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How could Machlon and Chilion, described as gedolei hador, marry Moabite women? The shiur argues they were likely ger toshav, making the marriages halachically permissible since the prohibition of kanaim pog'im bo doesn't apply. However, such marriages may have rendered them pasul lamalchus, explaining why they waited until after their father Elimelech's death.
This shiur provides an in-depth examination of the opening chapters of Megillas Rus, focusing on several complex halachic and hashkafic issues. Rabbi Zweig begins by analyzing the death of Elimelech and its impact on Naomi, explaining that a man's primary role is to empower his wife, and that Elimelech, as a prototype of malchus (kingship), fulfilled this role perfectly. When he died, Naomi suffered not just the loss of her husband, but the loss of her empowerment. A central focus of the shiur is the halachic question of how Machlon and Chilion, described by the Rambam (רמב"ם) as gedolei hador (great scholars of their generation), could have married Moabite women. Rabbi Zweig suggests they were likely ger toshav (resident aliens who accepted the seven Noahide laws), which would exempt them from the prohibition of kanaim pog'im bo (zealots may strike them). The Kesef Mishneh states that this prohibition doesn't apply to a ger toshav. The fact that the Torah (תורה) consistently refers to Ruth and Orpah as kalot (daughters-in-law) suggests the marriages had some form of halachic legitimacy.
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Rus 1-3
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Why would Naomi suggest that thirty-something widows wait fifteen years to marry infant boys? The key is understanding that yibum isn't about companionship but purely about perpetuating a deceased husband's name. Rus and Orpah show extraordinary devotion by willingly sacrificing personal happiness for functional marriages that would preserve their husbands' legacies.
