רות ב׳

מודע. קרוב בן אחיו של אלימלך היה אמרו רבותינו ז"ל אלימלך ושלמון אבי בועז ופלוני אלמוני הגואל ואבי נעמי כולם בני נחשון בן עמינדב היו ולא הועילו להם זכות אבותם בצאתם מהארץ לחוצה לארץ:

A kinsman. A relative; he was the son of Elimelech’s brother. Our Rabbis of blessed memory said, “Elimelech, and Salmone¹Rus 4:21. the father of Bo’az, and the anonymous kinsman,²Ibid. 4:1. and the father of Naomi,³Therefore Bo’az and Naomi were cousins. were all sons of Nachshon,⁴Shemos 6:23 and Bamidbar 10:14. the son of Aminadav.⁵Maseches Bava Basra 91a. Yet the merit of their fathers was no avail them when they left the Land [of Yisroel] to go abroad.”

אלכה נא השדה. לאחד משדות אנשי העיר אחרי אחד מהם אשר אמצא חן בעיניו שלא יגער בי:

Let me go now to the field. To one of the fields of the people of the city, after one of them, “in whose eyes I will find favor,” so that he will not rebuke me.

ואלקטה בשבלים אחר אשר אמצא חן בעיניו. אחר מי אשר אמצא חן בעיניו:

And glean among the stalks, behind one in whose eyes I will find favor. After someone in whose eyes I will find favor.⁶Alternatively, after I find favor in his eyes, i.e., I will not glean in a field until I know the owner allows it. (Malbim)

ותבא ותלקט בשדה. מצינו במדרש רות עד לא אזלת אתת שהוא אומר ותבא ואחר ותלקט אלא שהיתה מסמנת הדרכים קודם שנכנסה לשדה והלכה ובאה וחזרה לעיר כדי לעשות סימנים וציונים שלא תטעה בשבילין ותדע לשוב:

So she went, and came and gleaned in the field. We find in Midrash Rus [the question is raised], “Before she had even gone she returned?” For it states, “and [she] came” and afterwards “and gleaned” [i.e., she came back before she gleaned]? Rather, [the Midrash explains] she would mark the roads before she entered the field, and she went and came and returned to the city, in order to make signs and markings so that she would not stray in the paths and she should know how to return.⁷Alternatively, Rabbi Eliezer said that she kept on coming back until she found decent people with whom to go. (Maseches Shabbos 113b).

ויקר מקרה לבא בחלקת השדה אשר לבועז:

[And as Divine fate decreed] she happened. To come to the portion of the field belonging to Bo’az.

למי הנערה הזאת. וכי דרכו של בועז לשאול בנשים אלא דברי צניעות וחכמה ראה בה שתי שבלים לקטה שלשה אינה לקטה והיתה מלקטת עומדות מעומד ושוכבות מיושב כדי שלא תשחה:

To whom does this maiden belong. Was it the practice of Bo’az to inquire about women? Rather, [because] he saw her modest and wise behavior [he was curious about her. He observed that] two ears she would glean but three she would not glean;⁸As prescribed by the Mishnah (Pe’ah 6:5). The Torah in Vayikra 19:9 awards the fallen ears of grain and forgotten sheaves to the poor. Thus her exemplary behavior and her knowledge of the law caught the attention of Bo’az and he therefore inquired about her. and she would glean the standing ears while standing and the lying ones while sitting, in order to avoid bending over.⁹Maseches Shabbos 113b.

השבה עם נעמי. הטעם למעלה תחת השי"ן לפי שהוא לשון עבר ואינה לשון פועלת:

Who returned with Naomi. The accent is at the beginning, under the shin, because it is the past tense, and not the present tense [of the verb].¹⁰See Rashi in Bereishis 29:6.

ותאמר. בלבה:

And she did say. To herself.

אלקטה נא. לקט השבלים:

Please allow me to glean. The gleaning of the ears.

ואספתי בעמרים. שכחה של עמרים

And gather among the sheaves. The forgotten sheaves.¹¹Devarim 24:19.

וצמית והלכת אל הכלים. ואם תצמאי אל תכלמי מלכת ולשתות מכלי המים אשר ישאבון הנערים:

And when you are thirsty, go to the jugs. And if you are thirsty, do not be ashamed to go and drink from the vessels of water that the young men will draw.

לא אהיה כאחת שפחתך. איני חשובה כאחת מן השפחות שלך:

I cannot even be considered as one of your handmaidens. I am not as worthy as one of your handmaidens.

וטבלת פתך בחומץ. מכאן שהחומץ יפה לשרב:

And dip your bread in the vinegar. From here [we derive] that vinegar is good for the heat.¹²Maseches Shabbos 113b. It is a popular and refreshing drink for those who toil in extremely hot climates.

ויצבט לה קלי. ויושט לה ואין לו דמיון במקרא אלא בלשון משנה אחוריים ותוך ובית הצביטה:

And he handed her some roasted grain. And he extended to her. There is no similar [word] in Scripture, but only in the language of the Mishnah, “the outside, the inside and the handle [= בֵית הַצְּבִיטָה.”¹³Maseches Chagigah 3:1.

וגם של תשלו שכח תשכחו עשו עצמיכם כאילו אתם שוכחים תרגום כל שגגה שלותא וכן על השל, דבר אחר לשון כי ישל זיתך:

And let [some sheaves] fall for her. שֹׁל תָּשֹׁלּוּ =] you should forget; pretend as though you are forgetting.¹⁴The double verb indicates that the action was to be repeated many times. The Targum for שְׁגָגָה [=oversight], is שְׁלוּתָא,¹⁵Bamidbar 15:25. and similarly, “because of this error.”¹⁶II Shmuel 6:7. Another explanation [of שֹׁל תָּשֹׁלּוּ is “let fall”], an expression [as in,] “your olive tree will cast off [= יִשַּׁל [its fruit].”¹⁷Devarim 28:40.

צבתים. עמרים קטנים יש דוגמתו בלשון משנה מצאן צבתים או כריכות:

Bundles. Small sheaves, and there is a similar expression in the language of the Mishnah, “[If] he found them [tefillin] tied up in bundles or in packets.”¹⁸Maseches Eruvin 10:1.

יהי מכירך ברוך. בעל השדה שנשא ונתן לך פנים ללקט בשדהו:

Blessed be he that took note of you. [I.e.,] the owner of the field who showed you favor [and allowed you] to glean in his field.¹⁹Alternatively, the person who takes note of you and marries you will be blessed because you are a gifted person. (Gra).

את החיים ואת המתים. שזן ומפרנס את החיים ונטפל בצורכי המתים:

With the living and with the deceased. That he feeds and sustains the living, and occupies himself with the needs of the deceased.²⁰The “needs of the deceased” refers to the kindness displayed by Bo’az to Elimelech and his sons. (Ibn Ezra) Alternatively, the “needs of the deceased” refers to the willingness of Bo’az to perform a levirate marriage and will thus do kindness to the memory of her deceased husband. (Alshich)