The Midrash tells us that Megilat Ruth was written to teach us the reward for those who perform acts of chesed (kindness). We read the book of Ruth on Shavuot because the Torah which was given on that day, is based on chesed. This Midrash seems puzzling. Why is the attribute of chesed singled out? Megilat Ruth is not only about kindness. We learn many other things such as the laws of a convert and the laws of marriage. In addition, the Torah has many other facets too, besides chesed.

The Midrash explains that Ruth's generation lacked the attribute of kindness. When Yehoshua passed away, the people did not stop to give him the proper burial he deserved. They were too immersed in themselves to leave any room for others. Ruth who exemplified loving kindness became a model for them.

Ruth turned her back on a life of wealth and royalty to accompany Naomi back to Israel. When they entered the city, they found that all the people had gone out to accompany Boaz's wife to her final resting place. Ruth, the epitome of chesed, had an immediate effect on the city. As soon as she arrived, the people became busy with kindness. We see the power of one individual's example and the ripple effect it can have.

The book of Ruth also teaches us about putting our priorities in place. It's ok to enjoy the pleasures of this world but not at the expense of what the Torah demands of us. If you're pitted against your own desires and Hashem's will, then it's His word that must prevail.

Rav Chatzkel Levenstein notes that the greatness of a person is not measured by specific inspiring moments in life. Rather the key is holding on to those moments in an everlasting way. Our physical desires block us from the light of truth. Stepping out of ourselves and thinking about others brings us closer to Hashem.

A person who exemplifies loving kindness can reach great heights. Ruth gave up everything to do chesed with her mother -in -law. Although formidable challenges came her way, she maintained her pact of truth.

What is the difference between emet (truth) and chesed? Emet comes naturally. It's part of human decency. In contrast, the Rambam defines chesed as doing kindness for someone you don't know at all. It's extending yourself above and beyond your duty. Chesed is the barometer that measures who a person really is. Being a giver develops the divine part within us.

Rav Moshe Feinstein notes that chesed is different than any other mitzvah because the kindness you do is more for your benefit than for the benefit of the other person. Just as the body needs food for its nourishment, the soul needs chesed to flourish.

Ruth merited to become the mother of royalty because her essence was chesed. The Sifsei Chaim points out that a true king is not one who revels in pomp or honor but rather one who is ready to help his people. A king who exemplifies chesed will bring his people closer to Hashem.

The foundation of Torah is chesed. It teaches us that life is not about following our base desires but living the way Hashem envisioned us to live.

There is a custom to stand on Shavuot during the reading of the aseret hadibrot (tencommandments). The Rambam indicates that this practice is improper because it may lead people to assume that the aseret hadibrot have a status markedly different than the rest of the Torah when in fact there's no distinction. Despite the Rambam's view, we continue to stand. How do we understand this?

Rav Soloveitchik explains that the aseret hadibrot is read with two types of trop (cantillations), tam elyon and tam tachton. Tam tachton divides the kriah of the aseret hadibrot into verses while tam elyon divides it according to dibrot. On a regular Shabbat, the custom is to read the aseret hadibrot with tam tachton. However on Shavout, we read it with tam elyon. We focus not so much on the verses but on the reading of the dibrot. When the Rambam castigated those who would stand for the dibrot he referred to the reading with tam tachton. On Shavuot when we read with tam elyon, one must stand.

Tam tachton refers to limud haTorah, studying each verse in order to absorb it. It's an exercise of an individual nature. Tam Elyon is recreating maamad har Sinai by re-experiencing the drama and power of the giving of the Torah. Then in fact one is obligated to stand.

May we be merit this Shavuot to reconnect to the spiritual aura of maamad har Sinai as we accept the Torah one again with renewed vigor and dedication.

We say in birchat hamazon, "Noda lecha...-  We thank you Hashem for giving our ancestors a land that' s good, desired and wide and taking us out of Egypt and redeeming us from the house of slavery."  Mitzrayim (Egypt) was the diametric opposite of Israel. Mitzrayim means a narrow land while Eretz Yisrael connotes a wide land.

In what sense was Egypt narrow? When we say a person is broad minded we mean he accepts everything as possible and true. This is really a narrow view. If facts can't be contradictory then one fact over the other isn't true. Truth isn't the ability to see a single facet of reality as true. Rather it's seeing the whole picture and clearing off the truth from anything that distorts that picture. It means being able to look at evil and recognizing that its purpose is for us to overcome it. It's looking at the good and saying this will inspire us. The Egyptian's view was wide in the sense of including everything that was human. But it was really narrow in excluding everything above the human picture of reality.

"V'al britcha shechasamta" -And for the covenant that you sealed. Seeing a broader picture includes the covenant of the brit (circumsion). We believe that areas of life that people wouldn't identify as holy are potentially so.  Nothing is separate of the wisdom of Hashem.

Women often ask, why do we say this blessing if we aren't obligated in the mitzvah? Hashem views the Jewish people as one body. If a man circumcises himself it's part of her identity. If a woman lights Shabbos candles its part of his identity.

