The Book of Ruth is traditionally read during the festival of Shavuot, and is one of the חמש מגילות (Chameish Megillot, the Five Scrolls), along with Esther, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. What appears to be a simple story actually conceals profound secrets and reveals the genealogy of Mashiach. The account takes place in the 10 century BCE, in the town of Bethlehem. The text opens,

“It happened in the days when the judges judged that there was a famine in the land…”
Ruth 1:1

The Midrash comments,

“Ten famines have come upon the world. One in the days of Adam, one in the days of Lamech, one in the days of Abraham, one in the days of Isaac, one in the days of Jacob, one in the days of Elijah, one in the days of Elisha, one in the days of David, one in the days when the judges judged, and one which is destined still to come upon the world (before the Messianic Era).”
Ruth Rabbah 1:4, Soncino Press Edition

During this famine, a man named Elimelech left the land of Israel with his family,

“…A certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife, and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah. They came into the country of Moab, and continued there.”
Ruth 1:1-2

It is an incredible irony that a famine affected Beit-Lechem, which means “House of Bread” in Hebrew. Rashi, R’ Shlomo Yitzhaki, comments on Elimelech,

“He was very wealthy, and the leader of the generation. He left the Land of Israel for regions outside the Land because of stinginess, for he begrudged the poor who came to press him; therefore he was punished.”
Rashi on Ruth 1, cited at Chabad.org [1]

The Artscroll commentary on Ruth Rabbah says that the Bach, R’ Yoel ben Shmuel Sirkis (1561 – 1640 CE), in his Meishiv Nefesh, explains that,

“…the town “Beth-Lehem” literally “House of Bread” was so called for the generosity  that its inhabitants traditionally displayed toward the needy…standing in direct contrast to the people of Judah from Beth-lehem were the people of the fields of Moab. The spirit of the nation is revealed to us in the Torah…”
Ruth Rabbah, Kleinman Edition, Insights, Mesorah Publications, ltd., pg. 14

The Torah says of the people of Moab,

“An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of HaShem; even to the tenth generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of HaShem forever: because they didn’t meet you with bread and with water in the way, when you came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.”
Deuteronomy 23:3-4

The Artscroll commentary continues, highlight the profound importance of tzedaka, charity:

“The Moabite stands as a symbol of miserliness, one unwilling to share his bread even with a hungry traveler. This contrast constitutes a cutting critique of Elimelech alluded to in this verse. . . All Elimelech wanted was to conserve his great wealth and avoid the irresistible please of his hungry brethren who would beseech him for food or alms.”
Ruth Rabbah, Kleinman Edition, Insights, Mesorah Publications, ltd., pg. 14

 

Out of Darkness

The origins of Moab are scandalous. Its history emerged in the aftermath of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. After Lot and his family were rescued from the city, they found shelter in a cave. After experiencing the ancient equivalent of an atomic bomb and losing the mother, the family had no contact with the outside world. Attempting to process what happened, the eldest daughter of Lot thought the entire world had been destroyed. She felt that she, her sister and her father were the world’s only survivors. She devised a plan to preserve humanity: To conceive children by their drunken father. Thus Genesis says,

“Thus both of Lot’s daughters were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son, and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. . .”
Genesis 19:36-38

Rashi comments,

סבורות היו שכל העולם נחרב כמו בדור המבול
“They thought that the entire world had been destroyed, as in the Generation of the Flood (Gen. Rabbah 51:8)”
Rashi on Genesis 19 cited at Chabad.org [2]

While this episode is disturbing, one opinion states,

“Her intent was pure and lofty, and all that she did was lesheim Shamayim— for the sake of Heaven — to make possible the emergence of Mashiach. According to the Midrash Rabbah (Bereishit 49:8) this is evident from the way she expressed herself to her sister. “Our father is old, come let us give our father wine and lay with him that we may give life to zara — offspring — through our father.” The Midrash notes, “It is not written, ‘that we may give life to bein — a child — through our father,’ rather, ‘that we may give life to zara — a seed (offspring) through our father,’ that is to say, the offspring that comes from a different source, which is the King Mashiach.”
Questions and Answers on Megillat Ruth: Chapter 3, R’ Moshe Bogomilsky, Chabad.org [3]

