number six. The Medrash says, "What does it mean Matzati David HaMelech? What does it mean I found David is incredible in Rabbi Yitzchak?" Matzati David HaMelech, I found David. 15:34 Where did I find David? Heichi Heichan Matzati? Where did I find David? BeSdom. I found David in Sdom. Sdom, right? Sdom and Amorah, the cities that are destroyed in the beginning of Breishit because of their terrible and horrible deprived behavior. So the Medrash says, "Matzati David HaMelech, where did I find it? Where do you find 15:58 the David HaMelech? Where do you find a person like that?" So the Medrash says, "Do you know where you can find David HaMelech?" In Sdom. In Sdom. Which obviously begs the question, what in the world does this Medrash mean? So let's analyze this a little bit. Take a look at verse number seven. Going to Chumash Devarim and going to go on with our journey over here. Chumash Devarim the pasuk says, "Lo yavo Amoni u Moavi baKahal Hashem." So this is a very important set of psukim because this was 16:22 so much of the This was so much of the tension in the Gilus Ros. So the pasuk says, "An Ammonite and a Moabite, people from the nation of Ammon and Moab cannot convert. They can't enter the assembly of Hashem. Can't enter even 10 generations. Lo yavo laKahal Hashem ad olam." Now by the way, interestingly enough, when we say that a person from Ammon and Moab can't convert, so it's interesting. 16:43 Technically they could convert, but they can't marry into the natural pool of the Jewish people. That's really what the restriction is. But we don't accept them as converts. Al Why why not? What did Ammon and Moab do? "Al devar shelo kidmu eschem baLechem u vaMayim baDerech betzeischem miMitzrayim asher tzivicha Hashem Elokecha es Bilam ben Beor miPesor Aram na'arai imacha laKalelcha." So ultimately again, Ammon and Moab, 17:08 what did they do? So first of all, remember again, Ammon and Moab are our cousins. Where do Ammon and Moab come from? Where Where come from? Lot's daughters, right? Lot, Avram's nephew, engages in an incestuous relationship with both of his daughters, yielding those two boys, Ammon and Moab. 17:27 Ammon means again from my nation. It was a veiled reference to the fact that that she became pregnant from her father, and Moab is not a veiled reference. Moab means may av, from my father. So, Ammon and Moab are cousin nations to us. So, the Torah says, "When we left Egypt, what do you expect of your mishpacha? 17:47 What do you expect of your mishpacha?" The basic right that if they see you're traveling through the desert, they offer you bread, they offer you water, they offer you something. Ammon and Moab offered us absolutely nothing. Not only did they Not only did they go ahead and offer us absolutely nothing, but the nation of Moab actually hired the gentile prophet Bil'am to go ahead and curse us and destroy us. So, Kodesh Baruch Hu 18:09 essentially says, "Because this mishpacha failed to exhibit even the most basic human decency, therefore, they have no place within the ranks of the Jewish people. They can't convert. They can't join. This is Ammon and Moab. Good. Turn the page. Source number eight. Source number eight. Now, here's what's interesting. So, now First of all, now you can appreciate the 18:34 tension that surrounded Ruth's arrival in Eretz Canaan, and ultimately, again, even why those who wanted to discredit David and not discredit him. Right? Because remember, Ruth was the first convert from the nation of Moab. Now, it happens to be that the way that Chazal understand the halacha is it's Ammoni v'lo Ammonis, Moavi v'lo Moavis. The restriction on conversion is only on the 18:59 men from Ammon and Moab, not the women. What's the logic of that? Since the Torah tells me that the reason they can't convert is because they did not greet you with bread and water, and they hired a gentile prophet to curse you. Since the Torah says that, the Gemara says, "Who would have been the ones who would have come out to greet the fledgling Jewish nation with bread and water in the desert?" Who would have done that? It would have been the men. Biblical norms would not have 19:24 had women venturing out into the desert to offer bread and water to strangers. That would not have been the biblical norm. So, it would have only been the men. Because of the men did not do it, therefore the conversion restriction is on the men, not on the women. And that is why Ruth was absolutely unequivocally permitted to go ahead and convert. Now, watch this. But, I want to show you something fascinating. 