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If Ruth hadn't converted when married to Machlon, how could Boaz later perform yibum to establish Machlon's name? The shiur distinguishes between basic geyrus (which permits the relationship) and ger tzedek (full conversion with kabbalas mitzvos). Ruth's declaration "ami amech" represents her request to upgrade from mere ger status to becoming a ger tzedek.
Rabbi Zweig addresses a complex textual and halachic problem in Megillas Rus that emerges from Rashi (רש"י)'s commentary. The Torah (תורה) narrative suggests that Ruth was married to Machlon, as evidenced by the later story of Boaz marrying Ruth "lehakim shem lamachlon" (to establish a name for Machlon) - following the spirit of yibum (levirate marriage). However, this creates a fundamental contradiction. Rashi explains that when Naomi told Ruth and Orpah to return to their people, she was addressing the halachic problem of eishes ach shelo hayu b'olam - if Naomi were to have more children, Ruth and Orpah couldn't marry them since they would be brothers of Machlon and Chilion, and it's forbidden to marry one's brother's widow even if the brothers never coexisted. Rashi resolves this by saying "shalona gairu" - they had not yet converted. But this creates a deeper problem: if there was no geyrus, how could there be any meaningful marriage or yibum?
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Megillas Rus
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Why does Ruth express such excessive gratitude for receiving mere water from Boaz? The shiur develops the idea that loving converts operates as part of loving Hashem, without the "as yourself" limitation of standard interpersonal mitzvos. This explains why Boaz accepts personal embarrassment to accommodate Ruth's insistence on independence rather than charity.
