On Shavuot we commemorate the Revelation at Sinai – when God descended upon Mount Sinai and proclaimed before the nation “I am the Lord your God.” In the synagogue we read the Book of Ruth that recounts the heartwarming story of Ruth the Moabite, who leaves everything behind to follow her mother-in-law Naomi to the Holy Land, ultimately fully embracing Judaism and becoming great-grandmother to King David.
The relevance of the Book of Ruth to Shavuot is clear enough. Just as we willingly accepted the Torah and the Jewish mission at Sinai, so too did Ruth voluntarily enter the covenant to become a part of that same glorious mission.
But there is a fascinating subplot appearing in the story, one which had far-reaching implications in later Jewish history.
The Book of Ruth begins with a tale of famine in the Holy Land. Elimelech of Bethlehem departs the country for Moab, taking his wife Naomi and their two sons along. He dies in Moab. His wife and sons stay on, and the sons marry non-Jewish women – Moabite princesses by the names of Ruth and Orpah. The sons too perish, and at last Naomi resolves to return to Israel, widowed, childless and impoverished.
Naomi’s daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, accompany her along the road. As is clear from the Talmud (Yevamot 47b), they were not doing so as a mere courtesy. They too wanted to enter and reside in the Land of Israel. Over their years of marriage, they had become attached to Judaism. They wanted to become full-fledged Jewesses, observing the faith and living in the Land. Naomi attempts to dissuade them three times (vv. 1:8, 1:11 and 1:12; the Talmud derives from her the number of times a potential convert is to be dissuaded). Two times they hold firm; on the third Orpah weakens and returns. Ruth, however, remains strong. She continues with her mother-in-law along the way to the Holy Land.
Naturally, the Book of Ruth continues with the story of Naomi and Ruth – how they return impoverished to Bethlehem, how Ruth attracts the notice of Naomi’s illustrious relative Boaz, and how she unconventionally hints to him that he marry her and preserve Elimelech’s family line.
As soon as Orpah parted company with Naomi and Ruth, she went to the absolute opposite extreme.
Orpah, by contrast, disappears from the story and is forgotten. After a brief appearance, she exits the stage of history, presumably no longer playing a role. She was one of so many “almosts” throughout history – people who strove for greatness and immortality but who failed to hang on, instead fading into anonymity.
But our Sages tell us about a fascinating postscript to the story of Orpah. Her descendants would play a major role in Jewish history – on the other side of the fence.
Now we would think that Orpah was not that bad a character. She was a serious candidate for conversion. She took religion and spirituality quite seriously. She just fell slightly short of an all-out conversion.
But the Talmud tells us otherwise. As soon as Orpah parted company with Naomi and Ruth, she went to the absolute opposite extreme. Naomi refers to her as having returned to "her people and her gods" (1:15). The Talmud (Sotah 42b) explains what happened next. Upon leaving Naomi, Orpah ran into a battalion of 100 soldiers. She willingly submitted herself to them all. From the lot of them she became pregnant and bore the giant Goliath, whom the young David would later meet in battle.
How did a woman with such potential greatness go to such wild extremes?
But there is a powerful message in this. Orpah had the potential for greatness. She almost gave up her entire past and homeland to embrace a new religion. She was willing to give her all for her beliefs, to follow Naomi no matter what the cost. She clearly had the seeds of greatness within her.
But she didn’t do it. She backed down. And she took that same zeal and self-sacrifice and brought them to the other side.
Instead of becoming a spiritual giant, she became a mother of physical giants.
What happened to Orpah is what we find happening to many great people throughout history. If a person has the potential for greatness (as we all do) and misuses it, he can take those same enormous energies and use them for the bad. Orpah almost became great. But she couldn’t hold on. And frustrated with religion, she took her same powerful drives for achievement and directed them on the physical plane. Instead of becoming a spiritual giant, she became a mother of physical giants. II Samuel 21 describes how she eventually bore four giants – all of whom were slain by King David and his men.
Orpah’s arch nemesis was Ruth – the one who did hold on, and who turned her commitment to achieve into a lifetime of greatness. Ruth became a mother in Israel, great-grandmother to the spiritual giant David. And Goliath fell to David in battle – in what was in essence a battle between two worldviews – physical versus spiritual. As the Talmud (Sotah 42b) puts it, “The Holy One blessed be He said, ‘Let the sons of the kissed one (of Orpah, whom Naomi kissed goodbye) fall in the hands of the sons of the one who cleaved.’”
