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Where is God in the book of Ruth?

Where is God in the Book of Ruth? Although the book’s protagonists often mention God in the things they say, the narrator of the story barely attributes any event to God explicitly. Additionally, there are no miracles in the story, no angels or prophets, and no word coming out of God’s mouth. Where, then, is God? Rabbi Prof. David Frankel, Associate Professor of Bible at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies shares that it seems as though “one can find a hint of the narrator’s position in Naomi’s words after Ruth’s return from a day of gathering in Boaz’s field.” 

After learning that Ruth gathered on Boaz’s land, Naomi says to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not failed in His kindness to the living or to the dead! For,” Naomi explained to her daughter-in-law, “the man is related to us; he is one of our redeeming kinsmen.” (Ruth 2:20) 

The question arises, who has not failed his kindness to the living and the dead? Does Naomi mean God or is she referring to Boaz? It seems to Prof. Frankel “that the wording of the text should be seen as a deliberate ambiguity.” The intention of the ambiguity is to hint at the narrator’s answer to the question we asked – where is God in the scroll? The answer is that God is behind the acts of kindness that people choose to do. When Boaz did a kindness to Ruth and did good to her, and indirectly did good to Naomi and her dead, he fulfilled the kindness that God wanted to do with them. The message that emerges from these words is clear: God appears in the world if we act as His messengers in doing kindness. The responsibility is on him to bring God into the world, and if we do not see him then the blame is on us.

Let us hope that we too will be able to fill the world with grace and love and fulfill our mission in the world. Chag Shavuot Sameach!

David Frankel is Associate Professor of Bible at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. He has been on the faculty since 1992. He earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the direction of Prof. Moshe Weinfeld. His publications include “The Murmuring Stories of the Priestly School,” and “The Land of Canaan and the Destiny of Israel.”  From 1991 to 1996, Frankel was rabbi of Congregation Shevet Achim in Gilo, Jerusalem.

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