"Val torescha shelamditanu" -And for the Torah you taught us. The mitzvot are divided into two groups-positive and negative. The function of the negative mitzvot is to keep us away from self- diminishment-from looking at what is narrow and seeing that as everything. The function of the positive mitzvot are to give us connection. We don't see the world or our body as the enemy but as a means of elevation.

"Val chukecha shehodatanu"-And for your statutes that you have made know to us. Chukim comes from the root word lachkok - to engrave. There are certain laws that are engraved in nature that are not contingent on one's understanding. The function of the chukim is to give us a relationship to those laws. You have to eat otherwise you will die. But you could choose not to be lessened by it by eating only kosher food. You can choose to make a connection by saying a blessing and affirming Hashem's presence in it. Even a world that's non- negotiable can be uplifted.

"Val chaim chesed shechonantanu"-And you Hashem have given us life, grace, and kindness. Hashem gives us gracefully-in a hidden way so we aren't overwhelmed or ashamed to take from him. What we receive puts us in a growth situation. We can bond with Hashem through eating. When we say the blessing hamozie lechem and concentrate on affirming that the earth is Hashem's messenger to bring us the bread we are elevated to a higher plane.  When we say the blessing shehakol with the intent that everything comes into being through His word, we again scale higher.

Beit hamikdash means a sanctified house. In Mishlei, the Gra mentions that bayit, a person's home, is their body. The body affects who you are but it isn't the self. On a gut level everyone knows this. Yet the body still fights to grab our identity. One  can say, "I'll not let you define me, I'll try to overcome you." This is not the Jewish way. The other way is to make it into a sanctified home for Hashem. The body provides concrete resonance for the soul. It takes the abstract and brings it into the real world.

One can think that the body separates us and gives us individuation but it's an illusion. We are all really part of something larger than ourselves. The beit hamidkdash was the body that received the collective soul of klal yisrael and gave it expression.

Every person strives to be something. That something is our highest and deepest selves. For that we need to perfect the attribute of malchut -ruling over our little world. If you want to be a kind compassionate person you have to have self -discipline because the real you has a competitor that doesn't want to be compassionate at all.  If we would ask the Jewish people, "Who are you? What do you want to be?"  We would say, "We want to be a people who bring Hashem into the world, not only by how we speak but by the lives we lead." The beit hamikdash was a physical embodiment of our collective lives.

Eating doesn't have to break off your relationship with yourself or Hashem. It could enhance it. This is true individually and even more so collectively. Bringing a sacrifice, taking something physical and offering it to Hashem, wasn't just an individual act but a statement of the Jewish people.

Today we don't have a beit hamikdash. We don't have the collective means of spiritual self -expression. What are we supposed to be reaching out to as a people? The beit hamikdash affected atonement. The whole concept of atonement implies that something could change retroactively, not just in the future but in the past. During the time of the beit hamikdash  it was possible because we were connected to Hashem who is infinite. For him, past , present, and future aren't relevant statements. He can wipe out the effects of yesterday.  

Today a person's table is his altar. Food can serve as a bridge to Hashem. Inviting needy guests, making a blessing, and speaking words of Torah are ways to create a miniature beit hamikdash in our home.   

"Rachem na Hashem..."-Have mercy Hashem on your nation and on Yerushalayim. Yerushalayim is the place where wholeness can be seen. It's the city where all the pieces of the collective puzzle come together, where we are no longer separate limbs and organs but one body. Therefore we ask Hashem to have mercy not only on us, but on our city, the place of our collective identity.

"Val malchut beit David..."And on the kingdom of David your anointed one. David experienced almost everything a person can experience in life-wealth, poverty, love, disillusionment, physical power, illness, and children who rebelled. Still he served Hashem from every place where he happened to find himself. We want someone like him to lead us, a leader who will bring us home, who will awaken the voice of our soul. Hashem promised that the future redeemer will come from him.

"Parniseini v'chalkileini.." We ask to be sustained, that we not perish in the terrible exile we live in. The exile has many different levels but the hardest level is the inner exile where the soul doesn't always feel at home with the body. The voice of the body and soul are often in conflict. Sometimes we can barely identify the soul. This is galut hashechina (the Divine Presence in exile).  

 "Val tazricheini..." "Don't make us need, not the gifts of humans nor their loans." It says, "A person who hates gifts will live." Living means progressing and moving forward. The body loves to take and the soul loves to give. The more we take from Hashem, the bigger we become. The more we take from people, the smaller we become. On a simple level we become people pleasers. We have to hold on to our job, we have to curry favor with our boss, we have to move ahead. We must not get trapped into thinking people are the end all. Hashem is the source of everything. If we don't get sustenance one way we'll get it another way.

"Uvne Yerushalayim..." And build Yerushalayim the holy city. Without it we don't have a home. We're like souls without a body. We don't have an identity.

We conclude the blessing, "Blessed are you Hashem who builds Yerushalayim." Why is the present tense used? Everything we do has an effect. When we perform good deeds, we add bricks to the city of Yerushalayim in heaven.  Every brick brings the redemption closer. May we merit to see the city rebuilt speedily in our days.