The Problem of Sustenance
MEGILLAT RUTH
By Dr.
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In memory of Ruth Berlove zl (Rivka bat Moshe David) on her first Yahrzeit
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Shiur #18:
The Problem of Sustenance
Boazs Contribution: Procuring Food
What is Boazs greatest gift to Ruth in
chapter two? We have suggested several possible options. Boaz treats Ruth
kindly, protects her from the ruffians in the fields, recognizes her, restores
her dignity, and publicly pronounces his esteem for her. Each of these acts on
its own is praiseworthy, but it is the fact that Boaz provides her with food,
with physical sustenance, which lies at the core of this chapter.[1]
That this is the theme of chapter two is supported by the key word, leket,
which appears ten times in the chapter. This word draws our attention not simply
to the food that is obtained, but also to the manner in which it is obtained
through the generosity and piety of the landowner who permits Ruth to glean in
his field.
Naomis journey to
Naomis second problem is not of an
immediate nature. Even if she does survive the coming winter, even if she
somehow manages to restore her fields and secure her economic situation, she has
no future. Bereft of her husband, bereft of all progeny, and too old to start
another family, Naomi has no hope of continuity.
Ruth will prove to be Naomis solution to
both of her problems, and Boaz will provide the solution for Ruth. In chapter
three, Ruth (through Boaz) will solve Naomis long-term problem of continuity.
In chapter two, Ruth confronts Naomis immediate, pressing predicament the
imminent threat of starvation. Ruths opening words in this chapter illustrate
her bid to provide a solution for this situation:
And Ruth the
Moavite said to Naomi, I will go, by your leave, to the field, and I
Ruth
initiates the quest, but it is Boaz who furnishes the means for Ruth to obtain
food for Naomi.
Boaz provides Ruth with sustenance repeatedly throughout the chapter. In his
first speech to her, Boaz allows Ruth to pick in his field. Moreover, by
permitting Ruth to drink the water drawn by Boazs workers, Boaz grants Ruth
more time to reap, thereby ensuring that she will accumulate more food. After
Boaz invites Ruth to a meal and personally hands her food, he instructs the boys
to surreptitiously drop her extra sheaves.
In this way, he furnishes her
with sufficient food both in the short term and for the long term.
Everything that Boaz gives to Ruth, Ruth
proffers to Naomi. Ruth brings back the raw grain that she has gathered, as well
as the leftovers from her meal.[3]
Ruth does not view the meal that she eats that day nor the stalks that she
gleans as belonging solely to her. Instead, she regards herself as a pipeline of
food for Naomi.
We may conclude that Boazs greatest
contribution to Ruth in this chapter is her sustenance. And yet, as we have
noted, Boazs ability to give food derives
from his
ability to recognize the other, to see Ruth, her misery, and her needs to see
Ruth as a subject and not as an object. This
is not self-evident. As
we have noted, the book of Shoftim describes a period of alienation, an
anonymous society in which one person does not recognize the other, a situation
that threatens the collapse of the social order. When one does not see a person
standing opposite him, but rather an object, one is able to ignore the plight of
the other and disregard his basic human needs. This appears to be the case with
the women who do not
embrace
Naomi, do not bring her food for survival, and completely disregard Ruth.
This may be the case with Naomi herself, whose passivity towards her own
survival extends to Ruth as well. Certainly one could conclude this with regard
to the overseer, whose derogatory remarks about the Moavite girl never include
any actual reference to Ruth by name.
There is a literary clue that illustrates
Boazs ability to regard Ruth as a subject, thereby precipitating his desire to
provide her with food. Ruths name is mentioned only twice during the first
twenty verses of this chapter.[4] On the first
occasion that Ruth speaks to Naomi (Ruth 2:2), her name is modified by
the word Moavite. In other words, Ruth speaks as a Moavite to her mother-in-law.
This is the way she is regarded by all of the townspeople, as stated explicitly
by the overseer (she is a Moavite girl). However, when Boaz speaks to Ruth for
the first time, the verse introduces his words as follows: And Boaz said to
Ruth (Ruth 2:8). The narrators perspective seems to suggest that Boaz
does not speak to Ruth as a Moavite or as an unidentified girl, without a name.
Rather, Boaz speaks to Ruth as Ruth, a subject who has both a name and an
identity.
