The legacy of Ruth in our religious tradition

The legacy of Ruth at this time of year has always invited new commentary by the scholars of our time. This year is no different, with a new and unique teaching by Rabbi Yitzchok Frankel, spiritual leader of the Agudas Yisrael of the Five Towns. His newly published commentary on Megillat Ruth is entitled, “Machat Shel Yad – Megillat Ruth” (Nehorah Publications). Within this work are reflected some innovative takes, and genealogical ironies, on the legacy of Ruth that will add to your Shavuot learning experience.

Please consider the following excert from Rabbi Frankel’s introduction:

“Ruth’s grandfather was King Eglon of Moav, infamous for his persecution of the Jews. Even putting the issue of conversion aside, imagine today if a matchmaker said to a young man, ‘I have a wonderful girl for you! She has sterling middos and yiras shamayim; she comes from a wealthy family and is beautiful to boot. But there is one catch … her grandfather was a Nazi, not just a regular Nazi at that. He was a general in the SS and was personally responsible for murdering tens of thousands of Jews.’

“How many people would want to meet that girl?

“Ruth, descendant of Eglon, the king of Moav, was that girl.

“The Moav nation’s longstanding history of being enemies of the Jewish people manifested itself famously in the days of King Balak, who hired Bilaam to curse the Jews, ultimately leading to the death of 24,000 Jews. Moav didn’t care much for the Jews and the Jews didn’t care much for Moav. It just wasn’t practical that a Moabite would convert to Judaism, or that a Jew would marry her if she did, all the more so if the convert descended from an infamous, barbarous adversary.

“The combination of factors — that the ruling of Moabite women is not written out in the Torah and can be refuted by logic, combined with the practical unlikeliness for it to have actually occured – created a reality in which few people were aware of the halachah of Moavi v’lo Moavis.