The story of Ruth and Orpah is thus a tale of mankind’s enormous potential for accomplishment – and the incredibly high stakes involved depending how he uses that potential.
This also teaches us an important lesson about the Revelation at Sinai, which we celebrate on Shavuot. Human beings have an enormous potential for greatness. We have a natural drive to make something of ourselves, to achieve immortality. God gave Israel the Torah to enable us to direct those drives. The commandments of the Torah are not simply acts to perform, ways of earning heavenly reward. They are a means of developing ourselves, of directing our drive to achieve towards spirituality and perfecting the world.
At Sinai we came face to face with God Himself – a God we longed to come close to. And we were instructed eternally after with the mission of striving towards Him – of bridging the gap between the physical world and the Divine. The Sinaitic encounter awakened within us an enormous drive for spirituality and immortality. Ever since, Jews would not be able to sit still. We would be driven to achieve, to fulfill ourselves, and to become godlike and eternal.
And with such lofty goals set before us, the stakes of life became very high. God gave us the Torah to direct our energies towards goodness and meaningful achievement. We are to take our strongest feelings and emotions and direct them towards God. If we would properly do so, there would be no limit to what we could achieve – and to how meaningful our relationship with God would become. But if not, we would be driven towards every other cause imaginable – Communism, anarchism, liberalism, capitalism, you-name-it-ism. Having seen God at Mount Sinai, we could never again sit still and remain the same. We became alive, possessed – driven to make a difference. And the Torah taught us just how to do it.
Part of above ideas based on thoughts heard from R. Mattis Weinberg.
(15) Michael Plotycia, May 30, 2020 5:02 AM
Ruth vs Orpah
Thank you Rabbi! I never knew this.
Sometimes, I think it's a good thing to step back and just appreciate the brilliance and depth that Judaism offers.
(14) Rachel Bailenson, May 27, 2020 4:17 PM
Thank you Rabbi Mattis Weinberg
This article is like a ledge of rock jutting out for a climber to hold onto to help him climb up higher. Thank you. I have shared it with two people and parts should not be forgotten.
(13) Celia weber, May 27, 2020 2:54 PM
Just terrific
So enlightening
(12) Daniel, May 27, 2020 2:08 PM
Beautiful
Thank you for sharing the beautiful Torah teachings.
(11) JD, July 25, 2019 5:52 AM
How do we know the rest of Orpah's story?
It was not in the Torah. How do the sages know? Was it in the oral Torah?
Dovid Rosenfeld, May 25, 2020 7:22 AM
Right...
Thank you for raising the important issue. Yes, the Sages fill in more details than appear in the Megillah. One of the main sources is Talmud Sotah 42b, but there are others - such as Sanhedrin 95a and other references to her in the Zohar and Midrash. Such details were either known to the Sages from an oral tradition, or they were able to infer them from deeper analysis of the text.
(10) Anonymous, July 8, 2019 5:36 PM
Truly interesting.
Thank you for the “rest of the story” I was riveted right to the end of article!
(9) Gary, May 20, 2019 6:46 AM
Naomi's Fault?
I understand Naomi's need to make sure Orpah truly wanted to join her and the Jewish people. But instead of accepting Orpah's willingness to stay on two occasions, she tested her a third time and Orpah failed. In a sense, could Naomi have been indirectly responsible for the downfall of Orpah? On one hand, she wanted to test Orpah's sincerity. On the other hand, by giving her three times to fail the test, knowing that failure could lead to a spiritual tragedy, was she really doing Orpah a favor by allowing her this chance to leave?
Dovid Rosenfeld, June 25, 2019 3:57 PM
it's a tough call
You are right that it is not an easy call. Clearly, a potential convert should be dissuaded, but as the Talmud says, not too little and not too much. In fact, in this case, the Talmud derives from Naomi - whose very actions were recorded in the Torah - that a potential convert should be dissuaded three times and not less.
In terms of the "what if", it seems much more likely that Orpah's immediate lapse is a clear indication that Naomi was right in rebuffing her. It's too easy for a person to get on an excited spiritual high, only to have it wear off all too soon. This unfortunately has happened to more than a few converts, who began with the highest and most sincere intentions.
