Kaisipang Hudyo sa Ruth 2:4: Akeidat Yitzchak

The Talmud Makkot 27, relates: The Sanhedrin, Supreme Court, made three decrees which were approved by the celestial Court subsequently. 1) Public reading of megillat Esther on an annual basis. It says in Esther 9,27, "the Jews confirmed and took upon themselves," meaning their observance was approved from on high, because they had accepted it down below. 2) The giving of tithes of such products as vegetables. This law was not written in the Torah which requires tithes to be given only from dagan, cereal products, grapes and oil. We read in Chronicles II 31,5, "in accordance with the king's urgings, the Israelites brought large quantities of their grain, wine and oil tithes." In Maleachi 3,10, we read "bring all the tithes to the treasure house, and it shall be food in My house." 3) The use of the Lord's name in greeting between people. (Ruth 2) "Boaz would say to the harvesters "may Gd be with you," and they would reply "may the Lord bless you." We read in Judges 6,12 "and the angel of G'd said to Gideon "may the Lord be with you, man of valour." Why did the book of Judges have to report this greeting by the angel? In case we thought that Boaz had acted without Heavenly approval in using the name of the Lord, this shows that Heaven approved his conduct.

(3) Offering greetings by using the name of G'd, indicates man's intellectual awareness that without the blessing of G'd and our proximity to Him, all our intellectual powers would be to no avail. Here too, once the recognition and practical expression of this truth has been demonstrated by man, Heaven in turn, responds and ensures that man will not lose that awareness, but will feel ever closer to G'd. The reply by Boaz's farmhands "may the Lord bless you," then expressed their wish that Boaz who had displayed this awareness by his own initiative, would be granted further blessing by hashem as a result.