Shavuot and Ruth - Connections!

(1) 312 ...we sit and read the Scroll of Ruth. [We do so] because it is written in it (Ruth 1:22), "at the beginning of the barley harvest" - corresponding to [Shavuot], which is called, "the first fruits of the wheat harvest" (Exodus 34:12). [2] And some say it is because Ruth converted, as it is written (Ruth 2:12), "under whose wings you have sought refuge”; and we say in [the chapter entitled] HaCholetz that Naomi said to her, "It is forbidden for us to go outside of the Shabbat perimeter." She said to her, "Where you will go, I will go" (Ruth 1:16), etc. And the Israelites converted on [Shavuot] and entered under the wings of the Divine Presence with the receiving of the Torah. [3] Additional comment: And in Midrash Ruth, we say, "Why is Ruth said on [Shavuot], at the time of the giving of the Torah? To teach you that the Torah was only given through afflictions and poverty." And so did Rav Yehudah ben Barzilai write in his [book of] laws: That when Israel left Egypt, they were redeemed through afflictions; and so too Ruth - "there was a famine in the land" (Ruth 1:1) - and she received the Torah when she converted. [4] And in Tractate Soferim (14:3), we say, "One who reads from Ruth, the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations and from the Scroll of Esther, must recite [the blessing that concludes], 'concerning the reading of the Megillah' - even though it is included in the Writings. But one who reads from the Writings must recite, 'Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments and has commanded us to read in the Holy Writings.'"

(7) Regarding the Reading of the Book of Ruth on Shavuot:

(8) This is really about the Oral Torah. The Kadosh Barukh Hu wants the children of Israel to expand the Written Torah through their deeds--for we know that the deeds of the righteous are “Torah”. Through the deeds of Boaz and Ruth, a scroll was produced by Divine Guidance.

(9) It is written “And Elohim said...saying”, meaning: the children of Israel said words like these to themselves. It’s also written “who gave us a Torah of truth, and within us, planted eternal life”--this refers to Oral Torah, the unique quality of Torah which is Israel’s. They have a unique intellectual approach to understand secrets within the Torah which are hidden and not explicit within the Torah itself.

(10) This itself is the matter of Boaz, whose name means Bo Oz--strength within him--that is to say, he had deep faith in the words of the Sages who explained “an Amonite--excluding an Amonitess”. He had no doubt in the matter, like Ploni did who said “lest I endanger my inheritance”. On the contrary! He was ecstatic to show that the interpretation of the Rabbis was the Torah given on Sinai.

(11) “Trust in the Sages” is the foundation of Oral Torah, and this is what is meant by “Truth and Trust”. Written Torah is explicitly exoteric. Yet, it is the will of the Divine that in this downcast world, Israel achieve ‘truth’ by way of ‘trust’.

(12) The ego gives itself over to remove that trust from a person. It makes it seem in one’s eyes as though they are alienated from Hashem Yisbarakh, and tells them that it is arrogant to even try to seek Hashem Yisbarakh in silent prayer, and the like. But the truth is the exact opposite! Seeking God at all fosters the fear of Heaven.