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Why does Ruth become the ancestress of Mashiach? Ruth's willingness to enter a yibum-like arrangement represents complete self-nullification - she negates all personal interest to perpetuate her deceased husband's legacy. This total selflessness, becoming purely a vessel for spiritual purpose, embodies the essential quality from which Mashiach must emerge.
This shiur analyzes Ruth 3:11-13, focusing on several key questions that emerge from the text. The first major issue is understanding what "goel" means - is it merely about familial closeness or something deeper? Rabbi Zweig explains, citing Tosafos (תוספות) in Kiddushin, that the law of redemption (geulah) is not simply about being a close relative, but about "standing in someone's shoes" - being their legal representative. This explains why if there's someone closer who can redeem, the more distant relative has no claim at all, unlike inheritance where multiple relatives have sequential rights. The discussion then turns to the specific verses where Boaz tells Ruth to stay the night, addressing the apparent contradiction between "lini halailah" (stay overnight) and later "shchivi ad haboker" (lie down until morning). The rabbi suggests that "lini" refers to the laws of yichud (seclusion), indicating it was permissible for them to be alone since Ruth was unmarried and possibly before certain rabbinic restrictions were instituted.
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Why did Shlomo HaMelech combine intellect, physical pleasure, and chukim after each approach individually failed? The shiur develops that humans must acknowledge both their physical nature and spiritual capacity simultaneously. Chukim (called "foolishness" here) teach us to act for internal meaning rather than external approval.
Rus 3:11-13
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