Spiritual and
Ethical Issues in the Historical Books of Tanach;
JOSHUA, JUDGES, SAMUEL, KINGS (Nevi’im Rishonim) These four books ostensibly are merely the history of Israel from the entry into the Promised Land until the destruction of the Temple and the temporary loss of independent statehood. In fact they are actually, in a specifically Jewish sense, the most deeply religious and spiritual books of the Bible. One does not have to be specifically Jewish to see or feel the religion and spirituality in the revelations of the prophetic writings or in the words of the Tehillim. They speak to all people, as evidenced by the fact that the Bible is still the world's bestseller and there are millions of non-Jews who regularly recite the Psalms. However, it is specifically and intrinsically Jewish to understand that G-d is revealed in the prosaic material, in the political, social and military events in the lives of ordinary men and women, kings and leaders that are described in the Nevim Rishonim. Here are described the ideology and religious thoughts in Judaism, while in Chronicles we have the purely historical. Righteousness and
Kingship [1] The first of such books is the Book of Ruth. Although it is one of the Five Megilot, it actually has nothing in common with any of the other four, but is rooted in the historical books of the Tanach. Its opening verse bears witness to the connection with Shoftim: "It came to pass in the days of the Shoftim". Furthermore, Shoftim and Ruth have a common author, the Prophet Samuel, and therefore are written in a common style and language. Ruth was written as the Yichus book of David HaMelech in order to recompense him for the secretive way in which Samuel, out of fear of Saul, anointed him as the new king and founder of the eternal Royal House of Israel. Apart from this connection with the Book of Samuel, there is also the fact that Goliath the giant Philistine whom David killed, was the descendant of Orpa, sister-in-law of Ruth. At the heart of Megilat Rut is Chesed; it is Chesed from the beginning the end. So too, is Torah: At the beginning Hashem clothes the naked [Adam and Eve] and at the end He buries the dead [Moshe]. However, just as the Chesed of Torah finds its fulfillment in the balance with Justice: "In the beginning Elokim [with His merit of Justice] created the Heavens and the Earth", so too, in Ruth the Chesed finds its fulfillment in the balance with Kingship - Malchut Yisrael. In the Book of Judges this balance was disturbed as there was no king in Israel, so chesed was also perverted. The absence of kingship is linked to the idol of Micha, but that absence is also linked to the Pilegesh BaGiv'a and the subsequent decimation of the tribe of Binjamin. So, in that social-religious environment, our story begins with an act against Chesed. Elimelech takes his wife Naomi and their two sons from Bethlehem across the Jordan to nearby Moab in order to escape the famine that struck Judah. There, he and his sons die prematurely; the latter without children. The reasons advanced for their deaths by our various commentators, all express important perspectives on issues that lie at the foundation of our story. The Tana Shimon Bar Yochai, who lies buried in Meron, chastises them for leaving Eretz Yisrael. This nationalist approach is in keeping with his record of opposition to the Roman rule during the last days of the Mishnaic Period. Not only nationalism was involved in his opposition but also a criticism of their attitude to Chesed. He saw all their civilizing contributions to Mankind as being motivated not by Chesed but purely by their own self-interest. "They build roads [many of which remain to this day] only so that they can move their armies of conquest rapidly, they build bath houses [that we marvel at because of the sophisticated plumbing] solely for immoral sexual practices, and their markets exist only for their slave trading". Contrast this with the Midrash concerning Ya'akov's actions when he arrived from Padan Aram to Shecem: "He built markets so that the inhabitants could buy their necessities cheaply, he established a stable currency for them, and built bath-houses so that they could improve their health. Said Bar Yochai when he left the cave near Meron in he had hidden from the Romans, "Now I will also do something beneficial even as my fathers did'". The argument that Elimelech sinned by leaving Eretz Yisrael, is similar to the criticism by the Ramban of Avaraham's leaving for Egypt when faced with a famine, seeing this as a lack of faith in G-d who had promised him the Land. Our Sages, however said that one may not rely on miracles and so they ruled halakhically, that one may leave Eretz Israel to study Torah, to find a wife, and when ones livelihood demands it. There is general agreement, however, with the idea that Elimelech sinned by a disregard for Chesed and the sons sinned by acquiescing to his actions. The text reads, "And there was an 'Ish' who went from Bet Lechem"; the term Ish always denotes somebody of substance, a person of property and a leader. Our Sages deduced from the text that Elimelech was a wealthy person, somebody on whom his extended family and the whole community looked to for help. It was precisely this help that Elimelech withheld even though he was able to give it. In the fear of being besieged by everybody, he was prompted to make his descent to Moav. We should not think that Elimelech's thinking was strange or special; rather it is all too common. The thought that we will not have enough or that somebody else is benefiting from our money, often prevents us from doing Chesed. Often, people ask me why they should lend money interest free as the Torah demands, and lose the benefits that that money would otherwise earn for them if invested, when the recipients are going to earn a profit with that money. Rabbi S.R. Hirsch comments that all our wealth is given to us by Hashem. Some is for our own use and that of our families but some of it is intended solely for the purpose of doing chesed. That portion of our wealth, as it were, does not belong to us, so how can we take ribit from that which really belongs to the recipients of our Chesed. This is the 73rd installment in Dr. Tamari’s series on “Tanach and its messages for our times” [The
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