Welcome, rabotai, gentlemen. We are continuing Megillat Rut (the Book of Ruth). We are in the third perek (chapter). Now we get to the highlight of this great megillah (scroll), the megillah of Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks). We are learning it on two levels. First, we learn it with Rashi’s perush (commentary), straight up, just to get the pshat, and then we go back and learn it with Malbim’s perush. That is the way we are doing it.
Where did we end off last week? Mainly, perek bet talks about how Rut ended up finding Boaz’s field. Boaz was very generous, and he told her, “Only come here,” and set her up with the nearot, the girls that were there. We learned that this was tremendous hashgachah—God’s divine providence. Out of all the fields she could have gone to, she ended up going to Boaz’s, who happened to be a relative of Naomi. This was God’s divine providence, setting things up eventually for the yibbum (levirate marriage) and the chalukah (division) of the field.
“Vatomer lah Naomi chamotah.” Naomi now tells Rut, calling her “Naomi chamotah,” “biti,” my daughter: “halo avakesh lach manoach”—it is time for me to find you a manoach, a husband who will bring you menuchah, tranquility—“asher yitav lach.” Rashi does not tell us, but we understand that manoach in this sense is a husband who will bring you tranquility.
“Ve’atah halo Boaz moda’tanu.” Rashi says moda’tanu means kerovenu (our relative). You have to know that Boaz is our relative. Let’s review the relationship. Elimelech was Naomi’s husband, and Elimelech was one of four brothers. There was Elimelech, and—let’s get the names right from the beginning. Rashi gave them to us so we can get them correct. Rashi told us: Elimelech, Salmon, avi Boaz, the father of Boaz, and Ploni Almoni, whom we will learn about later. The father of Naomi and these men were all the sons of Nachshon ben Aminadav.
Therefore, Elimelech was Boaz’s uncle, and Naomi was related as well; Naomi was his cousin. So there is a relationship here. Elimelech and Naomi were related: Elimelech married his niece. When Naomi says that Boaz is related, he is related on both sides—to Naomi and also to Elimelech.
“Halo Boaz moda’tanu asher hayit et nearotav”—you were with his nearot. “Hineh hu zoreh et goren hase’orim halaylah.” Rabotai, get ready; this is a story now. “Hineh hu zoreh”—he is involved in the zeriyah, the winnowing process. Rashi says, what is zoreh? “Shezoreh et hamotz”—he is winnowing. That is the process where you throw the wheat in the air, the chaff blows away, and the heavier wheat comes down again.
“Halaylah”—why is he doing it at night? Normally, you would do this process during the day. Rashi says, “Shehayah hador parutz bignevah uvegezel”—it was a generation rampant with theft. “Vehayah yashen bagoren”—so he had to sleep in the granary, “lishmor gorno.” He really had to sleep in the store with a gun next to his bed, just to make sure the thieves did not come and steal the produce. So he was there that night in the goren.
“Verachatzte”—now she is giving him instructions. “Verachatzte,” bathe. What does that mean, bathe? Clearly Naomi is not going to tell her, “Go take a bath, go take a shower.” Rashi says, “Verachatzte mi-tinuf avodah zarah (idolatry) shelach.” Now that is the question: what do you mean, “verachatzte,” cleanse yourself of the tinuf of avodah zarah? By this time she had converted. So what does Rashi mean by saying to cleanse yourself of the tinuf of avodah zarah?
We have Siftei Zekenim trying to explain this Rashi in lamed: “Midechtiv verachatzte,” with a vav, “she’eino mechubar lemalah, moreh chada rechitzah peshutah vechada mi-tinuf avodah zarah.” Ah, “verachatzte” applies to two rechitzot, meaning “rachatzat ve’od rechitzah.” One is physical: go clean yourself, make yourself nice. She wants to set her up with Boaz. And “verachatzte”—what does it mean, cleanse yourself of avodah zarah? Apparently, her mind was still—Right, her mind, exactly. You have to say, get your mind pure before you go with the tzaddik (righteous person).
Next word: “vasacht.” What is “vasacht”? “Elu mitzvot (commandments).” Ah, physically, yes, put some perfume on. But “vasacht” means accept upon yourself the mitzvot. “Vesamt simlotayich.” Rashi says, “bgadim shel Shabbat”—wear the nice clothes, “bigdei Shabbat.” Rashi is bothered: does the pasuk (verse) have to say, get dressed? Was she going to go without clothes on? The fact that it had to say “vesamt simlotayich” must mean special garments. You do not have to tell a grown lady, “Don’t forget to get dressed.” “Vesamt simlotayich,” Shabbat clothes. She is really setting her up. Yes, that’s right!
“Veyaradt hagoren”—go down to the goren. Rashi says, if you look at the pasuk, we have a keri uchetiv (written and read forms) here. It says “veyaradti,” but we read it “veyaradt.” Rashi says a tremendous chiddush: “Zechuti tered immach”—I am coming down with you. Naomi says, “My zechut will escort you down to the goren, so that you will have siyata di-shemaya.” Incredible. Also, “simlotayich” has a keri uchetiv. We are just missing a yud: simlotayich, simlotech. We will have to see what is going on there.
Then: “Al tivada’i la’ish”—do not reveal yourself to the man, meaning Boaz, “ad kaloto le’echol velishtot,” until he finishes eating and drinking. “Vihi veshokhvo”—when he goes to lie down, “veyada’at et hamakom asher yishkav sham”—we will locate the place where he is lying—“uva’t,” and you will go there, “vegilit margeilotav veshakhavt.” You will reveal his margeilotav, his legs. “Veshakhavt”—and you will lie next to him. Unbelievable. “Vehu yagid lach et asher ta’asin”—then he will give you instructions.
In a regular book, this would be scandalous. If it were not Megillat Rut, this would be a federal crime. You are going into a—Boaz is not married, so it is not an eshet ish (married woman) issue; his wife had died. She is a single lady. It is night. I guess there were no rules of yichud (seclusion) then. Maybe the rules of yichud did not come until later. She is alone in the dark, gets into the bed—I do not know if she jumps in—reveals his margeilotav, and lies next to him. Then he will give her further instructions. Exactly. I mean, that is a code. Why did it have to happen this way? Why could he not just—There are other ways to communicate this matter. But we will continue.
