Before the Shabbat on which we read Parashat Naso, we read the Book of Ruth on the festival of Shavuot. There is a profound connection between them that highlights the central theme of acts of gratuitous kindness.
The Book of Ruth opens with the words “And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged" (Ruth 1:1). These words set the spiritual, national, and social background for everything that follows. The phrase “it came to pass" (vayehi) often signals a time of distress, as the Sages teach: “Whenever ‘vayehi’ appears, it denotes sorrow."
This was a period when “there was no king in Israel," and justice was distorted. The expression “when the judges judged" hints that people crowned themselves with authority, including unworthy judges. Their flawed leadership led to corrupt judgments, which in turn brought rebuke and famine. The very judges who were supposed to uproot wrongdoing from the people were themselves tainted by it. They could not credibly rebuke others, for the accused could rightly say, “First correct yourself."
A proper judicial system is honorable when judges are appointed by the nation’s leaders, as Moses did, and when they possess the qualities Jethro advised: capable, God-fearing, trustworthy, and incorruptible. Such judges rule according to the Torah given at Sinai on Shavuot and according to the kindness taught in the Book of Ruth. When leaders and judges embody these traits, they positively influence the entire nation.
Rabbi Zeira said: “This scroll contains neither laws of impurity and purity nor prohibitions and permissions. Why was it written? To teach the great reward for those who perform acts of kindness" (Ruth Rabbah 2:15). The presence or absence of kindness lies at the heart of the story.
The absence of kindness is exemplified by Elimelech. He left the Land of Israel during the famine out of miserliness and a lack of compassion. The Midrash explains that he was a wealthy leader and provider for his generation, yet when hardship struck he said, “Now everyone will come knocking at my door," and fled. Rashi notes that he was a prominent man of his time who departed because he could not bear the envious eyes of the poor who sought his help. He failed both in tangible kindness (material support) and intangible kindness (moral leadership), as he did not warn sinners or involve himself in communal needs. Like a commander abandoning the battlefield while all eyes were upon him, his actions caused the hearts of Israel to falter.
In contrast, the Book of Ruth teaches that a world - and even the kingdom of Israel, the House of David - is built on kindness. Remarkably, this quality shines through Ruth, a woman from Moab, a nation that had refused to provide bread and water to Israel during the Exodus. Ruth’s luminous kindness becomes the foundation for the Davidic dynasty.
Ruth declares: “Do not urge me to leave you… Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me" (Ruth 1:16-17). Boaz later praises her: “You have shown more kindness in the end than at the beginning" (Ruth 3:10). The scroll repeatedly highlights true kindness: “May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me" (Ruth 1:8), and “Blessed be the Lord, who has not withheld His kindness from the living or the dead" (Ruth 2:20).
The Torah itself is a Torah of kindness. It begins with kindness - God making garments for Adam and Eve - and ends with kindness - burying Moses. Parashat Naso links the sections of the Nazirite and the suspected adulteress, teaching that one who witnesses the consequences of immorality will abstain from wine, which can lead to transgression. The proper path is one of holiness and restraint.
The Torah uses the word “kindness" in both its positive sense (kindness and love) and, in certain contexts, for forbidden intimate relations (Leviticus 20:17), where it carries the connotation of shame. The Sages explain that early humanity engaged in close familial marriages out of necessity, a temporary divine kindness to populate the world (“The world is built on kindness" - Psalms 89:3). Once established, such acts became forbidden. There is kindness of holiness - love of God, love of Israel, and purified giving - and kindness of impurity, when desire escapes proper boundaries.
Abraham educated his household in kindness. The Torah states: “For I have known him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice" (Genesis 18:19). The Rambam emphasizes that Jews must be especially diligent in charity, as it is a hallmark of Abraham’s seed. Israel is redeemed through justice and righteousness (Isaiah 1:27), provided kindness remains within the framework of Torah law. kindness and justice must go hand in hand.
As Rav Kook taught, impure love degrades man and the world, while true kindness expands within the bounds of Torah and its commandments. The festival of Shavuot, when we re-accept the Torah, is thus deeply connected to kindness. Even though the Torah does not explicitly label the giving of the Torah as an act of kindness, the Sages derive it from various verses, including Jethro’s advice to Moses.
Notably, lessons of kindness emerge from Midian and Moab - nations that once led Israel toward forbidden paths - yet Ruth the Moabitess becomes a model of holy kindness. This illustrates that the distinctive kindness of Israel must always remain within the boundaries of Torah, the covenant between Israel and Heaven.
Kindness is one of God’s thirteen attributes of mercy. The Sages teach that to “walk after the Lord" means to imitate His ways: just as God clothes the naked, visits the sick, comforts mourners, and buries the dead, so must we. The Rambam places the laws of mourning under the commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself."
King Solomon sums it up: “Pursue righteousness and kindness, and you will find life, righteousness, and honor" (Proverbs 21:21). Those who practice kindness earn honor in this world and eternal life in the World to Come. As King David said: “How precious is Your kindness, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings" (Psalms 36:8).
Happy Shavuot and a peaceful Shabbat.
The author is the CEO of Tzifha International Real Estate