Semuchim M'yad - Connecting Megilas Rus to the End of Sefer Malachi 2026-05-21 11:52

Okay, good morning everyone. Shalom aleichem. May you have a good Yom Tov. Tavlas haTorah 5755 In this first segment we are going to uh examine and study the flow and the hemshech and the smichus of Sefer Rus. Now most are familiar that Megillas Rus is one of the five Megillahs. Okay. So then you would know that Sefer Rus is not one of the Nevi'im, it's one of the Kesuvim. But which one of the Kesuvim are there? There are five Chumashim. There are eight Nevi'im. And there are 11 Kesuvim. Okay, a total of 24. Five eight 11. Five and eight is 13. And there are 11 Kesuvim. The Chumash of course Bereishis, Shemos, Vayikra, Bamidbar, Devarim. I better know this otherwise I don't know, I'm in the wrong business. The second one the Nevi'im are Yehoshua, Shoftim Shmuel, Melachim, Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu, Yechezkel Shu and Trei Asar, right? Yehoshua, Shoftim, Shmuel, Melachim Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu, Yechezkel, Trei Asar. That's that's the eight. And then the Kesuvim, okay? I'm getting nervous. You have the five Megillahs. You have Shir HaShirim, Rus, Eichah Koheles and Esther. Then you have the Sifrei Emes, Iyov, Mishlei, Tehillim. Then you have Ezra Nechemiah. You have uh Ezra Nechemiah and you have Divrei HaYamim. And those are the books of Torah, Nevi'im and Kesuvim. What place is Rus? Which number safer is Ruth? If you look in the Tanakh, let's say, you wouldn't necessarily see Ruth as one of the um I forgot one of the Kesuvim, the most important one, Safer Daniel, yeah? But um you wouldn't necessarily know the order. But if you look in the Gemara Bava Basra, the Gemara Bava Basra says on the Yad Avraham that Ruth is the first book of the Kesuvim. The Gemara says, "Sedran shel Kesuvim, Ruth the safer Tehillim." Which then means Ruth is the very beginning of Kesuvim. Now, listen. It didn't happen in that order because Ruth is still Vayehi Bimei Shfoi HaShoftim and they were much later Nevi'im. But the book of Ruth is the first book of Kesuvim. So, it hit me. If it's the first book of Kesuvim, it must be connected to the last book of the Nevi'im. Well, which is the last of the Nevi'im? The Trei Asar. Which is the last of the Trei Asar? Malachi. So, my starting point is Ruth must be connected with Sefer Malachi. Let's see if this is opening, yeah. Ruth must be connected to Sefer Malachi. >> [clears throat] >> Um let me get open up the email, okay. No. Oh, here. Okay. So, that's the starting point. In fact, yesterday I was speaking to Harav Yosef Kamenetzky, who is the editor of the MS Liako of Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky, his grandfather on Nach, and I asked him, you know, "When you published Kedusham on Nevi'im and Kesuvim, did you follow the traditional order of Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu, Yechezkel, Trei Asar, or did you follow the way the Gemara says the order should be? He said, "Of course I followed the Gemara. The traditional order is is wrong. It's from the King James Bible." For some reason, all the Tanakhs are published in that order. But that order is not correct. It's wrong. And >> [clears throat] >> So, my starting point was that Sefer Rus is a continuation of Sefer Malachi. So, I was very glad to see in the writings of the Chida in his Simchas Haregel, he says something amazing. He says, "If Sefer Rus is the beginning of Kesuvim, then that means which number book of Tanakh is Rus?" Well, Bereishis, Shemos, Vayikra, Bamidbar, Devarim, Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu, Yechezkel, I'm sorry, Yehoshua, Shoftim, Shmuel, Melachim, Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu, Yechezkel, Trei Asar, that's 13. That's the end of the Nevi'im. And then Rus is the first of the Kesuvim. Rus must then be the 14th book of Tanakh. What's the significance that it's the 14th book of Tanakh? Cuz it's only written for the lineage of David, and David is Gematria 14. Therefore, Rus, which ends "Vayehi Yishai hu led es David", is the 14th book of Tanakh. So, I knew I was barking up the right tree because that means Rus follows Malachi. Ah, so if Rus follows Malachi, watch this. What would the connection be between the end of Malachi and the beginning of and the beginning of Rus? So, [clears throat] I think it's very simple. The connection is Malachi ends "Hinei Anochi shole'ach Malacham