Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to engross ourselves in the words of the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah – Amein
כי
תקצר – ‘’when you reap’’ or When YHVH has
been good to you, He gives you an opportunity to be good to others who need
your help.
Deu 24:19 “When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, so that יהוה your Elohim might bless you in all the work of your hands.
The story of Ruth gives us a deeper insight into the teachings of this Torah portion.
Rth
1:16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you, or to go back from
following after you. For wherever you go, I go; and wherever you stop over, I
stop over. Your people is my people, and your Elohim is my Elohim.[a] Footnote:
aRuth, great-grandmother of Dawiḏ.
Rth 1:17 “Where you die, I die, and there I shall be buried. יהוה do so to me, and more also – for death itself parts you and me.”
Rth
2:1 And
Na‛omi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of great wealth, of the clan
of Elimeleḵ, and his name was Bo‛az.
Rth
2:2 And Ruth, the Mo’aḇitess, said to Na‛omi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads
of grain after him in whose eyes I find favour.” So she said to her, “Go, my
daughter.”
Rth
2:3 And she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. As
it turned out, she came to the part of the field belonging to Bo‛az, the near
relative of Elimeleḵ.
Rth
2:4 And see, Bo‛az had come from Běyth Leḥem, and said to the reapers, “יהוה be with you!” And they answered him, “יהוה bless you!”
Rth
2:5 And Bo‛az said to his servant who was appointed over the reapers,
“Whose young woman is this?”
Rth
2:6 So the servant who was appointed over the reapers answered and said,
“It is the young Mo’aḇite woman who came back with Na‛omi from the fields of Mo’aḇ,
Rth
2:7 and she said, ‘Please let me glean, and gather among the sheaves
behind the reapers.’ And she came and has remained from morning until now – she
sat a little in the house.” ( שׁבתה הבית מעט׃she paused for only a short while)
Rth
2:8 And Bo‛az said to Ruth, “You have heard, have you not, my daughter?
Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close to my
young women.
Rth
2:9 “Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and you shall go
after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you
are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have
drawn.”
Rth
2:10 And she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him,
“Why have I found favour in your eyes, that you should take notice of me,
seeing I am a foreigner?”
Rth
2:11 And Bo‛az answered and said to her, “I have been told all that you
have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you
have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come
to a people whom you did not know before.
Rth
2:12 “יהוה repay your work, and your
reward is complete from יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ěl, under
whose wings you have come to seek refuge.”
Rth
2:13 And she said, “Let me find favour in your eyes, my master, because
you have comforted me, and have spoken to the heart of your female servant,
though I am not like one of your female servants.”
Rth
2:14 And Bo‛az said to her, “Come here at mealtime. Then you shall eat of
the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” And she sat beside the
reapers, and he passed roasted grain to her. And she ate and was satisfied, and
had left over.
Rth
2:15 And she rose up to glean, and Bo‛az commanded his young men, saying,
“Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not embarrass her.
Rth 2:16 “Rather, draw out from the bundles for her, and leave it for her to glean, and do not restrain her.”
Rth
3:1 And
Na‛omi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for
you, so that it is well with you?
Rth
3:2 “And now, is not Bo‛az, with whose young women you have been, our
relative? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing-floor.
Rth
3:3 “And, you shall bathe and anoint yourself, and put your garments on
and go down to the threshing-floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until
he has finished eating and drinking.
Rth
3:4 “And it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place
where he lies, and shall go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. And let him
make known to you what you should do.”
Rth
3:5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me, I do.”
Rth
3:6 And she went down to the threshing-floor and did according to all
that her mother-in-law commanded her.
Rth
3:7 And Bo‛az ate and drank, and his heart was glad, and he went to lie
down at the end of the heap of grain. And she came softly and uncovered his
feet, and lay down.
Rth
3:8 And it came to be at midnight that the man was startled, and turned
himself, and saw a woman lying at his feet!
Rth
3:9 And he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your female
servant. Now you shall spread your covering over your female servant – for you
are a redeemer
אָנֹכִי רוּת אֲמָתֶךָ, וּפָרַשְׂתָּ כְנָפֶךָ עַל-אֲמָתְךָ, כִּי גֹאֵל אָתָּה.
This is very unusual – is Ruth selling her body to this man – or does she see a righteousness in this man who she knows will act in a righteous way towards her? (Heb’’yibbum’’)
Rth
3:10 And he said, “Blessed are you of יהוה, my daughter! For you have shown more loving-commitment at the
end than at the beginning, not to go after young men, whether poor or
rich.