“Rabbi, can’t you also make a point about those who say she was a goyah (non-Jewish woman)? How do you answer something like this? If he thinks she is a goyah, and a goyah is going beside the tzaddik, the chasid (pious person), Boaz, the nasi shel hador (leader of the generation)—and she is a goyah? How could you say such a thing? It is a very difficult question, I would think, for those who say that she was a goyah.”
Right. So it could be that even according to those opinions that say she was a goyah, they would say that when Naomi said “verachatzat”—No, but I know. That is the key, exactly, but he does not know that, though. How does Boaz know? I mean, all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, on top of doing a sin? Well, when Boaz saw her in the field, if you remember, he said, “I know all about you. I know the chesed that you did for your mother-in-law. I know exactly.” So it seems Boaz had his investigators out, finding out what Ruth was.
Anyway, this is amazing advice that Naomi gives, and the amazing thing is that Rut acquiesces. “Vatomer eleha kol asher tomri elai e’eseh”—whatever you tell me, I will do. “Na’aseh venishma” (we will do and we will hear); that is the inyan of Shavuot. “Vatered hagoren”—so she goes down to the goren—“vata’as kechol asher tzivatah chamotah.” Rashi says, “Kol asher tomri.” Rashi says, “Kol asher tomri elai”—it is read this way, though it is written another way. The pasuk says “kol asher tomeru elai,” but it is written “velo.” We read it “elai,” but it is written “velo.” What does that mean? “Kol asher tomri lo e’eseh.”
The Gemara discusses “kol asher tomri elai e’eseh” or “lo”—a big difference. Rashi says, “Amrah lah shema yavo echad min hakelavim veyizdaveg li, ve’af al pi chen alai leyashev hadevarim.” What is being said here? “Shema yavo echad min hakelavim veyizdaveg li”—it says here, “uferusho echad min hakelavim derech kinui.” It does not mean an actual dog; it is a nickname. “Lizdaveg li.” Therefore, it is not good to put my clothes on me. “Elai” is not written; it is “lo.” So she did not actually follow the instructions verbatim, as the Gemara says. She did not get dressed until she got there. She felt it was sakanah to go on the drachim (roads) dressed up with perfume. She was worried that maybe one of the dogs—meaning the goyim, non-Jews—would do something on the way. So she took her clothes with her in a bag and got dressed at the goren. That is why it says “lo, lo e’eseh”—I am not going to do it exactly as you said.
The pasuk says, “Vatered hagoren vata’as.” Now Rashi explains: “Hi amrah: verachatzta vesachta vesamt simlotayich alayich ve’achar kach veyaradt hagoren.” She was told to bathe, put on perfume, and put her garments on before going down to the goren. But she did not do it that way. Rather, she said, “Im ered keshe’ani mekushetet, hapogea bi vero’eh oti yomar she’ani zonah”—if I go down dressed up, whoever meets me and sees me will say, “I am a zonah,” a prostitute. Therefore, she first went down to the goren, and afterward dressed herself.
“Ka’asher tzivatah chamotah.” What happens? “Vatered hagoren vata’as kechol asher tzivatah chamotah.” “Vayochal Boaz vayesht vayitav libo.” What does “vayitav libo” mean? Rashi says, “Asak baTorah.” Beautiful. After dinner, what does “vayitav libo” mean? Did he have a cigar? Exactly. Did he watch TV, God forbid? “Vayitav libo”—“asak baTorah”—he was learning. That is the main “vayitav libo.”
What happens? “Vayavo lishkav biktzeh ha’aremah”—he went to sleep at the corner of the pile of wheat. “Vatavo valat” means, Rashi says, “benachat”—she snuck in quietly. “Vategal margelotav”—she revealed his legs. “Vatishkav.” “Vayehi bachatzi halailah.” Now Boaz gets up for tikkun chatzot. “Vayehi bachatzi halailah.” “Vayechrad ha’ish vayilafet”—he was shaking. “Kasavur shed hu”—he thought it was a demon coming in like a lady, coming to machshil the tzaddik. He was about to scream, and she held him. “Achazato velifafato bizro’oteha”—she held him up on his arms, she held his arms. “Vayilafet veye’achez”—she held on, gripped him. So “vayehi bachatzi halailah vayechrad ha’ish vayilafet”—she held on to him so he would not scream. You could say she covered his mouth or something like that, with her arms. Unbelievable. This is negi’ah.
“Vehineh ishah shochevet margelotav.” “Natan yado al roshah”—he put his hand on her head. There were no lights, rabotai; it was dark. They did not have a cell phone or a flashlight. So what is going on here? Nothing. He does not know who it is. “Natan yado al roshah vehikir bah shehi ishah.” You know, a woman, the hair, whatever it was. It was unbelievable. “Vayomer mi at?” He cannot see her. She is not talking. There is no talking here. “Mi at?” “Vatomer anochi Rut amatecha”—I am Ruth, your maidservant. “Ufarasta chenfecha al amatecha”—spread your wings over your maidservant—“ki goel ata,” because you are the redeemer.
Rashi says, “Knaf bigdecha lechasoti betalitecha”—wrap me in your tallit. That is leshon nisuin, like when we get married today under the tallit. Therefore, “ufarasta chenfecha,” the wing is like “knaf petil techelet” (the corner of a blue cord). Wrap your tallit around me, and we will get married. She proposed to him: “Will you marry me?” It is the reverse here. Understand, Jacob? She came along and said to Boaz, “Will you marry me?” Not even “Will you marry me?”—“Marry me.” “Ufarasta chenfecha al amatecha, ki goel ata, lig’ol nachalat ishi”—you are the only one who can redeem the field of my husband Machlon.
“Kemo shene’emar”—this week’s parashah. That is why it is unbelievable that we are in the third perek; it is the parashah of the week. “Uva go’alo hakarov elav vega’al.”
Rabotai, let’s learn the verses once and for all. We have a Chumash Vayikra. Mikraot Gedolot? Yes, get the Mikraot Gedolot; maybe it is in the office. Vayikra 25:25. Okay, Hacham Coco. Let’s open it up and learn some of the weekly parashah now. This really came from Heaven; it hit. We are on chapter 25, verse 25. “Ki yamuch achicha.” What is that talking about? The man becomes much—poor, impoverished. “Umachar me’achuzato”—he sold his ancestral property. Not just that he sold some property: “achuzato,” his chelek. He should not do that.
