Shavuos - 5780

Shavuos - 5780

Rabbi Hal Miller

And he said, "Hold out the shawl that is upon you and grasp it." She held it

and he measured out six barleys and set it on her, then he went to the

city. [Ruth 3:15]

The plain meaning of this verse is not so plain. We could ask why the shawl and

the instruction to grasp it, but we will leave that for another time, except to note

that a shawl is not likely to hold too much of anything. We could ask about going

to the city, but will leave that as well. What does "he measured out six barleys

and set it on her" mean?

The verse does not make clear what amount of grain is included in each of the

six "barleys" here. If it is six kernels, that isn't enough to satisfy someone's

hunger. It would be a very small gift. Some commentators believe that this gift

is actually Boaz offering marriage to Ruth, but while technically sufficient, it

would seem pretty cheap for a man such as Boaz, who was both wealthy and

powerful like a king. Some say that the measure is six stalks, but that is still

mighty short of what Boaz would be expected to offer a bride. Others say the

verse means six seah, but commentators make clear that there is no way Ruth

could possibly carry that much.

Kol Dodi, who says it was six stalks, asks what Boaz would be measuring in that

case. This would also apply to the option of six grains. Rashi relates the word

vayamad here, measured, to midah, or character trait, and says it is an allusion

to Ruth's descendant David, and the six special character traits for which he will

be known.

The Midrash, Ruth Rabbah [7:2], rejects the idea that the verse refers to either a

measure of six seah or six grains, but applies it only to allusion. It says the six

represent the six righteous men who will descend fom Ruth: David, Chizkiyahu,

Yoshiyahu, (Chananyah, Mishael, and Azariah - who it counts as one), Daniel,

and Moshiach.

​The Kotzker Rebbe said that Israel did not inherently possess the ability to

establish a royal house with the capability of functioning as Jewish kings. There

is something missing from the makeup of Jews with regard to handling such a

role: pride. Shaul was, according to Shmuel, too humble to face the people with

decisions for their good that they may not have agreed with. Ruth, coming from

Moav, had this element in her DNA, even if she herself showed no sign of it.

David, therefore, had the ability to handle the role. How does this fit with our

question? Shem MiShmuel explains that Boaz knew he had the potential

in him to produce these six righteous men. By handing the six grains to Ruth,

he was symbolically handing over his position as their ancestor--remember

that at this point there remained a closer redeemer, so Boaz did not know

that he was still destined to be involved. His act of altruism was totally

selfless, for which he was rewarded with being the ancestor anyway.