Rth
3:11 “And now, my daughter, do not fear. All that you say I do for you,
for all the people of my town know that you are a capable woman.
Rth
3:12 “And now, it is true that I am your redeemer. However, there is a
redeemer nearer than I.
Rth
3:13 “Stop over tonight, and in the morning it shall be that if he does
redeem you, good – let him do it. But if he is not pleased to redeem you, then
I shall redeem you, as יהוה lives! Lie down until
morning.”
Rth 3:14 And she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognise another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor.”
Rth
4:5 And Bo‛az said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of
Na‛omi, you shall also acquire Ruth the Mo’aḇitess, the wife of the dead, to
raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance.”
Rth
4:6 And the redeemer said, “I am not able to redeem it for myself, lest I
ruin my own inheritance. Redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I am
not able to redeem it.”
Rth
4:7 And this was formerly done in Yisra’ěl concerning redeeming and
exchanging, to confirm every word: one man took off his sandal and gave it to
the other, and this was a witness in Yisra’ěl.
Rth
4:8 So the redeemer said to Bo‛az, “Buy it for yourself.” Then he took
off his sandal.
Rth
4:9 And Bo‛az said to the elders and to all the people, “You are
witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimeleḵ’s, and all that was Kilyon’s and
Maḥlon’s, from
the hand of Na‛omi.
Rth
4:10 “And also, Ruth the Mo’aḇitess, the wife of Maḥlon, I have acquired as my wife,
to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, so that the name of the
dead should not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his
place. You are witnesses today.”
Rth
4:11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said,
“Witnesses! יהוה make the woman who is coming
to your house as Raḥěl and as Lě’ah, the two who built the house of Yisra’ěl. And prove
your worth in Ephrathah and proclaim the Name in Běyth Leḥem.
Rth 4:17 And the women, her neighbours, gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Na‛omi.” And they called his name Oḇěḏ. He was the father of Yishai, the father of Dawiḏ.
In Hebrew, "uncovering feet" (specifically the word "margelot", as in Ruth 3:4) is often interpreted as a euphemism for sexual intimacy or a request for marriage.
Deu 24:20 “When you beat your olive trees, do not
examine the branch behind you. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless,
and for the widow.
Deu 24:21 “When you gather the grapes of your
vineyard, do not glean behind you. Let it be for the stranger, for the
fatherless, and for the widow.
Deu 24:22 “And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim. Therefore I am commanding you to do this word.
When you reap- is about not forgetting that at one time you were unable to reap and now that YHVH has blessed you with freedom and abundance, it is right to bless those who need help.
Deu 25:1 “When there is a dispute between
men, then they shall come unto judgment, and they shall be judged, and the
righteous declared righteous and the wrongdoer declared wrong.
Deu 25:2 “And it shall be, if the wrongdoer is to
be struck, that the judge shall cause him to lie down and be struck in his
presence with the number of blows according to his wrong.
Deu 25:3 “Forty strikes he gives him but no more, lest he strike him with many more blows than these, and your brother be degraded before your eyes.
This instruction fits into the theme of the previous one – Giving justice to someone who has been disadvantaged. Sages add someone who was seriously wronged by false witnesses.
Deu 25:4 “Do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing.
Continuing the theme – one shouldn’t even withhold grain from a hungry ox.
Laws Concerning Levirate Marriage
Deu 25:5 “When brothers dwell together, and one of
them has died, and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not become a
stranger’s outside. Her husband’s brother does go in to her, and shall take her
as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
Deu 25:6 “And it shall be that the first-born son
which she bears does rise up for the name of his dead brother, so that his name
is not blotted out of Yisra’ěl.
Deu 25:7 “But if the man does not desire to take
his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the
elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his
brother in Yisra’ěl, he does not agree to perform the duty of my husband’s
brother.’
Deu 25:8 “The elders of his city shall then call
him and speak to him, and he shall stand and say, ‘I have no desire to take
her,’
Deu 25:9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him
in the presence of the elders, and remove his sandal from his foot, and shall
spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not
build up his brother’s house.’
Deu 25:10 “And in Yisra’ěl his name shall be called, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’
Miscellaneous Laws – however these instructions seem to follow a common theme – showing mercy and right ruling – the weightier matters of the Torah – Mat 23:23 the right-ruling and the compassion and the belief.