19:48 Take a look at source number eight. Vayomer Boaz el Ruth, let's go back. This is going back a little bit in perek bet. Perek bet, chapter, remember again, is the first time that Boaz and Ruth met. Remember again, where did they meet? Where is their first date? I mean, it wasn't a first date. But, where where where did they meet? In the field. Whose field? 20:05 Boaz's field, right? Boaz comes back from wherever he was wherever he was doing. He takes notice of Ruth in the field. He asks his workers, "Lemi hana'arah hazot?" Who is that girl? Who who is she? So, he finds out who she is. He goes over to her, and that's where source number eight picks up. Vayomer Boaz el Ruth, Boaz says to Ruth, "Halo shamati BT?" "Al teli lelkut basadeh acher, vegam lo 20:27 sa'avori mizah. Ba chol sit bakirim na'arah sayin." So, ultimately, again, so what happens? So, Boaz says to Ruth, "Ruth, remember we saw this before? Don't go don't glean in any other field. You don't have to collect food from anywhere else. You're with me. You're with me. You come to my field. You can glean in my field. 20:47 And stay with the people of my family. And don't go glean anywhere else. Not only that, not only that, take whatever you want, right? Boaz is telling Ruth that whereas the poor are limited with what they're allowed to take from a particular field. There's certain defined gleanings. He says to Ruth, "Take whatever you want." Not only that, if you get thirsty, you drink from where my family drinks from. You want something to drink? So, wheat, food, you'll have plenty. Water, you'll have 21:18 plenty. And what does she say? So, what happened? So, what happened? So, Ruth is overwhelmed by this. Right? And Ruth says to Boaz, "Why would you do this for me? You don't know me. You don't know me. No one knows me. I'm a stranger in this land. I'm an outcast. 21:42 I'm a foreigner. Why would you do this incredible act of kindness for me?" So, Boaz responds, "Because I heard everything you did for your mother-in-law. I heard about your legendary kindness. What you did for your mother-in-law. 22:14 You left your parents' home. You left everything you knew, and you ventured out into the great unknown, into a place, into a home, into a world that you did not know." So, just what was happening over here? Right? So, Boaz is taken by Ruth. We spoke about this. What What exactly why he was taken by her, what he saw, but he's taken by her. He says to her, "Listen, don't go glean anywhere else. 22:36 Anything and everything you need, you get from me. You eat from my field. You drink from my water with my family." Ruth, why would you be so kind to me? Boaz, I heard about the incredible kindness that you did with your mother-in-law. And what you did was of epic proportions. I saw that. I'm overwhelmed by that. You did kindness for someone, I'm going to do kindness for you. 23:00 Watch what's so So, just let's take a step back for a second. Ruth was from what nation? One more time, what nation? Moab. Moab is precluded from joining the Jewish people, why? Lack of Hesed. Lack of Hesed. So, take a look at source number nine. I quoted from this safer last week. This is Tikva Mei Mayim of Yaakov Medan, who's one of the Rashei Yeshiva in Har Etzion. 23:24 And he says as follows. He says, "Maaseh Ruth Boaz took a camel of Moab." So, amazingly enough, so this is really fascinating. He says, "From this story, we learn the limitations or how one is not really permitted to go ahead and take revenge." He says, "How so?" This is really incredible. He says, he says, "HaMoaviyah Ruth 23:46 Boaz brought baskets of shallow kiddim as he traveled on mines." So, remember again, Ruth comes from a nation who did not know how to do Hesed. She came from a nation ultimately again who did not know how to greet even their own family with bread and water. "Po geshes besados beslechem as Boaz hamikadem also balachem ubemayim." Do you hear how incredible this is? So, Ruth comes from 24:09 a nation, Moab, who did not know how to greet their own cousins with bread and water. Boaz meets Ruth for the first time, and what does he offer her? What does he offer her? Bread and water. Bread and right, first encounter. And he says to her, "Here is bread and water." "Hamikadem also balachem ubemayim pe shuchtzovi da'akli." It's right. 