Rashi says, “Shemelamed she’ein adam rashai limkor sadeh ela mechamash dochak be’oni”—this teaches that a person may sell a field only when pressed by poverty. “Me’achuzato velo chulah”—he did not sell the whole thing. It teaches: “Lamad derech eretz sheyeshayer sadeh le’atzmo”—you have to keep something for yourself. Keep something. So he sold most of it.
“Uva go’alo hakarov elav”—what does go’alo mean? His redeemer, his relative who is close to him. “Vega’al et mimkar achiv”—he has a mitzvah (commandment) to redeem it. The buyer cannot object. That means the buyer who bought the field cannot say, “I’m not selling.” No, no, no, you have to sell it. “I’m the goel.” He shows his license: “I’m the official goel.” The buyer cannot say, “I bought the field.” No, you cannot. “Vega’al”—it is done. “Ve’ein hagoel loke’ach rashai le’akev”—the redeemer who is buying is not entitled to hold things up.
Then the Torah says, “Ve’ish ki lo yiheyeh lo goel.” I do not need to know that today. We have a goel, thank God, in our story; he is called Boaz. By the way, in Rashi’s addition, what is the proof for Boaz? “Ki goel ata,” “lig’ol nachalat ishi,” as it says, “uva go’alo hakarov elav vega’al.” Beautiful. That is our story.
Anything else? This is also a Torah law, so Boaz has a chiyuv de’oraita—a Torah obligation. It is not just, “Do us a kindness.” You have a chiyuv de’oraita to go to whoever bought—We have not reached yibbum yet, exactly. We have not reached yibbum. This is a real-estate issue, exactly. This is solely real estate, to keep that family’s ancestral property in the family. Apparently, Machlon had to sell under duress. Whoever bought it, Ruth is now saying: that is my family property, my husband’s, and you are the goel; therefore, you have an obligation to go and handle it.
Beautiful. “Vayomer”—“beruchah at l’Hashem biti.” First, he gives her a berachah: “Beruchah at l’Hashem biti.” “Heitavt chasdech ha’acharon min harishon”—the latter chesed you are doing is even greater than the first. What was the first chesed? “Asher asit et chamotech,” as she says. Now you are doing chesed for the dead as well, redeeming Machlon’s property. That is a great chesed shel emet.
“Levilti lechet acharei habachurim im dal ve’im ashir.” Now this is where yibbum comes in. You might have had the option to go after the young men, whether poor or rich. I do not know why it is an attraction to go after the poor. Why does it say “im dal ve’im ashir”? Meaning, you could have gone to marry a young man. Instead, apparently, part of the chesed is to marry Boaz, and that is how the ge’ulah takes place. I do not know why yet. But he is saying that is a big chesed. You are marrying a four-hundred-year-old man, and you could have married a young one. A young man would not necessarily do yibbum, but you are willing to marry an old man to do a kindness for your husband and redeem the fields. Why is it linked to marriage? I do not know. Why can’t he—Nowhere in the Torah does it say you have to marry the goel. He has to redeem the field. It is real estate. But he understood it as having some kind of connection, because she asked to be married. Apparently, there is some yibbum here. We will see. Stay tuned.
“Ve’atah biti al tir’i”—do not worry. “Kol asher tomri e’eseh lach.” Once again, “na’aseh venishma.” Whatever you ask me to do. “You will marry me,” exactly. Exactly. So far, that is what we know. And we know that Boaz said, “You’re—I’m in.” “Ki yode’a kol sha’ar ami ki eshet chayil at.” You are an eshet chayil, a woman of valor. Everybody knows you are an eshet chayil. Do not worry; I will handle it.
However, there is one glitch. “Ki omnam”—it is true—“ki go’el anochi.” It is true that I am a goel, “vegam yesh go’el karov mimeni.” However, there is a goel who is closer than I am. The rule is “uva go’el hakarov.” So I have to give him the right of first refusal. If he accepts, then you marry Mr. Ploni. If he refuses, then I will handle it. I have to take care of that first.
Rashi says, “Ve’atah ki omnam.” It says here “ve’atah ki omnam im go’el,” instead of “ki omnam ki go’el anochi”—we have “im go’el anochi.” “Klomar im mashma safek.” “Ki go’el vadai.” I am definitely a goel, because I am willing to do it. So I am in. However, “yesh go’el karov mimeni.” Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says—and here it is again—Salmon, Elimelech, and Tov were brothers. Now we are getting the names: Salmon, Elimelech, and Tov. Who is Tov? Tov is closer than Salmon.
“Umah hu asher le’achinu le’Elimelech”? It says “achinu le’Elimelech”—does that mean “our brother”? A person calls his uncle “brother.” It is like the verse that says, “Vayishma Avram ki nishba achiv”—it calls Lot, his nephew, “his brother.” So you see that they use the term that way. “Vehalo Avraham dodo hayah”—Avraham was Lot’s uncle. That is how Boaz was related to Elimelech: “ben achiv.” He was his nephew, Elimelech’s nephew. “Keiruvo shel Machlon”—that is how he was related to Machlon. He was basically Machlon’s cousin: Machlon, the son of Elimelech, and Boaz, the son of Salmon.
But Tov was closer. So he says, “I have to go to Tov’s line. Before Salmon’s line takes over, we have to go to Tov’s line first.” So let me go to Tov. “Im yigalekh Tov, yigal.” That is the name of the guy! “Im yigalekh Tov”—it does not mean, “If he redeems, good, and if not, no.” It means, “If Tov redeems, then he will redeem.” “Karov mimeni shehu ach va’ani ben ach”—he is a brother, and I am a nephew. Tov is a brother of Elimelech. I am not too sure about that, but he is closer than Boaz. He is an uncle, and Boaz is a nephew, so the uncle comes before the nephew. Understood? That is the question: we will go to him first, to Tov. We will give him the deal: here is a field, here is a girl. If he says no, then we go to the next in line, the next of kin.
“Lini halailah.” Interesting. He did not say, “Okay”; he said, “Get out of here.” The newspapers come tomorrow—or the newspapers come now—and I am dead. Tomorrow morning there will be a scandal on the front of the New York Post: Boaz is with the girl. “Lini halailah”—do not go anywhere. “Vehayah vaboker,” if Tov wants to do the ge’ulah, “yig’al.” “Ve’im lo yachpotz lega’alech”—if he is not interested in redeeming you—“uge’altich anochi.” I will do it. I swear, “chai Hashem”—I swear, as Hashem lives. “Shichvi ad haboker.” Again, “shichvi ad haboker.”