From this “blemished” union, Mashiach will come to the world. A descendant of Moab will play a key role as an ancestor of the Mashiach. This was Ruth, who merited the title, “Imma shel Malchut,” the “Mother of the Kingdom.” The closest kinsman rejected Ruth because she was a Moabite, and felt that it would ‘taint’ his lineage. Thus Ruth had a stigma attached to her, however this was not based on Torah, as it is halachically permissible to marry a female Moabite. Moreover, when Ruth converted, she ceased to be a Moabite, and became an Israelite. Rashi comments on this connection to Mashiach, with Micah 5,

וְאַתָּה בֵּֽית־לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה צָעִיר לִהְיֹות בְּאַלְפֵי יְהוּדָה מִמְּךָ לִי יֵצֵא לִהְיֹות מֹושֵׁל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וּמֹוצָאֹתָיו מִקֶּדֶם מִימֵי עֹולָם׃
“But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old (mi’Kedem), from the days of old.”
Micah 5:2

The phrase ‘from days of old’ refers to the Six Days of Creation. The Talmud says,

“Seven things were created before the world was created, and these are they: The Torah, repentance, the Garden of Eden, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah. The Torah, for it is written, “The Lord made me [the Torah] as the beginning of his way.” Repentance, for it is written, “Before the mountains were brought forth,” and it is written, “You turn man to contrition, and say, Repent, ye children of men.” The Garden of Eden, as it is written, ‘And the Lord planted a garden in Eden from aforetime (mi’Kedem).” The Gehenna, for it is written, “For Tophet [Gehenna] is ordered of old.” The Throne of Glory and the Temple, for it is written, “You throne of glory, on high from the beginning, You place of our sanctuary.” The name of the Messiah, as it is written, “His [the Messiah’s] name shall endure for ever, and has existed before the sun!”
Pesachim 54a, Soncino Press Edition

Rashi, R’ Shlomo Yitzhaki (1040 – 1105 CE), commenting on Micah 5 states,

“You should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah: You should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah because of the stigma of Ruth the Moabitess in you. from you shall emerge for Me: the Messiah, son of David, and so Scripture says (Ps. 118:22): “The stone the builders had rejected became a cornerstone.” and his origin is from of old: “Before the sun his name is Yinnon” (Ps. 72:17).”
Rashi on Micah 5, cited at Chabad.org [12]

The name ‘Yinon’ is spelled with the letters yud-nun-vav-nun. The Maharsha, R’ Shmuel Eidels (1555 – 1631 CE), comments that these letters are an allusion to the name of yud-kei-vav-kei, as Jeremiah 23 states that the name of Mashiach is HaShem Tzidkeinu,

“Behold, the days are coming, says HaShem, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name by which he shall be called: HaShem our Righteousness.”
Jeremiah 23:5-6

The Talmud section called ‘the Boat’ comments that HaShem, Mashiach and Yerushalayim have the name of YKVK,

“R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Yochanan: Three were called by the name of the Holy One; blessed be He, and they are the following: The righteous, the Messiah and Jerusalem. [This may be inferred as regards] the righteous [from] what has just been said. [As regards] the Messiah ‘it is written: And this is the name whereby he shall be called, ‘The Lord is our righteousness. [As regards] Jerusalem ‘it is written: It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be ‘the Lord is there.’ Do not read, ‘there’ but ‘its name.’
Bava Batra 75b, Soncino Press Edition

 

The Jews and the G-d Fearer

When Naomi was departing Moab to return to Israel, Ruth implored her,

“Do not entreat me to leave you, and to return from following after you! For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, will I die, and there will I be buried. HaShem do so to me, and more also, if anything but death part you and me.”
Ruth 1:16-17