24:32 "Bemakom chlavah avdus sheratsim uvakalas Yisrael he's ochel bechas malchus." And incredible, the same nation that wanted to curse the Jewish people and destroy us, ultimately again Boaz gives her bread and water, and this is the beginning ultimately again of her journey to becoming the mother of the monarchy. So, Rav Medan makes an interesting observation. He says, "Is there lo yovo Amoni uMoavi on a tiras 24:57 avon what Rav Medan dad picks up on over here is you see the limitations of revenge. Right? So, again, one would have thought that as soon as Boaz heard that Ruth was from the nation of Moab, what would he have done? Get out of here. 25:12 Get out of here, right? You did not do kindness for us, we don't do kindness for you. So, first of all, my dad says, you see from here the limitations of revenge. Right? In general, the Torah tells us not how to take revenge. Why can't you take What about What if somebody really deserves it? 25:29 Somebody really wrongs me. Why shouldn't I take revenge? Because so often so often what he teaches us is it's not about being right. It's about being happy. When you become the kind of person who takes revenge, even if the other individual actually deserves it, what are you doing to yourself? What are you 25:51 making yourself into? So, Boaz does the most incredible thing. What does Boaz do? He takes the theological high road. Ruth, you come from a nation that did not know how to express basic human kindness and decency. 26:07 We're not like that. That's not who we the Jews That's not who we are. That's not who we So, you come from a nation that doesn't know how to greet their own family with bread and water after overcoming 210 years of slavery, now being in the middle of nowhere, venturing towards our destiny. 26:23 You come from a nation that doesn't know basic human kindness, I'll show you how it's done. Boaz says, I'm not I'm not going to pay in kind. I'm going to take the high road. And the high road is, Ruth, whatever you need. And by the way, this was before marriage was even a thought. This was nothing. This was nothing. But fascinatingly enough, what sort of made my dad understand from this 26:46 story that this is what it means to be a Jew. What it always means to be a Jew ultimately is to take the high road. That's why again in general, the way we deal with our enemies is never is never to roll in the mud with them. But it's always to assert theological superiority 27:09 on every [clears throat] single level. So Boaz encounters perhaps his first Moabite in his life and whereas he would have been within his right to say, "Get out of here. Get out of here." What does he do? He gives her the very thing that her ancestors did not give his ancestors. They didn't have the decency to grace us with bread and water. He offers her safety, food security, 27:32 safety, security, any bread and water you need will come from me. A tremendous insight into the nature of the theological identity of the Jew. The ability to always go ahead. You know, there's a there's a Okay, we'll we'll put this on task over here. Let me show you something interesting. And by the way, but but here but but there's one more piece to this, which is which is that if if you notice 27:57 what figured Boaz's response. Right? What what Ruth Boaz Boaz doesn't just offer her water, right? Ruth says Ruth says, "Why am I deserving of this? You don't know me. I'm a nokhriyah." What's Boaz's response? What's Boaz's response? Why is he willing to give this to her? Why? 28:14 Why? Because she did chesed. Now, so what I want to point out is something very interesting. So in other words, Boaz doesn't just say Ruth Rav Medan is focusing on a point over here that Boaz is choosing not to take revenge because why? 28:29 Why? And by this just you should know, one of the most important life lessons cuz this comes up all the time, right? Someone does something to me and I have an opportunity to give it right back, whether it's physically or verbally. You could do that and you feel good for about 3 seconds. But then there's a piece of you that is so profoundly disappointed with yourself. 28:49 Like, why did I get into the mud like that? What why? Why why why? I I don't want to be that way. I don't want to be that person. Because again, life is not about being right. Life is about being happy. There are plenty of people who spend their lives always trying to be right. And generally, people who always try to be right have always one thing in common, which is they're miserable. 