Boaz Invites Ruth to a Meal
Boaz said to her at mealtime, Draw near
and eat from the bread and dip your morsel in the vinegar. And she sat by the
side of the reapers. And [Boaz] grasped for her roasted grain. And she ate, and
she was satisfied, and she left over. (Ruth 2:14)
We do not know how much time has passed
since Naomi and Ruth returned to
The result is that Ruth has more than
enough food: And she left over. While the text does not inform us immediately
of Ruths intentions, it will become clear that Ruth puts aside these leftovers
for Naomi, who must also be hungry. In fact, when Ruth returns to Naomi, she
will hand over her leftovers to Naomi before she utters a word, so that Naomi
will not have to suffer a moment longer than necessary:
And she picked it up and came to the city.
And her mother-in-law saw what she has gleaned. And she took it out and she gave
to her that which she had left over from her satiation. (Ruth 2:18)
This verse
contains no dialogue and no names. While the lack of dialogue points to Ruths
haste in providing immediate satiation for Naomis hunger, the absence of names
in the verse may also highlight Naomis hunger. Hunger is an extraordinarily
dehumanizing experience. It eliminates ones humanity, ones very identity, and
along with that, ones name.
Ruths Leftovers
Who is actually responsible for the
leftovers and for Naomis ability to eat Boaz or Ruth? To put it another way,
does Boaz heap upon Ruth an overabundance of food, consciously (or perhaps
unintentionally) providing excess so that Naomi can eat as well? This is implied
by the phrase that describes Ruths leftovers: That which she had left over
from her satiation.
It is, however, possible that Ruth limits
her own consumption to ensure that Naomi has a meal as well. This may be
indicated by the verb employed to describe Boaz proffering food to Ruth.
The verb
va-yitzbot (translated above as and he grasped) is a hapax
legomenon, a word that appears only once in the Bible.[6] The verb
tzavat appears in cognate Semitic languages (Arabic, Ethiopic) to mean
grasp, hold firmly, or seize.[7] A noun form of
this verb appears in Mishnaic Hebrew (Hagiga 3:1) to mean the handle of a
jug. The noun in Ugaritic means tongs or handles.[8] It seems then
that the word connotes grasping with ones hand, or possibly with ones fingers,
where one holds tongs.
This is the
understanding of a midrash that maintains that Boaz pinched for Ruth a
small amount of roasted grain with two of his fingers (Ruth Rabba 5:6).[9]
If the word va-yitzbot
implies a pinch of roasted grain, a miniscule amount of food, then the fact that
there were leftovers after Ruths satiation is a miraculous event, an indication
of divine favor. The midrash discusses who deserves credit for the
abundance of food here:
And [Boaz] handed her roasted grain. A
little bit of roasted grain in his two fingers. R. Yitzchak said: You can learn
from this [one of] two things: either a blessing rested in the fingers of this
righteous man [Boaz], or a blessing rested in the innards of this righteous
woman [Ruth]. From where [do we learn this]? And she ate, and she was
satisfied, and she left over. It appears that the blessing rested in the
innards of this righteous woman. (Ruth Rabba 5:6)
In this debate, the midrash actually offers a definitive answer to its
own query. Surprisingly, the continuation of this midrash is critical of
Boaz:
R. Yitzchak ben Meryon said: The text
comes to teach you that if a man does a commandment, he should do it with a full
heart, for if Reuven would have known that God was going to write about him (Bereishit
37), And Reuven heard and he saved [Yosef] from their hands, he would have
carried [Yosef] on his shoulders back to his father. And had Aharon known that
God was going to write about him (Shemot 4), Behold he is going out to
greet you, he would have gone out to greet [Moshe] with drums and circle
dances. And had Boaz known that God was going to write about him, And he handed
her roasted grain, and she ate, and she was satisfied and she left over, [Boaz]
would have fed her fattened calves.
According to this midrash, Boaz could have done more for Ruth.
Interestingly, the other two characters who the midrash censures
are Reuven in his dealings with Joseph and Aharon in his dealings with Moshe.
Each of these situations describes someone who has a good reason to resent the
recipient of his benevolence. Reuven, the eldest son, has a perfectly good
reason not to save Yosef, who seems intent on usurping his role. Aharon is going
to greet his younger brother Moshe, who, despite having never suffered alongside
his people, has been selected to act as the nations savior. Boaz also has
several reasons for withholding food from Ruth, Naomis Moavite daughter-in-law.