Rashi says, “Lini belo ish”—we are not getting married tonight. You have to wait; I cannot do it tonight. “Lini halailah” alone, without a man. “Chai Hashem.” She said to him, “With words you are sending me away.” She thought he was just placating her, saying, “Okay, I’ll try.” Therefore, he jumped up and swore to her. That is why he said “chai Hashem”: he was not just talking. Otherwise, why would he swear? He was not sending her away with words.
Some of our rabbis say he swore to his yetzer hara (evil inclination). The tzaddik had to make an oath to his yetzer hara, which was accusing him: “Go on her now. Go on her, beautiful girl.” So he had to say, “Chai Hashem, ad haboker”—I am not doing it now. The tzaddik has to make a shevu’ah to make a fence so that he does not go with her now. Boaz had—Nice. But her intention was to come there to marry. Exactly, exactly. “Ufarasta chenfecha.” That is why Naomi said, “You just present it, and then he will give you instructions”—“vehu yagid lach mah la’asot”—which he did. So therefore, Boaz—All those things we have to discuss. What about the ritual bath, seven days, and all those things? Those are good questions.
So Boaz had his yetzer accusing him. But the regular guy goes to the beach and has no problem. A regular Syrian guy at the beach has no problem. Boaz has an issue. Boaz has an issue to make an oath to his yetzer. That is it. You should not think this is Boaz’s issue, not your issue. We are good. Boaz, the father of the Mashiach, had to make an oath to his yetzer hara in this affair. I am just making a point. When a guy tells you, “It doesn’t affect me. I’m good. I go, I just turn the other way. It doesn’t bother me,” look what Boaz has to do.
“Atah panui”—what would the yetzer hara tell him? The yetzer has a very easy attack: “Atah panui vehi penuyah”—you are both single. “Bo aleha”—go for it. So he swore that he would not go to her except through marriage. We are not doing this here except through marriage. Okay, fine.
What happens? “Vatishkav margelotav ad haboker.” She sleeps next to him the whole night. “Vatakom beterem yakir ish et re’ehu”—she wakes up before Mishiyakir, before the zman of tallit, before the time when one can recognize, before the time of Mishiyakir. “Vayomer al yivada ki va’ah ha’ishah hagoren.” This means that “vayomer al yivada” is connected to “vatakom beterem yakir.” He hurried her to get up. He told her, “Okay, get up,” because he said to himself, “It is not honorable for anyone to know that the woman came to the goren.” Therefore, she should leave while it was still dark. So you read the verse this way: “Vatakom beterem yakir ish et re’ehu”—why? Because Boaz said to himself, “Al yivada ki va’ah ha’ishah hagoren.” That is why he urged her to leave while it was still dark.
“Vayomer havi hamitpachat asher alayich, ve’echozi vah”—give me the mitpachat you have on, like a handkerchief, a scarf, a shawl, and hold it open. “Vatochez bah, vayamod shesh se’orim, vayashet aleha, vayavo ha’ir.” He filled it with six measures of barley and placed it on her, and he went to the city. Rashi asks, what does six measures mean? It is impossible to say six se’in. How could she carry six se’in? You would need a U-Haul to carry six se’in. “She’ein darkah shel ishah laset kemasoy zeh”—it is not a woman’s way to carry such a load. Rather, it was literally six measures of barley.
Now, while he is doing this, there is an intention. Why is he giving her six measures? “Veramaz lah she’atid latzet mimenah ben shemitbarech beshesh berachot”—he hinted to her that a son would come from her, blessed with six blessings: spirit, wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, spirit of knowledge, and fear of Hashem. This is Mashiach. Fully loaded, all six. It shows you the intentions of the tzaddikim here. Boaz had divine inspiration after this whole thing. You see how pure he was. He was able to have pure divine inspiration, meaning no thought of sin. If you have one such thought, you do not get this communication.
What happens now? “Vatavo el chamotah vatomer, mi at biti?” What is “vatomer vatomer”? “Mi at biti”? What does “mi at biti” mean? The pasuk says “vayavo ha’ir.” Look at Rashi: “Vayavo ha’ir”—Boaz came to the city. Otherwise, it would say “vatavo ha’ir.” “Vayavo ha’ir” means she went home; Boaz came back to the city. “Vatavo el chamotah”—that is her. “Vatomer mi at biti.” “Mi at” does not mean “Who are you?” Rashi says, “What is your situation? ‘Shlonech?’ What happened? What did you do?” “Keif al-chal,” exactly. What happened?
“Vataged lah et kol asher asa lah ha’ish”—she told her everything the man had done for her. “Vatomer: shesh hase’orim ha’eleh natan li”—he also gave me these six measures of barley, “ki amar elay: al tavo’i reikam el chamotech.” He said, “You cannot come home empty-handed.” The text did not tell us that at the time, but it is filling it in now. That was the reason, according to the plain meaning: you cannot go home empty-handed; take something for breakfast, six measures of barley.
“Vatomer: shevi biti.” In English we say, “Sit tight.” It does not mean just “sit.” Sit tight means be patient. “Dir balak,” exactly, “dir balak.” “Ad asher ted’in eich yipol davar”—until you know how the matter will turn out. In America they talk like this: wait and see how the cards will fall, how it turns out. “Eich yipol davar”—how the matter will fall.
There is an unbelievable, classic line in the megillah: “Ki lo yishkot ha’ish ki im kilah hadavar hayom.” I know Boaz. Boaz is a man of action; he is quick. You will get an answer by sunset today. Now, he has to do a million things. Go find Tov. Jacob, there were no emails in those days. You cannot WhatsApp Tov: “I need to talk to you ASAP. I’ll meet you at Starbucks.” Go find Tov. They did not even have phones back then. That is my point: go find Tov. That is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Then, once you find him—by the way, you have to get the deed. Go get a deed. “Corona, go get a deed.” Where are you going to get the deed for the field? You have to go to the DMV, to the place, until you get the—The city clerk, the papers. Go to the embassy! Right, we are talking about Israel here. Now figure out all the things that have to be done. Naomi is confident: “Lo yishkot.” By the end of the day, he will have all the ducks lined up, and you will have an answer: yes, yes; no, no. Rashi says, “Ki im kilah ha’ish et hadavar”—the man, meaning Boaz, will finish it. That is perek gimel according to Rashi. At least we have an overall understanding.