29:12 They're always right, but they're absolutely miserable. Miserable and usually lonely as well. Because no one ever wants to be close to that person who always has to be right. But people who are willing to say, "I don't I don't really care if I'm right or if I'm not right. It's not about being right. I love to just to be happy in life." So, people ultimately again will prioritize happiness. Those are the kind of people 29:35 generally again who have an infectious simchas chaim. They're usually the light the light, you know, the light in the crowd. So, but there's something else that's happening over here. So, remember, what triggers Boaz's chesed towards is not pure altruism. It's not just that I want to take revenge. It's that I heard what you did. I heard what you did for your mother-in-law. And I'm so almost like what Boaz is saying is I'm so 29:58 overwhelmed by your chesed that ultimately again I want to give you something back in kind. So, I want to show you something interesting here. The lack the lack of middos in Ammon and Moab wasn't just something that was about the Jewish people, right? When you look at the pasuk, right? When we look at that pasuk in in source number seven, that Ammon and Moab can't enter into the 30:21 assembly of Hashem because they did not exhibit kindness to us. You might think that's like a like an anti-Semitic thing. They didn't like Jews. So, that's why they didn't do chesed. But if you notice, if you go all the way back, remember again, Ammon and Moab come from where? Where where do they originally hail from? Sodom. 30:37 They originally hail from Sodom, right? Because Lot and his daughters are from Sodom. After stone is destroyed, they're saved, right? They're saved in the they find refuge in a cave and that's where the whole that's where Ammon and Moab are conceived. But Ammon and Moab originate in stone. We don't want to think about something like number 10. 30:57 Remember how Remember that was whole story in stone where the Malachim looked at the my first he thought they were just guests. They come to Lot's house. They're there really to destroy stone and to save Lot. If you take a look at the Medrash, the Medrash said that Avram Shiva goes. She means Sarah Parah also kidvarav. Right before those angels were with Lot, they were with Avram Avinu. 31:20 Right? These are the same angels that came to announce the birth of Yitzchak. Right? And they also went later on to stone to destroy stone and save Lot and his family. When they were by Avram, what did Sarah Imenu prepare for them? Who goes? Cakes, bread. Bread. Ubalot save Umatzos offer. By Lot, what did Lot give them? Lot gave them Matzah. Avadai, 31:42 not just Matzah. Shafilu melach lo hevia ishto shel Lot lifnei That even salt. Just So what I'm pointing out to you is the profound character flaw in Ammon and Moab that they did not greet us with bread and water wasn't just simple anti-Semitism. It was a fundamental lack of human decency and human compassion. 32:02 In other words, it could very well be they wouldn't have greeted anyone with bread and water. We just happen to be their Mishpacha and we were there and could have used a little bit of human kindness. But this lack of chesed, this lack of just empathy, this lack of good kite, this was this was there. This was there before there wasn't Jewish people. 32:22 This this was there already from the beginning. It came And by the way, Lot was the best of stone. Right? Lot was the best was the most pious man in stone. The most pious man in stone They know how to properly take care of guests. All the more so, the rest of their sham. So, we see already that there was a almost like a profound character flaw, a profound character 32:45 deficiency, which existed in Stone and clearly was later on transferred ultimately again to Ammon and Moab. So, watch just just understand what's just unfolded over here. So, if you look at number 11, Rav Meidan writes again, he says, So, watch this. 33:19 Where does this come from? Where does this come from? One more time, where does she come from? Moab. Moab comes from Stone. If you did like a study of Ruth's spiritual DNA, right? It would come back corrupted all the way through. And by the way, remember, she's not only from Moab, who's from Stone, she's monarchy, right? Ruth was royalty. She was a 33:43 princess, she was a Moabite princess. So, which we have to assume also means like in these in in certainly biblical times, these were dynastic monarchies, which means that she had a long line in Moab and ultimately back to Stone, which means that Ruth in her essence for her, chesed was antithetical to who she was. 34:03 She probably never saw it at home. She probably never experienced it in her life and it certainly was not the culture that she grew up in. Yet, what did Ruth do? What did Ruth do? One word, what did she do? She changed. 