Deu 25:11 “When men fight with one another, a man
and his brother, and the wife of one shall draw near to rescue her husband from
the hand of the one striking him, and shall put out her hand and take hold of
him by the genitals,
Deu 25:12 then you shall cut off her hand – your eye does not pardon.
‘’This verse seems to clearly state that if a woman violently
grabs the private parts of her husband’s attacker; her hand is to be cut off.
This seems to be a drastic measure for such an offense. But, once again, the
translators have not been very consistent in their translation, possibly
creating an erroneous interpretation.
The problem is that there are two very different Hebrew words used for “hand”
in the verse above. The first one is the Hebrew word yad, which
means “hand.” The second one is the Hebrew word kaph, which means
“palm.” So, is this verse saying that her “palm” was to be cut off? This was
unlikely. The Hebrew word kaph can mean more than just the
“palm,” it is used for anything hollowed out like the cupped palm of the hand.
In Genesis 32:25 this word is used for the groin, a hollowed out area of the
body.’’ There also used to be an ancient custom in the middle east of publicly
shaving off a woman’s pubic hair to dishonour her.
This may sound barbaric and cruel to the western mind, however a Torah based Israelite culture was not only different to the western mindset and values and sadly remains offensive and unacceptable to most people today – both Jew and Gentile - some of these instructions are also found in the apostolic scriptures. Is 3:1-4:1 & Mal 4
Deu
4:7 “For what great nation is there which has Elohim so near to it, as יהוה our Elohim is to us, whenever we call on
Him?
Deu 4:8 “And what great nation is there that has such laws and righteous right-rulings like all this Torah which I set before you this day?
Two final warnings to those who don’t have the heart to obey these instructions.
Deu 25:13 “You shall not have in your bag differing
weights, a heavy and a light.
Deu 25:14 “You shall not have in your house
differing measures, a large and a small.
Deu 25:15 “You shall have a perfect and right
weight, a perfect and right measure, so that they prolong your days on the soil
which יהוה
your Elohim is giving you.
Deu 25:16 “For all who do these, and all who do unrighteously, are an abomination to יהוה your Elohim.
You are to bless others in at least the same measure that you have been blessed – maybe even more and see what He will do for you.
Deu 25:17 “Remember what Amalěq did to you on the
way as you were coming out of Mitsrayim,
Deu 25:18 how he met you on the way and attacked
your back, all the feeble ones in your rear, when you were tired and weary. And
he did not fear Elohim.
Deu 25:19 “Therefore it shall be, when יהוה your Elohim has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you blot out the remembrance of Amalěq from under the heavens. Do not forget!
YHVH will deal severely with people who show little or no mercy.
Hos
10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap according to
loving-commitment, break up your tillable ground, it is time to seek יהוה, till He comes and rains[a] righteousness
on you.
Hos 10:13 You have ploughed wrongness, you have reaped unrighteousness, you have eaten the fruit of lying, because you trusted in your own way, in your many mighty men.
The
Final Judgment
Mat
25:31 “And when the Son of Aḏam comes in His esteem, and all the set-apart
messengers with Him, then He shall sit on the throne of His esteem.
Mat
25:32 “And all the nations shall be gathered before Him, and He shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from the
goats.
Mat
25:33 “And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the
left.
Mat
25:34 “Then the Sovereign shall say to those on His right hand, ‘Come,
you blessed of My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you from the
foundation of the world –
Mat
25:35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave
Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
Mat
25:36 was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was
in prison and you came to Me.’
Mat
25:37 “Then the righteous shall answer Him, saying, ‘Master, when did we
see You hungry and we fed You, or thirsty and gave You to
drink?
Mat
25:38 And when did we see You a stranger and took You in, or naked
and clothed You?
Mat
25:39 And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and we came to
You?’
Mat
25:40 “And the Sovereign shall answer and say to them, ‘Truly, I say to
you, in so far as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did
it to Me.’
Mat
25:41 “He shall then also say to those on the left hand, ‘Go away from
Me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his
messengers – (severest punishment)
Mat
25:42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you
gave Me no drink,
Mat
25:43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, was naked and you did
not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
Mat
25:44 “Then they also shall answer Him, saying, ‘Master, when did we see
You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not
serve You?’
Mat
25:45 “Then He shall answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, in so far
as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to
Me.’
Mat 25:46 “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.”
Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the
Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth and have planted everlasting
life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah – Amein.