(8) Bobby Risher, May 12, 2019 3:38 PM
looking forward
(7) Sharon M, April 10, 2019 4:03 PM
Thank you for this beautiful, inspiring piece . As i read the Book of read a few days ago and was comtemplating on what i had read. I find myself wanted to know more about What happened to Orphah ? Why didn't she dicided not to say like Ruth "Your God will be my God".yet i realize that we have a choice everyday to choose which part we choose ? But in choosing we must be circumpect to look at the risk and consequences of choices we make..Because of the choice that Ruth made to stay and follow Naiomi and her GOD in the land of Judea , She has found her name in history and an inhetitance with God forever "Eternally".Because of Ruth willingness to Go with her Mother-in-law back to Judah and her obedience to do as her mother-in -law asked of her and to follow through with the plan of action .She was greatly blessed and rewarded by God. God has redeemed her and recompensated her because of her faithfulness , trust , willingness and obedience and dependance on GOD. I believed there's a lot that we can learned from these two women. I have learn that i must choose circumpectedly, willing to follow the the path that God has set before me , to be obedience to his voice , his words, that i must be willing to take quick action on what he has asked of me To trust God with all my heart ...to do not quit on God because he won't quit if i don't quit on him (perserve)To be obedient to God , To have love in our hearts for everyone. To show compassion to those who needs it . To be gracious to all that needs grace.To have faith in God that no matter what our circumstances are or the trials that we face God has a plan for us and if we perserve we are going to received the best possible outcome tthere is for that situation. We see this through all the biblical stories in the bible. God plans for us is to Love our neighbors as ourselves, Show forth mercy and grace to all mankind because our heavenly has gave us mercy that we don't deserves and grace that we cannot merit or earned .
(6) Peter Kometsi, October 30, 2018 6:46 AM
The life of Orpah
This article helped me a lot. It motivated me more spiritually and inspired assurance into my mind that nobody was ever created to be a failure.
(5) Ernest Wiredu, August 7, 2018 6:58 AM
Is book of Ruth available in bookshopsIi
I love the article. Very educative.
(4) Ken Timmons, May 19, 2016 2:29 AM
Such a well-written article.
An encouraging insight of the choices between successes and failures, of triumphs and tragedies, and the road map to either for both Jew and Gentile. Thank you
(3) Asher, June 8, 2014 3:32 AM
A balanced world
We find that "zeh le'umas zeh asah Elokim," Hashem created every force with an equal and opposite force woking against it so that the world would be balanced. If this would not be the case, it would be of little significance that people ascend to great spiritual heights, because there would be nothing stopping them. People have the potential to reach a certain level, and they constantly are being pulled both in the direction of holiness and impurity. If they suddenly let go of the force of holiness, then the force of impurity has free reign on them and can drag them down with its full strength to achieve its full potential.
This is what happened to Orpah. She had the potential to become truly great in holiness, but instead she abandoned it. This left her open for the full force of impurity to drag her down to such an amazingly low level.
(2) Anonymous, June 6, 2014 10:46 PM
wow
i am very impressed with this article as it shows the tremendous potential every single one of us can achieve. it is all up to US, as Bnei Yisrael, to individually and communally reach our full potential. this article has definitely encouraged me and the friend who forwarded it to me! thank you Rabbi Rosnefeld!
(1) Anonymous, June 3, 2014 5:01 PM
Orpah's abuse by the army--another point of view
No woman, especially one who has had high moral character and been a faithful wife to one man, would willingly submit herself to an entire army of 100 men. Most likely, Orpah was raped by all these men as she was traveling alone and unprotected through the land.
Whoever wrote that text was not a woman!
Although metaphorically the story makes sense, of two sisters who make two different choices, its' perspective is flawed if one closely examines Orpah's plight. She was abused by a gang and then made to seem culpable. This is so much a case of the rapist saying that their victim "made them do it by being seductive".
This interpretation of the text when observed from a 21st century perspective, does not stand the test of time.
Dovid Rosenfeld, June 5, 2014 8:57 AM
in response...
Thank you for your comment. The source that Orpah went to the opposite extreme is Talmud Sotah 42b. It writes clearly that Orpah turned away from Judaism to a life of complete sexual perversion. The result was that her potential for greatness was spent on the physical rather than spiritual plane.
I'm actually not sure why you accept the Talmud's statement that she became involved with soldiers (as well as a dog) without the reason the Talmud gives for it. We only know the historical incident from the Talmud itself - which explains the rationale for her behavior as well.