This passage has echoed throughout the ages, and forms a pattern that outlines the responsibility of the convert (Ger Tzedek), and plays a role model for all non-Jewish believers in HaShem to emulate. The simple question of “Who is a Jew?” is incredibly complex. Is it an ethnicity? A religion? A nationality? All of these definitions converge like a Venn Diagram. A simple answer is that one is Jewish if their mother is Jewish, or they converted to Judaism. Ruth the Moabite was certainly not Jewish.  R’ Yerachmiel Tilles comments on this in connection with Shavuot,

“…perhaps the main reason for our reading the Book of Ruth on this festival is because it gives us such a vivid picture of the perfect sincere convert. Shavuot is the “Time of the Giving of Our Law,” and when we received it, we too, like converts, pledged ourselves to accept the Torah and fulfill its 613 commandments.”
R’ Yerachmiel Tilles, Ruth-Shavuot Connections, Chabad.org [5]

The book of Ruth reveals the time frame of the events described in its passages,

“So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.”
Ruth 1:22

Rashi comments on the phrase, “beginning of the barley harvest”,

“Scripture is speaking of the harvest of the Omer.”
Rashi on Ruth 1, cited at Chabad.org [6]

This is the buildup to the Festival of Shavuot, which commemorates the Giving of the Torah, the Marriage between HaShem and Israel on Mount Sinai. Rashi says,

“And they both went on: Said Rabbi Abbahu: Come and see how dear the proselytes are to the Holy One, blessed be He: Since she decided to convert, Scripture compared her to Naomi.”
Rashi on Ruth 1, cited at Chabad.org [7]

R’ Moshe Bogomilsky comments,

“Naomi told Ruth, “When you got married to my son, you were a Moabite. As long as you were married, our relationship was one of a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. After he died, you became a righteous proselyte. Our Sages tell us ‘One who converts is like a new-born child’ (Yevamot 22a). Since your conversion was done under my tutelage, I consider you as though I gave birth to you and you are dear to me as biti — my daughter.”
Questions and Answers on Megillat Ruth: Chapter 3, R’ Moshe Bogomilsky, Chabad.org [8]

While full converts are obligated to all the responsibilities of a native-born Jew, one of the most controversial questions among believers in Yeshua is the role and responsibility of non-Jews in the Guf HaMashiach, the Body of the Messiah. This controversy is known as “One Law” vs “Divine Invitation.” Some maintain that non-Jewish believers in Yeshua are obligated to the Torah in the same way, and to the same level Jews are (One Law). Others maintain that non-Jewish believers are invited to keep the Torah, but do not have the same level of responsibility as do Jews. While this may be oversimplified and controversial, the following categories may help clarify (or further confuse) the issue:

•  Akum – Idolator, someone actively participating in avodah zara, idolatry, and has no relationship with the G-d of Israel
• Nochri – Foreigner, someone who is not an idolator, but neither has a relationship with the G-d of Israel
• Ger Toshav – A Noahide, a Non-Jew who connects himself to Israel without conversion. Obligated to the 7 laws of Noah as a baseline, and invited to participate in the Torah, Shabbat, while being respectful to the role of Jews
• Ger Tzedek – A Convert to Judaism, fully obligated to Torah
• Jew/Israelite – A Native-Born Jewish person (ezrach), fully obligated to Torah
• Levi – A Descendant of Levi, fully obligated to Torah with additional responsibilities
• Cohen – A Descendant of Aaron, fully obligated to Torah with additional responsibilities

Most non-Jewish believers who feel a strong connection to Israel, Torah and the Jewish Messiah fall into the category of Gerei Toshav. We live in times of Restoration. We have seen Israel reborn, Jerusalem reunited, the beginnings of a New Temple, and a world-wide awakening to the Torah. The phenomenon of the Ger Toshav is an integral part of this resurrection of an ancient path. The Apostle Paul spoke of the “grafting in” of the non-Jew into the Olive Tree of Israel. R’ Chaim Clorfene writes,