Indeed, the most basic act of largesse in these particular instances would
appear to be commendable. In criticizing these characters, the midrash offers an
unequivocal moral position: acts of kindness, difficult or not, must be done
with a generous heart, with a sense of total commitment. If there is any
hesitation on the part of the benefactor, the act falls short of its goal and
deserves censure.
Nevertheless, the criticism of the midrash seems excessive, even
unfounded. Boazs magnanimity is the fulcrum of the chapter and his largesse and
kindness to Ruth are exceptional. Why does the midrash offer this unexpected
condemnation of Boaz? It may be that this derives from a textual observation.
While Boazs generosity to Ruth is unquestionable and seems to be above
reproach, his attitude toward Naomi is less certain. In fact, Boaz and Naomi
never meet in the story, and Boaz does not refer to Naomi in any of his
encounters with Ruth. His generosity toward Ruth seems to be entirely directed
toward her, without any regard for his own kinsman, Naomi. Boaz only mentions
Naomi in chapter four, within the context of the ongoing formal legal
transactions. It is possible that Boaz, like the townspeople, harbors resentment
against Naomi for abandoning
In criticizing Boazs provision of food, this midrash offers a glimpse of
a complex situation. The fact that Boaz and Naomi never meet may not be
coincidental. In this schema, Ruth is solely responsible for Naomis survival.
Boaz indirectly helps Naomi due to his concern for Ruth, but he may prefer to
abandon Naomi to her bitter fate.
In previous shiurim, I have suggested that
Naomis
character mirrors that of the nation at this time. This reading of Boaz and
Naomi may explain a further puzzling question: Why, in fact, does the nations
salvation come at the hands of Ruth, a foreigner and an outsider? The decay of
society during the period of the Judges may be so deeply entrenched that no
insider can actually accomplish its repair not even the righteous Boaz.
Instead, someone not invested in the complexities and resentments must enter
above the fray in order to mend the rifts of the nation. Ultimately, the midrash
asserts that Ruth is responsible for Naomis food; she provides the solution for
Naomis continuity. Ruth also mediates between Boaz and Naomi, allowing Boaz to
provide indirectly for Naomis salvation. In doing so, Ruth begins to fix the
broken situation, leading ultimately to the kingship, which is meant to heal the
fractured society.
Boaz and his Reapers
And she got up to glean, and Boaz
commanded his young men saying, Let her also glean among the sheaves and do not
humiliate her. And also pull some out for her from among the bundles and leave
them and she shall glean and do not rebuke her. (Ruth 2:15-16)
After Boaz invites Ruth to a meal, he
apprises his reapers of four additional commands. First, they are to allow Ruth
to glean from the sheaves, rather than just the ears of corn. We noted
previously that this may well be a response to the foremans disparaging
citation, or deliberate misquote, of Ruths request to gather the sheaves (Ruth
2:7).[10]
Boaz adds that this should be allowed
without disgracing Ruth or in any way causing her embarrassment. The verb used
here, tachlimuha, is a very strong verb that implies that the men are
inclined to hostility toward Ruth. This hostility may derive both from Ruths
Moavite origins and the context, in which Ruth is accused by the foreman of
requesting something generally not permitted to paupers in the fields. Boazs
instructions prohibit the reapers from humiliating Ruth for any reason, even if
she deviates from the accepted norms of gleaning.
In an act of unprecedented generosity,
Boaz then instructs the young men to surreptitiously drop her extra sheaves.[11]
It is noteworthy that he uses the word va-azavtem to indicate that the
reapers should leave the sheaves for Ruth. This word was previously used by Boaz
to describe Ruths exceptional behavior when she left (va-taazvi) her
father and mother to come to an unknown nation (Ruth 2:11). Previously,
the word appears in Ruths own speech (Ruth 1:16), when she implores
Naomi not to compel her to leave her (le-ozveich). The threefold
appearance of this word implies that Boazs generosity toward Ruth derives from
her own behavior.
