Timeless Torah

The tale revolves around a Moabite princess with a life of luxury and power who throws it all away to accept Judaism. What is even more fascinating is the parallel road begun by Ruth’s sister, Orpah. Both had married Jewish men, were willing to follow their mother-in-law when their husbands died and were about to go beyond the point of no return when...

Orpah kissed her sister and mother-in-law good-bye and turned to take the easier route back home. The book tells us that Orpah cried at that moment. Her tears were gathered and not forgotten. The Almighty G-d who counts everything used them to water her future progeny. She was rewarded with children who would be heroes and warriors. The colossal Goliath who later challenged King David, the descendant of Ruth, was one of them.
Why did Ruth and Orpah, two sisters, produce two such different futures? In the words of the prophet, “Orpah kissed her mother-in-law but Ruth embraced her.”
A kiss is motivated by impulse. It is the uncontrolled response to an attraction, the reflex reaction to a stimulus. The fickle kiss is unstable and unsure. Witness the kiss of Orpah, which soured into hatred in her sons. For the Hebrew word “Neshek” (kiss) also means weapon. The impulsive kiss can easily become a dagger. Hence the expression “Kiss of death.”
Life, on the other hand must be embraced. Ruth was not seized by an urge, rather it was she who seized the moment to be forever converted and transformed to her very depths.
Many in our society oscillate between feelings of pious love and selfish desire. We kiss many worlds, and in each one only experience a casual and clumsy relationship.
Judaism is discipline not euphoria. We must embrace our past as the only sure guide to the future. As the Sages of Talmud assure us, “The sons of the one who kissed shall fall into the hands of the one who embraced.”