Now let’s go back and learn perek gimel a second time, according to Malbim, which will add more. It is better to do it this way, because the Malbim fills in all the things that bothered us. I know, Jacob, you are going to walk out in the middle, so you will have to apologize. I know, since I have been doing that. That is the pshat.
Now watch here: “Vatomer lah Naomi chamotah: biti, halo avakesh lach manoach asher yitav lach.” Malbim says, “Retzono lomar.” Why now, all of a sudden? Why now, Malbim? “Biti halo avakesh lach manoach”—what happened now? Why get married now? “Kalu sheloshah chodshei havchanah”—the three months of the waiting period are over. We have a law that when a ger converts, she cannot get married for three months, to make sure she was not pregnant by somebody else. So do the cheshbon. They arrived “bitchilat ketzir se’orim,” at the beginning of the barley harvest, and now it is already the winnowing time, so three months have passed. “Biti”—the zealous are quick to do commandments; now is the time.
We were in Russia together. We talked about this. Well, I was there. It was in St. Petersburg. They were on the train, and they were getting married: a giyoret (female convert) and a ba’al teshuvah (returnee to observance). He was wearing a suit I had given him the year before. We were waiting. They had a few things to eat, the relatives came, and they were not frum (religiously observant). It was getting late. “What’s going on? It’s late. It’s Motza’ei Shabbat.” Rabbi Steinman was there too, but he was still at the hotel. I told my son, “Go inside. Ask Rabbi Shulman what happened.” Right—why the delay? There was no havchanah. Three months.
“Oh, they didn’t know.” “Oh, wow. So what did they—Where are we going to—what are we going to do? The relatives are here.” Rav Shulman told somebody, “Go get Rabbi Steinman, because he can’t call America. We’re going to call Rav Elyashiv.” “Wow, for this case?” “This exact case!” I got it, yes. I believe it. You cannot make this up. No way. And they called Rav Elyashiv—or his sister, he’s a rav in Yerushalayim, I forgot his name. Okay. Yes, but they have to promise that they are going to observe the waiting period for three months. They will get married tonight, but they cannot have relations. They will do the marriage and wait. That is crazy.
Rabbi Shulman spoke at the dinner afterward, after the kiddushin, in Yiddish, so they would not understand. He said to one of us Americans, “The kedushah of this couple is unbelievable,” because they were getting married leshem Shamayim without consummating the marriage. So there you go. If Naomi had been there, she would have known the law. She would have told them; she would have set them straight that you cannot get married until you observe the waiting period.
Now, why does he call it manoach? “Dehaynu sheyihyeh lach ba’al”—that you should have a husband. Why is a husband called manoach? As the pasuk says, “umetzan menuchah.” When a woman is married, she has peace, tranquility, and so on. “Asher yitav lach”—this marriage will be good for you. Sometimes you get married, but it is not necessarily good. If the husband does not observe Torah and mitzvot, if the man is not religious, he does not keep Torah and mitzvot, you have companionship, but the man is playing poker on the internet all day. Then it is not good for the nefesh. As our sages said, “Be’ishah sheniseit lemochs, vehayetah kosheret kishrei mochsin al yado.” I pray that it will be good for you in tranquility, with true goodness. “Asher yitav lach”—it will be good for you: a religious, proper man, for your soul, and so on.
“Ve’atah halo Boaz moda’tanu.” Malbim says, “Retzono lomar,” because the goren was at the end of the field. The goren, where they collected the grain, was at the end of the field. They did not do the winnowing of barley at the goren, but in the field before the goren, because there is wind there. It is an open field; that is where the wind is.
All the workers, the young men and young women, would certainly be there, working. At the field, it would be impossible for them not to see her. That is why Naomi told her: if they see you in the field before the goren, there is no chashad. “Ki halo Boaz moda’tanu”—we are related to Boaz, and everyone knows that you are related to his household. They will say that you came to look at the winnowing, the way a happy relative takes pleasure in a relative’s celebration. In those days, they were happy when a relative made money. Today they come to give people the evil eye, but in the old days you were happy to see your uncle making money.
Furthermore, what does the pasuk say? “Vegam hayit im na’arotav”—you were already with the young women, as we learned last week. Therefore, they will think you came to visit the young women. No one will suspect anything if you go to the field. They had not seen them since the harvest. “Vehineh hu zoreh et goren hase’orim halaylah.” They will say that is why you came at night, to see the winnowing. No one will suspect anything when they see you at night; they will just think you want to see the winnowing. You are related to Boaz, and you came to see the grain. That is the pretense that makes it okay. There will be no suspicion.
“Verachatzte.” Malbim says the main preparation is that you should prepare yourself by washing and bathing, and put on your Shabbat clothes. This preparation should be done so that you can go down to the goren. But she was not told when to put them on. She could understand that herself; she had to use her sechel. The instruction was that she should stay there until the winnowing was finished. She was going there while the people were there, but she would stay around after everyone left. She would go there for the event. That is how she gets through the gate. Then, when everybody leaves, she will hide somewhere and get to the—
The workers will go home, and Boaz will sit down to eat. While he is sitting down to eat, you quickly go into the goren itself. “Be’ofen al tivada’i le’ish”—everyone will think you went home. No cameras; nobody will know where you are. “Ad kloto le’echol velishtot.” And there, too, “vesamt simlotayich alayich.” It does not mean that you should wear the garments. If that were the meaning, it would have said, “Put on your garments.” It says, “vesamt simlotayich.” The meaning is that you should put them on your shoulder. So she understood her mother-in-law correctly: put them in a knapsack. They will be with you, to put on at the goren.
Ah, so Malbim is perfect. It does not say, “Put them on,” but “vesamt.” This will bring suspicion if you wear your Shabbat clothes. If you come to the event wearing Shabbat clothes—That is what I am saying: people are always overdressed. The invitation did not say “black-tie event”; it is a goren. At a goren, you wear your overalls. Now you are coming in Shabbat clothes? That is why it says “vesamt.”
“Vayehi beshichvo,” verse four. Malbim says Boaz would certainly not sleep in the open field, but in the goren, surrounded by walls. After you hide in the goren, you will know the place where he lies down. It is easy to locate where he will sleep. “Uvat vegilit margelotav veshachavt.” The explanation is that they were embarrassed to propose to Boaz verbally. This may sound strange to us, but this was an inyan of tzeni’ut. They did not want to petition or solicit Boaz verbally: “Will you marry me?” Therefore, they did it through a hint, so they would not have to actually say it. She would make the request through signs.