34:19 She changed. Ruth made a comprehensive decision, I should say she made a personalistic decision to be someone comprehensively different. She made a decision to repudiate the values she grew up with and to embrace something new. 34:41 She made the decision that just because I was brought up a certain way, I was raised a certain way, just because there's certain spiritual DNA that courses through my veins, I can choose to be someone different. 34:58 And in the And that's what the whole story is. That's why in in that moment you're going going back, right? There are so many parts of the Megillah that are difficult to comprehend. In that part of the Megillah where after Ruth and right my Ruth and Orpah were widowed, and again Naomi's widowed, three widows staying together at the crossroads between Moab and Eretz Canaan, and Naomi's like, "I'm going back home." And Ruth and 35:20 Orpah say, "I'll go with you. I'll go with you." So, remember again, what does Naomi say to them? "Don't come with me. I've nothing to offer you." Orpah turns back. And by the way, no one could fault Orpah. I think 9.9 out of 10 people would have done the same exact thing. First of all, Naomi's telling her to go back. Right? She's telling her to go back. So, Orpah has every right to I tried. I I offered to accompany my widowed mother-in-law. So, Ruth goes, 35:44 "Why? What was that? What Why did she go?" And it turns out that in that moment, that was almost like Ruth's opportunity to say, "I can become someone different. But in order for me to become someone different, it's almost as if the past has to be the past. 36:04 I have to be If I want to become someone different, I can't go back home. Because going back home to Ammon, going back home to Moab, going back home to stone means that I'm steeped in a culture of egocentricity, steeped in a culture of selfishness. And if I go back home, that's what it is. And in this moment, if I go with my mother-in-law, 36:25 I embrace the totality of selflessness. In that moment when Ruth follows Naomi to Canaan, that was the moment she decided to become someone different. See, I don't know if Ruth followed Naomi because she loved her mother-in-law so much, right? To be honest, Naomi does not present as the highly lovable type, right? Especially when she tells everybody to call her Mara, bitter, 36:50 right? She didn't She does not seem like the kind of person you want to be around. I don't know if it's that Ruth wanted to be with Naomi or maybe what Ruth just wanted to do was to embrace the opportunity for complete personalistic change. 37:05 I want to be someone different. I just want to be someone different. And in that moment, in that crossroads between between Moab and Canaan, she was presented with the opportunity to become someone different. She was presented with the opportunity to ultimately again embrace a life of chesed and repudiate a life of selfishness. 37:28 And that's what she does. In that moment, Ruth demonstrates to herself and to the world that change of any degree is absolutely possible. Just because you were raised a certain way, just because certain things happened to you in life, need not determine the person you become. You choose the person you 37:52 become. Again, not minimizing the impact of our past and on our childhood and of our upbringing and our family and us. Of course, these all things all have an impact. But you choose who you want to be. And in that moment, Ruth chooses, "I choose to repudiate the non-chesed of Ammon, Moab, and Edom, and I choose to embrace the chesed of 38:15 the Jewish people." So now So now watch this. Go back up. So therefore, when she stumbles upon the field, and really stumbles cuz she had no idea where she was going. But it's when she stumbles upon the field of Boaz, and Boaz sees her. And Boaz is like, if this woman could change who she was and what she was, and she could go from the nation of Ammon, who is known for their selfishness, their egocentricity, 38:39 and their fundamental lack of empathy, and she could change into someone else, then I could change my attitude towards her as well. And that's what happens. That's why Boaz says, "You did chesed, and you fundamentally changed who you are. I'm going to do chesed for you as well. I know that your ancestors didn't give my ancestors bread and water, but you, Ruth, have demonstrated to all of us that