Ruth: The Legal Code for the Laws of Kindness
Argues that the Book of Ruth should be read not merely as the account of one convert's celebrated loyalty but as a systematic presentation of hesed across roughly two dozen scenes, illustrating verbal, social, vocational, reputational, and judicial forms of kindness that each rest on established halakhic requirements yet rarely receive attention in conventional treatments of charity.
Hendel takes seriously the midrashic claim that Ruth was written to teach the reward for acts of loving-kindness, but resists narrowing that lesson to Ruth’s decision to follow Naomi. Working through the book scene by scene, he identifies categories of kindness that go beyond monetary giving: greetings that carry a blessing, guidance in matters of courtship and companionship, employment offered in a dignified and obstacle-free setting, and gestures that protect or restore another person’s good name. He also notes places where an act is simultaneously a legal obligation and a kindness. Read this way, the book functions as a practical code for interpersonal generosity.
Russell Jay Hendel holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a professor of mathematics at Towson University in Maryland. He moderates an Internet discussion group at www.rashiyomi.com.
Cite this article
Russell Jay Hendel. "Ruth: The Legal Code for the Laws of Kindness." Jewish Bible Quarterly 36, no. 4 (October – December 2008): 254–260.
Russell Jay Hendel. "Ruth: The Legal Code for the Laws of Kindness." Jewish Bible Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 4, 2008, pp. 254–260.