Eliyahu Hanavi lifnei Bayom Hashem Hagadol v'hanora Nevi'im Sefer Malachi ends that Hashem is going to send Eliyahu Hanavi. What is the job of Eliyahu to be mevasser the Geulah? Who's the Goel? David. So therefore, the Nevi'im end Hinei anochi sholeach Malacham Eliyahu Hanavi. And if you want to know, his job is to mevasser the coming of Ben David. Now let's explain how David will come. Vayehi bimei Shfoat Hashoftim Vayehi Hoiled es David. So Malachi talks about the Besurah of Eliyahu and Ruth talks about the coming of Ben David. And I was very pleased to see that the Chida himself says something very similar. What does he say? The Chida is bothered. Why would Megillas Ruth begin with the letter Vav? Vav indicates connection. It's connected to something. >> [snorts] >> What is What is it connected to? In You know, Sefer Yehoshua begins Vayehi Acharei because it's connected to the end of Devarim and the Petirah of Moshe Rabbeinu. What is Ruth connected to? Says the Chida, Ruth is connected to Sefer Malachi. >> [snorts] >> How? Ruth happened in the time of the Shoftim. It was written by Shmuel. Shmuel came before the Nevi'im Acharonim. >> [snorts] >> By the way, Megillas Ruth happened before Shmuel. But it's arranged after the Nevi'im Acharonim in the beginning of Kesuvim. And Shmuel wrote it. Why did he begin with a vav? It's a continuation from the Navi Malachi. The Navi Malachi says, "I'm going to send to you Eliyahu Navi before Messiah comes." >> [snorts] >> And Shmuel knew that it's going to take a long time until Messiah comes. So therefore Shmuel wrote the book to explain that don't worry. Don't worry. Even though Israel will pass through the galas, Hashem already prepared and paved the way for Messiah a long time ago. In other words, what the saying is in the aftermath of Eliyahu Navi, and so may wonder, you know, we're in the galas for really long time. When exactly will this guy I'll come? So Shmuel composed Ruth to set the stage and explain Hashem already put into motion the later of David Melech. Here is another idea. The final words of Sefer Malachi are I'm going to send Eliyahu to instruct you to do chuvah lest I come and I smite and destroy the whole earth. >> [clears throat] >> And in fact, that's how Megillat Ruth begins. God in fact, if you want to know what does it mean that God will smite the earth? Well, look what happened in the beginning of Megillat Ruth. There was a terrible famine. And Naomi and her family had to leave. Also, this is beautiful. The end of Malachi is Remember the Torah that I commanded Moshe Rabbeinu on Har Sinai. And then we begin with Ruth. Perhaps this is a remez that we read Ruth on the Yom Tov that commemorates Kabbalat Torah on Har Sinai. Malachi ends Zichru Toras Moshe Avdi Asher Tivisiyoisoi B'chorev. And this is a remez perhaps that we read Megillas Ruth on the Yom Tov of Kabbalat Torah. Then finally, on the words in the beginning of the Megillah Vayelech Ish MiBeis Lechem Yehudah, Rashi says Elimelech was a very wealthy man. He was a parnes hadar. He left Eretz Yisrael because of stinginess. He didn't want to give the matanois to the aniyim. He didn't want to give tzedakah, the ma'aser. Well, maybe this is also a connection to maybe this is also a connection to the end of Sefer Malachi. Cuz at the end of Malachi, it says, "Can someone trick Hashem? You're going to trick me and not give the ma'aser and not give the trumah? Bring all the ma'aser to the storehouse. You think you'll lose by giving ma'aser? Vihi teref b'veisi. There'll be food in my house." So maybe Hashem says, "No, no, no. You think You think you're going to escape the ma'aser? You think it will be good for your finances? No, no, no, no, no. You give the ma'aser, you give the tzedakah, and I'll bless you. Don't run away from it." And that's what we see happens in the beginning of Sefer Ruth. So, these are a few ideas predicated on the idea that Ruth is the first of the Kesuvim and we're suggesting that it's a continuation of Sefer Malachi. We do see We were able to find that the Chida in fact says it is a continuation of Malachi. And uh there are a number of ideas either as a continuation from the sending of Eliyahu Hanavi or the fact that the possibility of pen Avi Vihi Cases Kol Ha'aretz Charem or Zichru Toras Moshe Avdi or like what we just said, the importance of not running away from giving trumahs or ma'asrahs. Okay? And I'll tell you one more one more idea. >> Recording stopped.