change is possible. And if you 39:02 could change, so can we." And now coming full circle, coming full circle, what happens? So, really, part of the essence of Megillat Ruth is this profound message that change is possible. You know, we like to go through life thinking that there are certain immutable parts of our personality. Right? Certain things about myself that I can't change. We love to do that. Why do we love to do that? Cuz what happens if you tell yourself you 39:26 can't change certain things? You don't have to. Then I'm freed, right? I'm free I have box that me. God made me this. You know, that I'm I'm raising who goes there. The Rambam says that one of the worst middos a person could possess, one of the worst character traits, is anger. The Rambam says, "But what do you do in life if you have a really short fuse? 39:43 You have a bad temper. What do you do?" Listen to this profound piece of Maimonidean advice. What do you do if you have a bad temper? Get ready for it. Get ready for it. The Rambam says, "Stop getting angry." Incredible. Stop getting like, "Really? 39:59 That's all you got? That's all you got? Maybe some breath work, you know, some I don't know, some tea some techniques, yoga." I I don't know. Something something No. He just "Stop getting angry." Why? You know what the Rambam's teaching us? You decide who you are. 40:16 In life, there are two groups of people. There are victims and there are doers. You could be a victim and by the way, a lot of times you have good reasons to be victims, right? Stuff A lot of bad stuff happens in life that we do not choose. Circumstances foisted upon us. 40:31 So, you could use that as an opportunity for non-performance. And you could use that as an excuse for not creating for yourself what you need to create. Or you could say, you know what, Hashem, you know, who you visited a whole bunch of circumstances upon me that I would have never chosen for myself. Sometimes those circumstances do leave me bruised and battered. Change is possible. 40:54 And if I want to become someone else, I absolutely have the ability to do so. That was Ross. That was Ross. And by the way, I want to say something amazing. The Gemara in Maseches Avodah Zarah says that, you know, David Hamelech also made a terrible mistake. What was David Hamelech's terrible mistake? Well, episode with Batsheva. 41:14 That was That wasn't episode that forever colored David Hamelech's life. So, the Gemara, you know, it is interesting, right? The Gemara says, how did this happen to David? How like how did this happen? That he made he made this mistake with this marriage. 41:31 Like, how how does that happen? So, the Gemara says something amazing. The Gemara says, "Lo haya David ra'uy l'osah maisah." David Hamelech, it should have never happened. Okay. How did it happen? L'taton pischon pischon pel ba'alei teshuvah. 41:48 That's give to give ba'alei teshuvah a leg to stand on. What What What What does that mean? A person might think that you do something so terrible in life, there's no point of return. David Hamelech did something very terrible. And yet, what did he do? He rehabilitated himself. 42:05 What's the proof that he rehabilitated himself? That ultimately, again, he was the founder of a dynastic monarchy. Not only that, David Hamelech the father of Mashiach. David Amalech made a mistake, and then he changed and he did shuva. He did shuva and he rebounded and he became stronger and he became greater, not despite his mistakes, but ultimately again as a result of his mistakes. And 42:28 as a result of that, David Amalech is still David Malcolm Shira, the father not just of dynastic monarchy, but the father of the Messianic line. Where did David Amalech get the strength to be able to go ahead and change? Where did he get the strength to be able to rebound? Where does that come from? 42:45 What's the answer? What's the answer? The Alter Baba from Ruth. Because he had a grandmother who made a personalistic 180. He had a grandmother who came from a culture that was so steeped in negativity, in selfishness, in egocentricity. And she made a decision to become someone else. 43:05 And David Amalech essentially says, "If my grandmother could do it, then I certainly could do it as well." If my grandmother could affect that level of personalistic change, then I could do the same as well. That's why if you come full circle, if you go back for just a moment to source number six, when David Amalech says in Tilden, "Matzati David Avdi, I found David my servant." I found