From: Meir Elkabas <breslovtherapy@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, May 21, 2015, 9:04 AM
Subject: RUTH - THE MOTHER OF GLORY AND KINGSHIP
To: Meir Elkabas <BRESLOVTHERAPY@gmail.com>
BH
The ultimate purpose of Creation is to reveal the Glory/Honor of Hashem through the awareness of His Kingship. When people come to recognize His Kingship through observance of the commandments of the Torah (which reveals what Hashem wants of us), this causes people to "put aside" their own personal honor and give room and precedence for the honor of Hashem in their lives. The result is the "birth" of a new soul.
This new soul is not only an actual physical new body with a soul (i.e. a new born child), but also extends to being a newly "energized" soul within oneself; energy which pushes a person's soul forward to greater horizons in closeness and connection to his source - Hashem's Throne of "Glory".
However, sometimes, if not received properly, the revelation of Hashem's Glory/Honor can come to take away a person's soul - i.e. new energy and accomplishments in life. To ensure that this does not happen - one must make sure that the Glory/Honor of Hashem has a "face". This face refers to the Countenance of Hashem's Compassion (which is another term for the 13 Attributes of Mercy). This Countenance ensures that the connection of Hashem's Glory/Honor to His Kingship remains intact for the "birth" of the new soul to actually take place.
This "Face" is made by breaking the trait of gluttony. Gluttony, which is an imbalance of food-fuel which ultimately feeds the brain, causes a distortion in one's own "face", which is where a person's wisdom is expressed (as the verse reads in Proverbs: "A person's knowledge enlightens his face"). Due to this distortion, a person is misled to place the Countenance of Hashem by the wrong address - i.e. the brazen-faced and false leaders.
However, the act of charity rectifies all of this. Charity, which is an act of kindness, rectifies the damage of gluttony, removes the fallen "Face" from the brazen-"faced" leaders and restores it to it's proper place - by the Honor/Glory of Hashem, thus restoring the Countenance of Hashem which enables for a new soul to be born within oneself. This is all in line with the verse (Proverbs 10:2): "And charity shall save from death" - Death being the opposite of the "birth" of a new soul.
On a practical level the restoration of the Countenance of Hashem to His Honor/Glory means to place it where the Honor/Glory of Hashem dictates it to be - by the True leaders and elders, and not by the false and brazen-faced leaders.
(FOR MORE ON THESE CONCEPTS PLEASE LISTEN TO: LIKUTEY MOHARAN LESSON 67)
* * *
The Book of Ruth emphasizes the greatness of Ruth in that she made sure to give her mother-in-law Naomi from the collected grains that were left over after her being satiated (Ruth 2:18). Satiation is a quality associated with Tzaddikim, who eat for the sake of satisfying their soul, as opposed to the wicked whose stomachs are never satisfied (Proverbs 13:25). Thus, Ruth had broken the desire for gluttony.
As a result, Naomi gave Ruth advice and counsel how to join the Honor/Glory of Hashem to His Kingship in order to bring forth the new soul which will bring the ultimate levels of closeness and awareness of Hashem in Creation - the soul of Mashiach himself. This advice was that Ruth marry Boaz.
By both having "embarrassing" beginnings - Boaz from the liaison of Yehudah and Tamar, Ruth from the liaison of Lot and his elder daughter - they formed the perfect vessels of receiving the Glory/Honor of Hashem totally for the sake of Hashem and not for personal pursuits/interests.
Naomi told Ruth to prepare for this marriage match with the following 3 steps (Ruth 3:3):
- To bathe herself
- To oil/perfume herself
- To put on her special gown
- That Ruth should bathe in a Mikveh (the final stage in conversion) and cleanse herself from any remaining trace of idolatry.
- That she should oil/perfume herself with Mitzvot and Charity (in the terminology of the Sages Mitzvot specifically refers to acts of charity and kindness).
- That she should don her special garment worn on Shabbat.
- The Mikveh is the final stage which transforms a gentile into a Jew granting him/her a Jewish soul. This was the preparation of the "new soul" to become a part of Ruth and her eventual descendant - King David.
- Her performing Mitzvot and/of Charity is what would rectify and elevate the Countenance of Hashem which would ensure the proper connection between the Honor/Glory of Hashem and His Kingship, thus allowing for the birth of the new soul.
- Clothing is associated with honor as the Talmud teaches about Rabbi Yochanan who would call his garments "my honorable ones" (Shabbat 113:a). And Shabbat is associated with the true tzaddikim and leaders, as we find in the Holy Zohar that the students of Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai called him "Shabbat, full of light". Thus honorable clothing of Shabbat means giving the Honor/Glory of Hashem a proper countenance - the honor given to the true and worthy leaders.