Finally, as an addendum to this
extraordinary generosity, Boaz adds that the reapers should not rebuke (gaar)
her. It is difficult to understand in what way this word adds to Boazs previous
instruction not to humiliate Ruth. The word gaar appears to refer to
speech (e.g. Bereishit 37:1) or even perhaps a blast or a roar that
issues from ones mouth, whether human or divine (II Shmuel 22:16;
Yeshayahu 50:2). In this context, the implication may be that not only
should the reapers be careful not to do anything to humiliate Ruth, they also
must not use their speech to embarrass her. They must even regulate their mode
of speaking, carefully ensuring that they do not frighten her with loud or
forceful speech.
And she gleaned in the field until the
evening. And she beat out what she had gleaned and it was an eipha of
barley. (Ruth 2:17)
Boazs instructions on Ruths behalf prove
to be successful. Ruth returns with an eipha of barley. This amount is
quite large;[12]
we can deduce from Shemot 16:16, 36, that an eipha is ten times
the daily portion of an adult.[13]
Ruths ability to glean this large amount is extraordinary given that she is a
foreigner and it is her first day in the fields. It is especially astonishing
given the possibility that Ruth was rejected from several fields, thereby losing
precious picking time.[14]
Boaz is the catalyst for providing the solution for this chapters
predicament. By ensuring that Ruth has enough food in the long term and in the
short term, Boaz indirectly provides for Naomi, unwittingly or not. Of greater
significance is the manner in which Boaz treats Ruth in the fields of
This
series of shiurim is dedicated to the memory of my mother Naomi Ruth zl bat
Aharon Simcha, a woman defined by Naomis unwavering commitment to family and
continuity, and Ruths selflessness and kindness.
I welcome all
comments and questions: [email protected]
[1] Several
rabbinic sources regard the food in this chapter as a metaphor for kingship.
Shabbat 113b has a series of midrashic interpretations that read the text in
this fashion. This reading is significant inasmuch as this chapter anticipates
the next, which involves a promise of marriage (and presumably children). Taken
together, the two chapters provide a solution both for Naomis tragic
circumstances and for the national catastrophe marked by the absence of
monarchy.
[2] That is, if
she still has fields at all. It is possible that Elimelechs fields have been
sold, perhaps as a penalty for having abandoned Bethlehem during the famine. See
II Melakhim 8:1-6. I will examine this issue further in an upcoming
shiur.
[3] This will be
true in the next chapter as well, when Ruth returns from an encounter with Boaz
and extends to Naomi the six stalks of barley that Boaz gave her (Ruth
3:17). These six stalks of barley seem to be more symbolic than substantive, as
we will discuss.
[4] In an upcoming
shiur we will elaborate on the additional two occasions in which Ruths
name appears at the end of the chapter.
[5] Some
midrashim interpret this as Ruths modest decision to separate herself from
the reapers and sit alone. Nevertheless, the other biblical usage of the word
mi-tzad (also within the context of sitting down to eat a meal) is in I
Shmuel 20:25, where the word undoubtedly suggests a shared meal and even a
seat of honor.
[6] Ibn Ezra (Ruth
2:14) calls this a word that has no friend.
[7] Brown, Driver,
and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1951), p.
840.
[8] C. H. Gordon,
Ugaritic Textbook (1965), p. 472.
[9] This is the
adaption of the word in modern Hebrew, where the verb tzavat means to
pinch.
[10] See shiur
#14.
[11] Rashi (Ruth
2:16) portrays Boaz instructing the reapers to pretend that they forgot extra
stalks so that she could pick a lot. The Malbim adds that Boazs intention in
instructing his reapers to engage in this pretense is to provide for Ruth with
dignity, or perhaps in a plentiful fashion.
[12] See also I
Shmuel 17:17, where David brings an eipha of roasted grain to his
brothers on the battlefield.
[13] Shemot
16:16 allows each Israelite in the desert to gather one omer of manna
daily. This appears to be the daily amount of food necessary for an individual.
Shemot 16:36 informs us that an omer is one-tenth of an eipha.
Thus, Ruth gleaned ten times the amount that she needed to survive on her own,
and five times the amount required for her and Naomi. Nevertheless, Ruth needed
to glean enough to last her and Naomi throughout the winter, roughly five times
longer than the picking season. This verse informs us that Ruth will bring home
enough to last her and Naomi throughout the winter. This is undoubtedly due to
Boazs extraordinary kindness and the special instructions that he gives to his
reapers, instructions that surpass all expectations.
[14] See shiur
#14.