“For the Ger this simply means that all the blessings of Shabbat become his heritage when he looks to Jacob as his forefather, as it says, “And in you [Jacob] and in your seed shall all the families of the world be blessed.” And the Rashbam (R’ Samuel ben Meir), employs an alternative meaning of the Hebrew word, “blessed,” as “grafted,” interpreting the verse to mean that all the families of the earth shall be grafted into the Congregation of Jacob. This also suggests that the Noahide Ger is entitled to learn “Col HaTorah Culah,” every aspect of the Torah, not merely the Seven Laws of Noah, as it says (Deuteronomy 33:4), “The Torah that Moses commanded us is the heritage of the Congregation of Jacob.”
The World of the Ger, R’ Chaim Clorfene with R’ David Katz, pg. 119

Yeshua said to the Samaritan woman,

“You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.”
John 4:22

Ruth began to gather grain in the ‘House of Bread’ during the Barley Harvest, leading to their climactic wedding, symbolizing Shavuot. After speaking to the Samaritan woman, many Samaritans began to come to Yeshua, to learn from the Jewish Master. As his disciples looked on, and saw them coming, Yeshua says,

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Don’t you say, There are yet four months until the harvest? Behold, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already.”
John 4:34-35

This is the mission of Israel, to be the Light to the Nations. Like Ruth, the non-Jews that join Israel have a critical mission: to defend the Jewish people, bring the light of the real Gospel to the world, and play an intrinsic part in hastening the Redemption.

 

The Threshing Floor

 

וִיהִי בְשָׁכְבֹו וְיָדַעַתְּ אֶת־הַמָּקֹום אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב־שָׁם

“Now isn’t Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he winnows barley tonight in the threshing floor. Therefore wash yourself, anoint yourself, get dressed, and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lies down, you shall know the Place (HaMakom) where he lies down…”
Ruth 3:2-4

The wording here is unusual, containing repetitive and superfluous words, “when he lies down, you shall know the place where he lies down.” The secret of this phase is contained in the word HaMakom, “The Place.” The Place is a name for the Temple (1 Kings 8:30) and is also a Name of HaShem. Ruth met Boaz at the Goren, the “Threshing Floor” at midnight. Within these words hide secrets of Redemption. On a Midrashic level, the “Threshing Floor” is the Place of the Holy Temple. The Book of 2nd Samuel says,

“Gad came that day to David, and said to him, “Go up, build an altar to HaShem on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
2 Samuel 24:18

R’ Bogomilsky paraphrases Meshiv Nefesh and R’ Eleazar of Worms, known as the Rokeach (Perfumer),

“…Naomi said, “You are going down to the threshing floor to beseech him to ‘spread his wings’ over you. Please remember that from your union with him needs to emerge King David, who will purchase a goren — threshing floor — upon which the Beit Hamikdash will be built. The Jews will come there to beseech Almighty G‑d to rest His Shechinah — Divine Presence — in that place, and echoing your request, to “spread His wings over them.” … Incidentally, the words “veyaradeta hagoren” — “and go down to the threshing floor” (וירדת הגרון) — have the numerical value of 879 (im hakolel— when counting the statement as one), which is also the numerical value of “Zehu Beit Hamikdash” (זהו בית המקדש) — “This is the Beit Hamikdash.”
Questions and Answers on Megillat Ruth: Chapter 3, R’ Moshe Bogomilsky, Chabad.org [9]

By pursuing her Beloved at the “Place” she laid the foundation for the Shechinah to dwell in the world. John the Immerser prophesied from the beginning of his mission that Yeshua would cleanse the Temple,

“His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”
Matthew 3:12

בַּחֲצִי הַלַּיְלָה = 190 = קץ
In the Middle of the Night = 190 = End

 

The Scroll of Ruth says,

“It happened at midnight, that the man was startled and turned himself; and behold, a woman lay at his feet.”
Ruth 3:8