Now he goes into the famous Malbim. This is one of the classics. People do not know where to find it because he just jumps into it, but here it is; we found it. He discusses what the mekubalim write: “Mita’am hamekubalim be’inyan hayibum vechalitzat hana’al.” Now he gives you the sod of how yibbum and chalitzah work.
“Shehagoof hu na’al shel hanefesh.” If you look at the body, it would be considered like the shoe. Just as the shoe is the house of what is inside it, the foot—which would be considered like the neshamah, the nefesh—the body in this case is considered the na’al. It is the case, the encasement. “She’i efshar laneshamah ruchanit la’amod be’olam hagoofim belo goof”—the neshamah cannot exist in this world of bodies without a goof. “She’i efshar la’anog verach lavo bimkom refesh vatit belo na’al, shelo yitarfu raglav”—just as the foot cannot step in the dirt unless it has an encasement, so its feet will not be damaged.
“Ve’al sod zeh”—what did God tell Moshe Rabbeinu? “Shal ne’alecha me’al raglecha” means remove your encasement. Moshe, you are spiritual; there is no shoe. Remove your body. Understand? Moshe Rabbeinu was a mal’ach. “Shal ne’alecha”—remove the physical. You got it?
“Ve’ish hamet belo vanim”—a person dies without children, “ve’ein lenafsho margo’a”—he himself, the deceased, has no peace. “Vehi odenah mekashkeshet be’ishto”—he hangs around his wife, “be’ishto.” She did not produce a child from him. “Veyimacheh shemo beYisrael”—he is worried that his name will be erased. When his brother performs yibbum and puts the zera in the woman, “hu ke’ilu nefesh hamet ba’ah shenit la’olam”—it causes the deceased to come back into the world. “Ki hanolad hu atzmo ha’ach hamet”—the newborn is, in effect, the deceased brother. He goes from being her husband to being her son. Understand? The husband now becomes her child. “Veyikare al shemo”—the child is called after the deceased. “Vehu yakum tachtav banachalah”—he continues the deceased’s inheritance.
As it says, “Yulad ben leNa’omi”—our story. When Ruth has a baby, who does Ruth have? Machlon. So, “yulad ben leNa’omi.” Naomi? The child was born to Ruth. But because the child was Machlon, it is as though Naomi had a baby; Machlon came back. Understand? “Ki Oved ben Boaz”—no, his name was not Machlon; they called him Oved. The son of Boaz and Ruth was Oved. Oved, yes. “Ki Oved ben Boaz hayah be’atzmo Machlon”—Oved, the son of Boaz, was in effect Machlon.
“Ve’az yesh lenefesh hamet na’al.” Basically, you gave the soul of the deceased a shoe. You gave the soul a body. The deceased is floating around and needs somewhere to rest, so you give it a body, a shoe. “Ritzoni lomar”—a body in which it can exist in the world of bodies.
But what happens if the brother does not want to perform yibbum? Let’s say the yavam is a deadbeat and does not want to do yibbum. “Tisha’er nefesh hamet belo na’al”—the soul of the deceased remains without a shoe. That is why you do chalitzah. What is the ceremony of chalitzah? Remove the na’al, take off the shoe. That is what you are doing. You do not want to provide a na’al for this... Therefore, midah keneged midah, the ceremony acts it out: the one who does not want to give a shoe has the shoe removed. She removes the shoe from the yavam.
“Velo tuchal la’amod shenit be’olam hagoofim, lachen yirmezu bamah shetishlof na’alo me’al raglo, veyikare shemo beYisrael: Beit Chalutz Hana’al,” and they call him that. “Ki chen chalatzta na’al shel achicha”—you took the body off your brother. The meaning is that his soul remains without a shoe. In other words, it is lacking a body. The Kabbalists say that this is also why she spits, because that is keneged the zera. What are we asking you for? Just a tipat zera. You cannot even do that?
“Vezeh ramzah leVoaz”—now we go back to the story of Boaz. “Bamah shegiltah margelotav”—according to this, “giltah margelotav” means she took off his shoes, his slippers. “Giltah margelotav” could mean that, but it could also mean she revealed him. This is what she hinted to him: since you are the goel, you can perform yibbum as well. What happens with yibbum? It happens right away, because he is the closest relative. So either take off your shoe and be without a shoe, and be called “Beit Chalutz Hana’al,” or let me lie next to you and cover me with the tallit.
Basically, this was sign language. Boaz spoke sign language. When she comes to the bed, she takes off his shoe: that is one option. Or “ufarasta chenfecha”—that is another option. They did not want to say it out loud; that would not be modest. Right. “Vehu yagid lach et asher ta’asi”—he will give you instructions. “Dehainu”: either he will tell you to propose to the closer redeemer, meaning you will go to Tov, or he will speak. Those are the two options. Apparently, Naomi knew there was someone closer. He will give you instructions: either you will have to go to Tov, or he will go to Tov. Somebody has to go to Tov.
“Vatomer eleha,” verse five. In response to what Naomi said, “vehu yagid lach et asher ta’asin”—he will give you instructions—she said that even then she would not do anything without asking her mother-in-law for advice. Beautiful. Even after Boaz gives me instructions, I will come back to you and ask your advice. You see how he is learning? Look at verse five. “Vatomer eleha”: whatever you tell me, after Boaz gives me instructions, I will do. “I’m going to come back to you.” You see how respectful she was? Even if Boaz gives me the chidushim, I will not do anything until I come back to you and you tell me. Respect. “Vechol asher tomeri elai.” Okay, beautiful. “E’eseh.”
“Vatered.” That is to say, after everyone had finished their work, she went to the party. The party was in an open field. The young men and women were there. Nobody thought twice when Rut showed up, because she was related to Boaz. She came to celebrate with him, and they were friends with her anyway. They had not seen her in a long time. Everything was fine; everything was beautiful. After everybody went home, she made an exit into the goren. She hid there. “Vata’as”—that is, there at the goren, she did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her. Then she put on the perfume and the Shabbat clothes. “Vayochal”—now Boaz is on the other side eating. “Vayavo hagoren vayishkav”—he came to the goren and lay down. He set up his bed there, at the end of the pile. “Vatavo valat.”
