{"id":56368,"date":"2019-05-29T14:27:52","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T11:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=56368"},"modified":"2020-04-24T13:58:52","modified_gmt":"2020-04-24T10:58:52","slug":"the-roots-of-the-book-of-ruth-lot-and-abraham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-roots-of-the-book-of-ruth-lot-and-abraham\/","title":{"rendered":"The Roots of the Book of Ruth: Lot and Abraham"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[337],"acf":{"old_id":"56368","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":56364,"related_cahpter":"230","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"As we count up to Shavuot we are excited to share new, exclusive content from a collection of essays: \u201cGleanings: Reflections on Ruth\u201d edited by Rabbi Dr. Stu Halpern of YU, published by Maggid\/Koren. We\u2019re grateful to be able to share selected excerpts from a wide array of writers, leading up to Shavuot and the reading of the Megillah.","content":"

Both Ruth and her sister-in-law, Orpah, are Moabites, descendants of Lot. While Lot seems initially attached to his uncle Abraham, acting as a willing partner in Abraham\u2019s journey, Lot\u2019s pivotal decision to live among the evil people of Sodom ultimately shapes his destiny, that of his family, and that of his disreputable descendants, Ammon and Moab. That fateful decision returns full circle in the Book of Ruth, as Ruth the Moabite, a descendant of Lot, returns to the path of Abraham.<\/p>\n

[In the Book of Judges] the nation of Israel begins to resemble Ammon and Moab, Lot\u2019s descendants and the spiritual heirs of Sodom. Consider, for example, the following incident: As Gideon\u2019s war against Midian begins to draw to its conclusion, Gideon continues to pursue the Midianite kings across the Jordan River. Exhausted and hungry, Gideon\u2019s troops pass through two Israelite towns, Sukkot and Penu\u00adel. Gideon\u2019s request for food is met with cynical refusal (Judges 8:6): \u201cAre [the Midianite kings] Zevach and Zalmunah in your hands that we should give your army bread?!\u201d The people of Sukkot and Penuel deny food to their own brethren, who are fighting on the nation\u2019s behalf! The miserly behavior of these Israelite towns resembles that of Sodom, as well as Ammon and Moab.<\/p>\n

The shocking conclusion of the book (Judges 19) is a story of moral and sexual corruption, linguistically and thematically modeled upon the narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah. Here more than anywhere, we see how the nation has veered perilously far from the path of Abra\u00adham and is instead treading upon the path of Lot.<\/p>\n

In addition to the ramifications that Ruth\u2019s Abraham-like choice has for herself and her descendants, Ruth\u2019s choice represents a historic correction, or tikkun<\/em>, of Lot\u2019s fateful separation from Abraham. The nar\u00adrative that recounts Lot\u2019s decision to separate <\/em>from Abraham uses the verb \u201cparad<\/em>\u201d several times: “And each man separated (vayiparedu<\/em>) from his brother” (Gen. 13:11).<\/p>\n

Ruth\u2019s speech of loyalty to Naomi concludes with her declaration that only death will separate <\/em>her from Naomi: “I swear by God that only death will separate (yafrid<\/em>) between you and me” (Ruth 1:17).<\/p>\n

Ruth\u2019s choice to journey to Bethlehem leads her to a very different Israel than the one envisioned by Abraham. At this time, the nation has strayed perilously far from the path of Abraham, veering precipitously toward the Lot path. As noted, the Book of Judges opens with the nation making the Lot choice to integrate into its Canaanite surroundings and concludes with an incident that replicates the depravity of Sodom. Disaster looms ominously on the horizon, as Israel\u2019s fate hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n

Thus, Ruth is not the only one who must choose whether she wishes to remain on the path of Moab or return to the path of Abra\u00adham. This is the very choice facing the people during the period of the Judges. Will they continue on the doomed path of Moab or return to the ways of Abraham?<\/p>\n

Ruth\u2019s choice to return to Bethlehem enables her to become a role model who can direct the nation back to the path of Abraham during the period of the Judges. In this way, the Book of Ruth guides the nation who has drifted away from the path of Abraham back to its original path, facilitating the restoration of hesed <\/em>and morality to the nation of Israel.<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":55486,"id":55486,"title":"judges-ruth-gleanings3","filename":"judges-ruth-gleanings3.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/judges-ruth-gleanings3.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/struggles-storytelling-and-salvation\/judges-ruth-gleanings3\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"judges-ruth-gleanings3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":55288,"date":"2019-05-14 13:26:00","modified":"2019-05-14 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