R’ Bogomilsky comments, revealing a secret,

“Instead of “bachatzi halaylah” why doesn’t it simply say“bachatzot” — “at midnight”? The words “bachatzi halaylah” (בחצי הלילה) — “middle of the night” — have the numerical value of 190, which is also the numerical value of “keitz” (קץ) — “the end.” This refers to the ultimate conclusion of all the exiles of the Jewish people which will occur through Mashiach…”
Questions and Answers on Megillat Ruth: Chapter 3, R’ Moshe Bogomilsky, Chabad.org [10]

He continues,

“In the middle of the night,” the darkest moment of exile vayecharad ha’ish— the Man — Hashem — was startled, to see, behold “a woman” (Klal Yisrael) lying margelotav — at His feet.” This word can also be read as mar— bitter — gelotov — exiles. Suddenly, Hashem asks “who are you?” She responds [emotionally] “I am Ruth Your handmaid.” This means “I am Klal Yisrael who have accepted Ruth (רות) — additional 606 mitzvot at Sinai over the seven the entire world has.” The dialogue continues, “Spread Your wings over Your handmaid” — “take us out of galut and reunite with us” —“Ki go’el atah” — “for You are a redeemer.”
Questions and Answers on Megillat Ruth: Chapter 1, R’ Moshe Bogomilsky, Chabad.org [11]

 

The Redeemer

After Boaz and Ruth marry, she conceives and gives birth to a son, Oved. The name of Oved is “Servant”, which is a title of Mashiach. At his birth, the women proclaim to Naomi,

“Blessed be HaShem, who has not left you this day without a Redeemer! And let his name be famous in Israel. He shall be to you a restorer of life, and sustain you in your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”
Ruth 4:14-15

Incredibly, the subject of the Redeemer does not appear to be Boaz in this verse. It appears to be the child! The “Servant” will be a Restorer of Life (Meishiv Nefesh). This is a prototype of Mashiach ben David, through whom will come the Resurrection of the dead and the restoration of the universe. When HaShem created the world, everything was perfect. Genesis says,

אֵלֶּה תֹולְדֹות הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ

“This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the HaShem Elokim made the earth and the heavens.”
Genesis 2:4

Notice how the word for “history, genealogy” toldot is spelled, תולדות, with two vavs. Yet, a few chapters later, when the genealogy of Adam is recorded, one of the vavs is missing:

 זֶה סֵפֶר תֹּולְדֹת אָדָם

“This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made him…”
Genesis 5:1

The word “genealogy” is spelled defectively throughout the rest of the Tanakh, with a vav missing. There is one exception, which is found in Ruth chapter 4,

 וְאֵלֶּה תֹּולְדֹות פָּרֶץ

“Now this is the history of the generations of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron, and Hezron became the father of Ram, and Ram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon, and Salmon became the father of Boaz, and Boaz became the father of Obed, and Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.”
Ruth 4:18-22

The vav is restored in the genealogy of David HaMelech. What does this vav represent? The Letter Vav has the numerical value of 6. The Midrash explains,

“R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Samuel b. Nahman: Though these things were created in their fullness, yet when Adam sinned they were spoiled, and they will not again return to their perfection until the son of Perez [viz. Messiah] comes; [for in the verse] “These are the toledoth(generations) of Perez”, toledoth is spelled fully, with a vav. These are they: [1] his lustre, [2] his immortality, [3] his height, [4] the fruit of the earth and [5] the fruit of trees, and [6] the luminaries.”
Genesis Rabbah 12:6, Soncino Press Edition

Rashi goes onto say that the “six barleys” that Boaz gave to Ruth,

“…hinted to her that a son who would be blessed with six blessings was destined to emerge from her. [The blessings are:] (Isa. 11:2): “a spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and heroism, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord,” [referring to the King Messiah]. (Isaiah 11)”
Rashi on Ruth 3, cited at Chabad.org

