The choice between Ruth and Orpah- Rabbi Fox's closing remarks to the Seniors
this is a paraphrase of Rabbi Fox's last shiur. I did not write out the actual pesukim that Rabbi Fox quotes
In Megillat Ruth the story is told of two women; Ruth and Orpah. They both marry the sons of Naomi, and both of their husbands die. Without warning, Naomi picks up and leaves Moav, (where they lived) to go down to the land of Israel and Ruth and Orpah decide to follow.
At first they the words in the pasuk seem to suggest that they were not as committed to coming to Israel as Naomi did, but followed Naomi out of loyalty and love. Multiple times Naomi tried to dissuade them from coming with her, telling them that their place is back in Moav. Finally, Orpah decided to listen to Naomi and return to Moav, while Ruth decided to stay with her.
Shmuel (who wrote Megillat Ruth) seems to paint Orpah in a positive light. She is a loving and loyal woman who was committed to coming to Israel, but ultimately followed her mother's advice.
There is also a story about a man named Goliath who was a philistine and came to battle the Jews. He tried to conquer them by goading them into having one soldier fight him, with the winner taking control over the other nation. A midrash tells us that Goliath was the son of Orpah. Immediately, we ask the question; what is the meaning of this midrash and how could such an evil person come from a seemingly decent woman?
Chazal help us by telling us what happened after Orpah came back to Moav. According to Chazal she became a prostitute and Goliath was the result of one of these relationships. So how did such a decent woman who was committed to going to Israel and converting, because so immoral? It is not simply that she came back to her society and was influenced by it. She came back and became worse than the society of Moav. How did that happen?
It seems chazal is giving us an insight on human nature. When Orpah was choosing whether she should stay with Naomi or turn around, she had a tremendous inner conflict. She was deeply committed to Jewish ideals, but she was also committed to her old culture. By choosing to go back to Moav, did not remove the internal conflict. It bothered her, and the way she lived was a reflection of that conflict. She had to live her whole life trying to justify to herself the decision that she had made, and therefore acting in the most anti Torah way possible. In order to remove the internal conflict, her principles and philosophy turned against Judaism.
(To go back to the midrash it is curious to compare the outcomes of Ruth's and Orpah's decisions.
Ruth- David Ha Melech (grandson) defeated Goliath and built the temple.
Orpah- Goliath, defeated by David.)
You are at a turning point of your lives. You need to decide whose path you want to take. Orpah's or Ruth's. I have given you all the tools to prepare for this fight. I have done all that I could for you. Now its in your hands. You must decide.
In Megillat Ruth the story is told of two women; Ruth and Orpah. They both marry the sons of Naomi, and both of their husbands die. Without warning, Naomi picks up and leaves Moav, (where they lived) to go down to the land of Israel and Ruth and Orpah decide to follow.
At first they the words in the pasuk seem to suggest that they were not as committed to coming to Israel as Naomi did, but followed Naomi out of loyalty and love. Multiple times Naomi tried to dissuade them from coming with her, telling them that their place is back in Moav. Finally, Orpah decided to listen to Naomi and return to Moav, while Ruth decided to stay with her.
Shmuel (who wrote Megillat Ruth) seems to paint Orpah in a positive light. She is a loving and loyal woman who was committed to coming to Israel, but ultimately followed her mother's advice.
There is also a story about a man named Goliath who was a philistine and came to battle the Jews. He tried to conquer them by goading them into having one soldier fight him, with the winner taking control over the other nation. A midrash tells us that Goliath was the son of Orpah. Immediately, we ask the question; what is the meaning of this midrash and how could such an evil person come from a seemingly decent woman?
Chazal help us by telling us what happened after Orpah came back to Moav. According to Chazal she became a prostitute and Goliath was the result of one of these relationships. So how did such a decent woman who was committed to going to Israel and converting, because so immoral? It is not simply that she came back to her society and was influenced by it. She came back and became worse than the society of Moav. How did that happen?
It seems chazal is giving us an insight on human nature. When Orpah was choosing whether she should stay with Naomi or turn around, she had a tremendous inner conflict. She was deeply committed to Jewish ideals, but she was also committed to her old culture. By choosing to go back to Moav, did not remove the internal conflict. It bothered her, and the way she lived was a reflection of that conflict. She had to live her whole life trying to justify to herself the decision that she had made, and therefore acting in the most anti Torah way possible. In order to remove the internal conflict, her principles and philosophy turned against Judaism.
(To go back to the midrash it is curious to compare the outcomes of Ruth's and Orpah's decisions.
Ruth- David Ha Melech (grandson) defeated Goliath and built the temple.
Orpah- Goliath, defeated by David.)
You are at a turning point of your lives. You need to decide whose path you want to take. Orpah's or Ruth's. I have given you all the tools to prepare for this fight. I have done all that I could for you. Now its in your hands. You must decide.
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