Now, what happens here? Let’s catch up with the Malbim. Verse seven: “Vayehi bachatzi halaylah”—all of a sudden, someone is lying down. “Vatomer: anochi Rut amatecha.” The meaning is: “Do not think this is promiscuity, God forbid.” “Im nekevah tesovev gever”—the woman comes to the man, because “ki ani amatecha,” I am your maidservant. Just as there is a relationship between a Hebrew maidservant and her master, in Judaism there is a physical connection between the master and the amah. We call that yi’ud (designation for marriage). By a shifchah, the master has a mitzvah to marry her. That is called yi’ud.
“Ki yesh kesher beyni ubeinecha bemitzvah mitzvat yibum.” I am like an amah. I am not lying down next to just any man. If I am lying down next to you, that means you are the yavam. There is a zikah here; there is a connection here.
“Ufarasta chenfecha al amatecha”—a melitzah. It is a—Why do they set doves free at a wedding? You have never seen that? It is a non-Jewish custom. At weddings, during the ceremony, they release doves. They do it because they claim doves are the most loyal mates: if one dies, the other will either die or commit suicide and never marry again. It is a sign of loyalty. A dove is also a sign of peace. But the Malbim says there is another intention—not necessarily about doves. “Ufrashta chenfecha”: at the time of the zivug, birds spread their wings. That is the time of the zivug. So that is a nice way of saying it without saying “spread your wings” explicitly. They use the mashal of the birds: spread your wings. Everybody knows that spreading the wings means the time of the zivug, instead of saying it explicitly, “beshem hameforash.”
Furthermore, she hinted that this is not a bi’ah outside the Torah’s commandment. “Shekanfey habeged sheyesh bahem tzitzit matzilin mibi’ah zo.” Remember the story in the Gemara about the man who was going up with a prostitute, and suddenly his tzitzit came and slapped him in the eye? “Hey, what’s going on here?” His tzitzit slapped him in the eye. It was good that he was wearing them; the tzitzit saved him. You need tzitzit to save you from a bi’ah asurah. So she was telling Boaz, “Ufrashta chenfecha”—you can take your tzitzit off, because you do not need to be protected. This is a commandment. “Hachanaf beli techelet.” You do not need tzitzit here. Tzitzit protects you from a bi’ah asurah; this is bi’ah muteret. That is how the Malbim learns it. How gorgeous!
What happens? “Vatomer: beruchah at l’Hashem.” He saw that she was leshem Shamayim. He says, “Beruchah at”—you are blessed. “Heitavt chasdech ha’acharon min harishon”—your last chesed is greater than your first chesed. The meaning is that the first chesed you did for your husband was when you married him and chose a man from the seed of Israel. Let’s say the Malbim’s understanding is that they were Jewish when they married; that is one opinion. First, you did a kindness by marrying a Jewish man. But when you married your first husband, you married a young man. So your first kindness was that you married a Jew, but it was not such a great kindness, because he was young. It may have been because you were attracted to his good looks. A young man is handsome.
But the latter kindness is to go with me, to take an old man. “Heitavt chasdech ha’acharon min harishon,” by not going after the young men. He says that even a poor young man would have been better than taking an old man. Understand what he is saying? Even if he were poor, and all the more so if you found a rich young man—why not? You chose an old man. Obviously, it is not out of passion; it is to establish a name for your deceased husband. That is a great kindness. Do you understand how he is learning the verses?
“Ve’atah biti.” Since he cannot come and perform yibbum with her right away, until he asks the other redeemer, he is worried she will think that he does not want to perform yibbum. As we saw in Rashi, he is worried she will think he is pushing her off. So he says, “Ve’atah biti al tir’i”—I see that you are scared. You might think that I am rejecting you and do not want you. “Kol asher tomri e’eseh lach”—I promise I will perform yibbum with you, as you asked, if it turns out that I am permitted to do so. The meaning is that once it is clarified that I am the redeemer, it will be settled. Do not worry.
“Ve’al tir’i” also contains a great chiddush from the Malbim. We are not living on Mars; there is a world here. Rut was worried that even if Boaz said, “I’ll do it,” people might come and tell him, “Are you crazy? You’re an old man; you’re going to marry her?” They might talk him out of it. She was worried about the peer pressure Boaz would get from the gate because Boaz was a member of the Sanhedrin. He says, do not worry: “Ki yode’a kol sha’ar ami ki eshet chayil at.” All the people at the gate know your standing. No one is going to talk me out of it. They know your level. You do not have to worry that I am trying to push you off. I am telling you now, “Kol asher tomri e’eseh.” If you are worried someone else will talk me out of it, all the people at the gate know you are a woman of valor. No one will say, “Why shouldn’t I marry you?” He is comforting her.
“Ve’atah”—the meaning is, “I really cannot perform yibbum with you right away.” After all, all yibbum is, by the way, a bi’ah. You do not need money or witnesses. With yibbum, “harei at meyubemet li”—and that is it. But although it is true that “ki go’el anochi,” I am a redeemer, I cannot perform yibbum with you now when there is a closer redeemer.
“Lini halailah”—you have to stay here until morning, when I can speak with Tov. “Ve’im yig’alech Tov, harei yigal.” The meaning is that he has the right of first refusal. If not, then I give you an oath that he does not want to redeem you and I will redeem you, as Hashem lives.
After she received those assurances, she was ready to go home. When she wanted to get up, he told her, “Shechvi”—stay. That is how you learn the verses. “Shechvi,” because she was getting up. The meaning is: stay in this place. Now what do you mean? What about the yetzer hara? Okay, listen. Now that she has made her point, should she go over to the women’s section? Or should she stay here while he goes to sleep? Now that he is not going to act on the yetzer, what happened to the yetzer hara? He is sleeping with a single woman all night in the same bed! “Eini yereh pen yesiteni hayetzer hara.” Why? Because the sages say he swore to his yetzer, as we learned in Rashi. “Chai ani”…” The meaning is that what he said, “Chai Hashem,” applies to two conditions. First, if Tov redeems you, I will take care of it. And he swore that he would not touch her. He would not touch her until he had permission from Tov. As long as he had not spoken with Tov, he would not touch her. That is the oath to his yetzer. Unbelievable.
He made a commitment: I will not touch you until I get the—if I do not get the answer, I will not touch you. So Boaz was confident once he had made the shevu’ah. This shows Boaz’s gedlut. Apparently, this was a big nisayon. It was not an easy nisayon. The Gemara says—let me say it in a nice way—“vayilafet.” When she lay down next to him, he was affected. And still, he did nothing. The tzaddik Boaz.
