Musar zu Rut 3:20

The sense of taste includes as its species four qualities, namely, Joy (Cheerfulness), Grief (Apprehensiveness), Penitence, and Tranquility. Dost thou not see that the greatest pleasure is derived through eating and drinking, which is attained by means of the sense of taste? Hast thou not heard of the saying on the part of Isaac (Gen. xxvii. 25), "Bring it here unto me and I will eat of my son's venison"; and also (Ruth iii. 7), "And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, his heart was merry." Speech, consisting as it does of words, which are of a kind with (the objects of) taste, sometimes gives rise to joy; thus it is said (Prov. xv. 23), "A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth." Opposed to this we find that grief follows upon the failure to exercise this sense, as it is said (i Sam. i. 7), "She wept and did not eat." It is also related of Jonathan (id. xx. 34), "He did eat no meat the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David." Many such expressions are used with reference to Saul and others.

This prompted him to make a vow. The Kabbalists explain that נדרים, vows, are of the mystical dimension found in the emanation בינה, something alluded to in the spelling of the word נ"דר, "dwelling in the domain of 50." The letter נ, alludes to the 50 gates of בינה, whereas דר means to dwell. The Kabbalists go on to explain that the Ultimate Redemption will be rooted in the emanation בינה. בינה is viewed as the יובל הגדול, the great Jubilee year, i.e. absolute Redemption.

This is the deeper significance of the kingdom of David, which at first glance does not appear to have been rooted in holiness. Simply consider Yehudah's involvement with Tamar whom he thought to be a harlot; or, if you will, think about Ruth, a descendant of an incestuous union between Lot and his daughter. Even Ruth's joining Boaz at night was not exactly the act of a model of chastity that we would have expected. If all these precedents did not disqualify David from becoming the role model of the eventual Messiah, we need not marvel at the eventual purification of those descendants of Esau who will still exist when the Messiah will be crowned king. All these apparently accidental happenings were part of G–d's plan. The tortuous developments which led to the emergence of David and eventually to the Messiah are an example of how eventually all the חצוניות, people and forces outside the realm of holiness, will be turned "outside in," and be restored to their original sacred root.