The story of Ruth takes place at the time of the Judges, between the arrival of the Israelites into the Land of Israel in the days of Joshua, and the period of the Kings, about 3000 years ago.

There was a famine and so Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their two sons, Machlon and Kilyon left Bethlehem (Bet Lehem) for the fields of Moab. After a short time, Elimelech died and the two sons married Moabite ladies. Ten years later, Machlon and Kilyon also died, leaving their mother with two Moabite daughters-in-law.

At this point, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem alone. Orpah, Kilyon's widow agreed to stay behind, but Ruth, Machlon's widow insisted on going with. She knew that she would be going to an alien society and religion, but she was determined to stand by her mother-in-law. At this point she made her famous declaration of intent to convert to Judaism.

On their arrival in Bethlehem, Ruth went to the fields to glean with the poor. According to Jewish Law, the farmer had to leave behind any gleanings that were dropped, or any sheaves that had been forgotten.

Ruth worked hard, and was noticed by the owner of the field, a man named Boaz, who happened to be Elimelech's cousin. He was very impressed by Ruth's generosity to her mother-in-law and ordered his workers to let her glean a substantial amount of grain.

It had been hard for Naomi to return, given that her family had deserted the people in times of trouble. She had suffered the loss of her husband and sons and the indignity of returning penniless, together with the embarrassment of a Moabite daughter-in-law. But with Boaz' kindness to Ruth, she summoned the courage to suggest to Ruth that she should ask Boaz to marry her, using the law of the Levirite marriage. Boaz, being a close relative, could marry Ruth, redeem the family's property that had been sold due to poverty and rear a child in the name of the deceased Machlon.

Boaz was very moved by Ruth's self sacrifice. He agreed, but said that there was a closer relative who had more of an obligation - and first refusal. But in a ceremony at the gates of the city, the relative (who is not named in the Megillah) refused, as he did not want to sully his family by marrying the Moabite lady - even though she had converted. So Boaz married Ruth. They had a son Oved who had a son Jesse, whose son was King David.

Points to Ponder

• Every single book in the Bible has a theme and a purpose. At first the theme might seem to be one of tragedy, similar to the book of Job, if less extreme. But as the book unfolds, it becomes clear that the theme is one of chesed - kindness. Ruth was kind to her mother-in-law, and had the kindness repaid by Boaz. We also see this in the fields of Bethlehem, where the poor were given their due, and with whom Boaz speaks with courtesy "Hashem Imachem - G-d be with you".
  
  
• The midrash tells us that Elimelech was a wealthy man who abandoned his people in times of famine - and lost everything. His lack of generosity led to his downfall. Naomi's shattered world was rebuilt through the kindness of Ruth and Boaz. And as for the relative who didn't want his family name to be sullied by marrying Ruth, the Megillah doesn't even tell us his name, let alone what became of his family.
  
  
• The fundamental message of the book is therefore chesed olam yibaneh - kindness builds worlds.
  
  

Many reasons are given as to why we read the book of Ruth on Shavuot. Here are a few :

• On Shavuot, we received the Torah, and thus became a holy nation. In the book of Ruth we read of a non-Jewish lady who took on Judaism and became part of the holy nation.
  
  
• Chesed - kindness, is a critical aspect of Torah observance, brought home very strongly in this story.
  
  
• Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David who was born and died on Shavuot.
  
  
• The story takes place in the few weeks around the barley and wheat harvests. Shavuot is the festival of the wheat harvest.
  

Chag Sameach