The Ben Ish Chai, R’ Yosef Hayyim of Bagdad, writes,

“…the Messiah is Israel’s guarantor; he has undertaken suffering to atone for Israel’s sins in order to shorten the exile (Yalkut Shimoni 499).”
Ben Ish Chai, Aderet Eliyahu, Haftarat Yitro, Days of Peace, Yeshivat Ahavat Shalom Publications, pgs. 127

It is the Mashiach who will restore Adam back to the Garden. In the book Seven Pillars of Faith, R’ Yitzhak Breiter זק״ל says Mashiach is the Guarantor of the world,

“The seventh fundamental is attachment to the True Tzaddik:  1. The soul of Mashiach preceded the world. It is the root of the souls of Israel, and the entire Creation, for “The entire universe was only created to attend him (Berakhot 6b) and “The Tzaddik is the foundation of the world” (Proverbs 10:25). 2. The Holy One, blessed-be-He, took counsel with this soul in the creation of His Universe, as it is written: “With whom did He take counsel, who gave Him understanding and guided Him in the way of judgment?” (Isaiah 40:14). 3. He gave God a guarantee that he will repair the Universe. . . 6. He is the Heavenly Court…8. He reveals prayer, as it is written: “And I am prayer” (Psalm 109:4). 9. He is the Chariot of the Shechinah. 10. He is the Holiness. 11. He is the vitality of the whole universe. 12. Through him all devotions rise up to Heaven. 13. All arousal to Teshuvah is through him…”
Rabbi Yitzhak Breiter, Seven Pillars of Faith, Breslov Research Institute, pgs. 37-38

This is incredible. Mashiach is the Guarantor of the world. Now imagine for a moment, if the Torah were writing about your life. How would you change? What would you do differently? If HaShem could take someone out of the scandalous past of Moav, he can do amazing things with your life! There are no excuses, no obstacles too big between you and HaShem. Now what if I told you that Eliyahu HaNavi and Mashiach Tzikeinu are recording our deeds in heaven right now? What would you change? What would you do differently? The Midrash says,

“R. Isaac commented: The Torah teaches you a good rule of conduct,that when a person performs a good deed he should do so with a cheerful heart. If Reuben, for example, had known that the Holy One, blessed be He, would have written of him, ‘And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand’ (Gen. 37:21), he would have carried Joseph and brought him to his father. And if Boaz had known that the Holy One, blessed be He, would have it written of him that he ‘[Gave] her parched corn’, he would have given her to eat fatted calves! R. Kohen and R. Joshua son of R. Simon in the name of R. Levi said: “In times past when a man did a good deed the prophet used to record it, but now if a man does a good deed who records it? Elijah and the King Messiah, the Holy One, blessed be He, signing beside them; in accordance with that which is written, ‘Then they that feared the Lord spoke one with another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him… for them that… thought upon His name.’ (Mal. 3:16).”
Leviticus Rabbah 34:8, Soncino Press Edition

Mashiach is writing in his book! Jews and non-Jews play a critical role in hastening the redemption. We must focus on Teshuvah (Repentance), Tefillah (Prayer), and Tzedaka (Charity) that we may receive our King Mashiach, Yeshua the Tzaddik, and that all the world will know HaShem.

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References

1. Rashi on Ruth 1, Chabad.org
2. Rashi on Ruth 3, Chabad.org
3. Questions and Answers on Megillat Ruth: Chapter 3, R’ Moshe Bogomilsky, Chabad.org
4. Nitzevet, Mother of David, Chabad.org
5. R’ Yerachmiel Tilles, Ruth-Shavuot Connections, Chabad.org
6. Rashi on Ruth 4, Chabad.org
7. Rashi on Ruth 4, Chabad.org
8. Questions and Answers on Megillat Ruth: Chapter 3, R’ Moshe Bogomilsky, Chabad.org
9. Ibid.
10. Rashi on Micah 5, Chabad.org
11. Questions and Answers on Megillat Ruth: Chapter 3, R’ Moshe Bogomilsky, Chabad.org