Musar for Ruth 2:11
וַיַּ֤עַן בֹּ֙עַז֙ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָ֔הּ הֻגֵּ֨ד הֻגַּ֜ד לִ֗י כֹּ֤ל אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂית֙ אֶת־חֲמוֹתֵ֔ךְ אַחֲרֵ֖י מ֣וֹת אִישֵׁ֑ךְ וַתַּֽעַזְבִ֞י אָּבִ֣יךְ וְאִמֵּ֗ךְ וְאֶ֙רֶץ֙ מֽוֹלַדְתֵּ֔ךְ וַתֵּ֣לְכִ֔י אֶל־עַ֕ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־יָדַ֖עַתְּ תְּמ֥וֹל שִׁלְשֽׁוֹם׃
And Boaz answered and said unto her: ‘It hath fully been told me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people that thou knewest not heretofore.
Shaarei Teshuvah
“A man shall not oppress his countryman” (Leviticus 25:17) - the verse is speaking about verbal oppression, like we discussed above. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Metzia 58b), “[If] one is a penitent, [another] may not say to him, ‘Remember your earlier deeds.’ [If] one is the child of converts, [another] may not say to him, ‘Remember the deeds of your ancestors.’” And that which is stated (Exodus 22:20), “You shall not oppress a stranger or press him,” [is understood as] “You shall not oppress” him verbally; “or press him” with money. And the Torah warned in several places about oppression of the convert, for he forgot his [own] people and the house of his father, and came to seek refuge under the wings of the Divine Presence - like the matter that is stated (Ruth 2:11), “how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and came to a people you had not known before”; and it is stated (Ruth 2:12), “May the Lord reward your deeds; may you have a full recompense from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have sought refuge!” And there is a [relevant] parable about a gazelle that comes to a flock, and crouches with the sheep there. So the owner of the flock had compassion on it - since it left a broad pasture to stand in a narrow place.
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