David my servant and the Medrish 43:29 says, "Where did I find David? Heichan Matzati Ozo? Bisdom." Where did we find Where did David Amalech come from? The answer is, where did David Amalech come from? Incredibly, from Stone. Now, by the way, that's that's a genealogical truth, right? David Amalech comes from Ruth, who comes from Moab, who comes from Stone. But on a deeper level, 43:51 even someone who comes from Stone could transform themselves into someone totally different. Even a Ruth who comes from Stone could transform And once Ruth showed us it's possible, if it's possible for Ruth, it's possible for anyone. So, David Hamelach says, "If you want to ask me where I come from, I come from stone." Because when you come from stone and you make yourself into a Ruth, you show that 44:16 anything and everything is possible. And that gave David Hamelach the chizuk that even after his mistake, and even after his dramatic misstep, he knew he wasn't down and out. I could fix myself. I could change myself. I could rehabilitate myself. I could transcend. I could still self-actualize. How do I know that? 44:36 Because my grandmother did it. Ruth embraces the power of change against all odds, and watch what happens. Her change Her change creates a tidal wave. Right? It encourages Boaz. Boaz, I could change my attitude also. I'm not going to take revenge on you. I'm going to embrace you. That embracing of Ruth ultimately again leads to their shidduch, leads to their marriage. That 45:00 marriage leads to David. And David Hamelach embraces that same power of his grandmother as well. That no matter how bad decisions I make, no matter how bad things get, no matter how much I compromise myself, the power of change is always there. And that power of change allows me to transcend whatever baggage I'm brought up with, whatever baggage is visited upon me. That power of change says that no matter how badly I mess up in life, 45:23 I'm never at a dead end. I can always back out. Yes, sometimes there are residual consequences of our actions. Absolutely, some things are done that can't be undone. But at least on a personalistic level, no matter how bad it is, the power of change is always there. 45:39 We will, in Mitzrayim, one day have Mashiach. Alavai bimheira beyameinu. We will only have Mashiach because one woman decided to embrace her power of change. Had Ruth at that crossroads, right? It's incredible. Had Ruth at that crossroads decided just to say, "You know what? I'm just a Moabite. I'm just a selfish, egocentric, self-centered person. I'm 46:02 going back home. Naomi, good luck. Good luck to you. Had she done that, the rest of us would have never unfolded. And the rest of us would have never unfolded, there would have never been a David and Amalech. Without a David and Amalech, who knows what would have happened against the Messianic line. But because one woman decided to exercise the most profound power of change, she then inspires Boaz to do it. She then inspired her great-grandson to do it, 46:25 and because of that, one day we will have Geulah. One day we'll have Mashiach. But until that great day, we have to take this example as well, because very often we go through life feeling like we are victims of circumstance. We feel powerless. We feel sometimes overwhelmed by the circumstances of life that are visited upon us. And yes, there's no question that some things in life you cannot change. But there are many things in 46:49 life that we can. Especially when it comes to our own identity, who we are, what we are. We are who we are, what we are, because we choose to be that way. And if you don't like something about your personality, and you say, "Well, what can I do? This is who I am." No, if you don't like something, change it. And if you don't change it, that's choice, also. 47:12 Ruth teaches us the power of choice, the power of change, the ability to transcend even the very things that we are saddled with from our families, from our upbringing. We choose to become who we want to be. Ruth did it, Boaz did it, David and Amalech did it, and hopefully I wish all the congregation to do the same. I'll have to stop over here for today. This is the last uh shiur in the 47:36 Ruth series. Stay tuned. If you're not on the WhatsApp chat, uh the um QR code over here is on top. You can join the chat like that, or join the shiur email for updates further for summer schedule. Yasher koach, everyone. Have a great day. >> Thank you very Mhm.
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