We continue with lessons from Megillat Ruth. Yesterday we talked about the lesson that Ruth shows us, that a person who perseveres through challenges will eventually see success. Ruth persevered. She went through poverty and suffering, had emunah, and in the end she was called “Em Hamalchut- The mother of the kingdom.”
There’s another lesson connected to this, about hessed- which we learn from both Ruth and Boaz.
There’s a question asked by the Midrash (quoted by Rashi ), that we mentioned yesterday: Why is it that when Parashat Emor lists the holidays, there is a discussion inserted, after Hag Shavuot, about the gifts given to the poor from the harvest (Leket, Shikcha, amd Pe’ah)
The Rokeach gives an answer- it’s to tell us the importance of Hessed. He says the whole story of Ruth came about through the Hessed of Boaz, as we mentioned yesterday. That’s the lesson of Megilat Ruth:
Torat Hessed Al Leshonah
The Torah is a Torah of Hessed.
The Torah begins with Hessed: G-d clothed Adam HaRishon, and the Torah ends with Hessed: G-d buried Moshe Rabbenu.
We want to learn the reward of the Baalei Hessed. Our two heroes are Boaz and Ruth. Boaz told Ruth, “Your second kindness was greater than your first.” What kindness was he referring to? Rashi explains that the first kindness was the Ruth followed her mother in law, helped her and supported her. As we said yesterday, she did this against all odds. She helped her mother-in-law and wouldn’t leave her. She was a Baalat Hessed. That was her first Hessed. The second Hessed was that she was willing to marry Boaz, an old man, in order to keep her husband’s name alive. This kindness, Boaz said, was greater than the first. As we mentioned yesterday, she was willing to sacrifice everything that she had in order to try and keep her deceased husband ‘s name alive. That was Ruth. Boaz, is a hero as well. He also took a risk, as we mentioned yesterday. He was willing to marry a lady with questionable lineage, in order to save his cousin’s name. So we have an example of two great Baalei Hessed.
The definition of Hessed is the willingness to sacrifice oneself, and not be selfish. To be willing, like in Ruth’s case, to forget about yourself and focus on what the other person needs.
Likewise, Boaz didn’t say, “It’s too great a risk for me/ I have a name and status to preserve. Why should I possibly taint my family name for my first cousin?” He could have decided this wasn’t his problem. He could have said, “Who told him to move off to Moav and marry a Moavite girl? G-d punished him. He dies without children. It’s not my problem now. I don’t owe him anything.” But he cared about his deceased cousin, and he was selfless.
That is the foundation, and the receptacle, for our Torah. In order to receive and hold the Torah you have to have fine middot. You have to be a Baal Hessed. That’s part of our Torah.
There is a beautiful story told about the Chazon Ish. He used to take walks for his health, and were some boys that had the honor and merit of walking alongside the Chazon Ish on these walks. They’d talk to him and ask him questions. One of these boys shared the following predicament with the Chazon Ish: All the grandchildren of his family rotated on a schedule to visit their grandmother in the hospital, with each one visiting every two weeks. The boy’s grandmother had a special liking for this particular boy, and requested that he visit once a week, rather than every two weeks. He was in a predicament. He has a set night-learning program, where’d he’d learn for two hours a night. Now he’d have to miss learning every week, instead of every two weeks. And there were other grandchildren that were able to visit. She wouldn’t be alone, but she did ask for him. So, he decided to present this predicament o the Chazon Ish on their next walk.
The Chazon Ish, the giant of the generation, thought and thought, and finally answered. He told the boy he should go. The boy tried to clarify, “I should go out of respect for my grandmother?” And the Chazon Ish said, “No, you do should go for Talmud Torah- you should go for your learning.”
The boy didn’t understand, so the Chazon Ish explained,
“The Torah needs to dwell in a refined receptacle. When you do selfless acts for others, that’s how you refine yourself. So, you’re not doing it as an act of Hessed, it’s an act of Torah.” - Torat Hessed Al Leshonah !
So, we read Megillat Ruth to learn that if we want to receive the Torah properly, we have to go through seven weeks of Sefirat HaOmer, perfecting our Middot. The way to perfect your middot goes back to the beginning: Emunah and Bitachon. As we’ve mentioned from the Bet HaLevi, the only way to do mitzvot properly is with Emunah. If you don’t believe, you aren’t ready to sacrifice. And if you believe, you realize there is no sacrifice, because you believe. In the end, G-d rewards, and we never lose out from doing Hessed. Ruth did a Hessed. Boaz did a Hessed. But you never lose from doing a Hessed. They are the grandparents of royalty.