“Vayomer al yivada.” Now watch this. Do you think Boaz was alone? The Malbim learns that he had a shomer there. So there was a witness. The shomer saw all this. If he goes on Yeshiva World the next day, it is over! Yeshiva World will put up pictures of Boaz and everything. It is finished. You will see right now. “Vayomer al yivada”—who is he speaking to? He commanded his young men. We learned that he told Ruth. Well, of course Ruth is not going to say anything. The whole thing was done balat (quietly, secretly). Do you have to tell her, “Don’t tell anybody”? That is why I came at night!
Rather, he commanded his young men that they not reveal it to anyone. The woman had been in the field at night with the young women and had come from the field to the goren. The next day he could go to all the people and say, “Buddy, you don’t know what happened last night after you left. It was a scandal!” Do not say anything.
“Vayamad shesh se’orim.” It seems that it was a midah of a kav, a sixth of a se’ah. Ah, so he learns that the six measures mean a sixth of a se’ah, which is a kav. Six kav in a se’ah. That was how they did it: they divided a big midah into six portions. As it says in Yechezkel, “veshishitem ha’eifah,” and this measure is called “shesh.” Ah, so it is not six; it is a sixth. They call that measure of a sixth “shesh.” Understood? The rule is that you do not give a poor person less than half a kav. Half a kav would be three. But since he was giving for Ruth and Naomi, he gave a shesh, which is exactly the right shi’ur. So it is perfect according to the halachah. Wow.
Now, how gorgeous, says the Malbim. How did Naomi know that he would settle it by the end of the day? He says, “Because he gave us food for only one day. He gave us food until evening. That means he must be coming back in the evening.” He is not cheap. Why did he give us six measures of barley? Breakfast and dinner—what can we have for dinner tonight? He gave us only enough for today, so she understood. These people speak in signs, by the way. Everything is done with signs. Boaz does not say it explicitly; he gives six measures. “Ah, six measures?” She thought: the halachah says half a kav; half a kav for each of us, that makes six. Wait, six is for today. What about tonight? Ah, he is telling us he will be back tonight. Do not worry. Amazing.
Now let me tell you what the Kabbalah writes about this. The reason they are doing it this way is that whenever you are trying to outsmart Satan, you do not talk. You cannot talk. They are bringing Mashiach into the world. This is the most important mission ever in history. Exactly: once the speech comes out, Satan can get a hold of it. So the less said in this matter, the better. That is why they go into the field, lie down, and take off his shoe. Satan has no—he is hacking and trying to get the information, but there is no sound. Understand? He has this hacking machine, like you said, Morris, and he is trying to get the espionage, but there is nothing. The chatter—“Happy Chatter,” exactly. Who is going to Happy Chatter?
That is one of the reasons they do it this way. And, secondly—Anything great. They even say that when you want to learn, do not say, “We are going to learn the masechet.” Do not talk. Just sit down, open the book, and do not let Satan grab the milah. Just do it. Talk does not help. Talk is cheap. Some people’s talk is cheaper than others, Morris. But the point is—Rabbi Binyamin, the point is what I am telling you now. Yes, but Satan has eyes. Okay, so you blocked him from the audio; it is a silent movie, but he has—Okay, it has captions. Ah, that is the thing. So you have to make it look scandalous too. Satan says, “Nothing is going on here. This is not Mashiach; it is not coming, not coming, not coming.” So they arranged the whole thing as part of the scheme to fool Satan. Even when he is watching the movie, he is thinking, “What kind of movie is this?”
That is Lot and his daughters. Who came from Lot and his daughters? Moav. So Rut’s origin is from something that Satan says, “Good luck.” Yehudah and Tamar—Yehudah and his daughter-in-law. Satan says, “Good luck.” Keep going down the line, and David too. When David was with his wife, he thought he was with his maidservant—the whole story there. So if you look at the line of Mashiach, it is purposely done with these—nothing is questionable, because it is all David and Bat Sheva, which has to continue the line. Satan says, “David and Bat Sheva are married.” Ah, he is not sinning. These are all diversions so the Satan would not have a—
“How do you explain why she got dressed up and put on perfume even though he didn’t see her?” That is a very good answer, Jacob. That is part of the scheme. According to the plain meaning, she wears Shabbat clothes to show that this is a commandment. Just as Shabbat is a commandment, this is a commandment. So she dressed up for the sake of the commandment.
“Vatavo el chamotah”—then she comes home to her mother-in-law. It is known that he went along the road with her. Interesting: “Vatavo el chamotah shebederech halach imah.” He escorted her. Boaz walked with her. You are not going to let a girl walk alone in the middle of the night. The verse says, “vayavo ha’ir”—when he came to the city, then they separated. He came to the city alone, and she went to her mother-in-law alone. Ah, a new way of learning: they actually went home together, but it was early in the morning, at Mishiyakir. Then he went to pray netz, and she went home.
“Vatomer mi at.” He learns it very simply: it was before you could see. “Mi at”—who are you? Who is there? It is dark! Remember, there was no Ring camera. They did not have cameras in those days. So “mi at” means it was before Mishiyakir.
“Vataged lah et kol asher asah lah ha’ish.” What now? “Shenishba lah”—I got an oath that I would be redeemed, either by Tov or by him. Now I am fine. Who is the redeemer? To be determined. “Vatomer shesh hase’orim ha’eleh natan li.” What does “natan li” mean? She thought maybe Naomi would think it was kiddushin. So he says, “No, no, no. Al tavo’i reikam”—do not come home empty-handed. It was not kiddushin. He said, do not come home empty-handed; it is a matanah so we can have breakfast.
“Vatomer shevi biti”—“vatomer shevi biti”—“ki lo yishkot ha’ish ki im kilah hadavar hayom.” The lashon indicates that since he gave only enough food for one meal, it is a sign that the matter will be settled today, as we learned.
Okay, rabotai? That is—That is—How does he know he is going to do it? How does she know? It is crazy. Yes, this is. Now, rabotai, if you made it to perek shelishi, I recommend all our members next Friday. That is it; you are getting the grand finale. “Baruch Hashem le’olam, amen ve’amen.” “Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya omer, ratzah Hakadosh Baruch Hu lezakot et Yisrael” (Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya says: The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to grant merit to Israel).