On Shavuos, G-d gave us the gift of the Torah. In it were laws and guidelines on how we must conduct ourselves towards G-d and towards our fellow man. Shavuos is also significant in that it marks King David’s birthday and his yahrzeit. In his honor, most congregations read the story of Ruth the Moabite, who was David’s great-grandmother.

In the story of Ruth, Elimelech, a wealthy man, his wife Naomi, and their two sons leave the Land of Israel during a severe famine, looking for better prospects elsewhere. The sons, Machlon and Kilyon, both marry Moabite princesses — Ruth and Orpah. Elimelech dies, soon followed by Machlon and Kilyon, neither of whom had children. Naomi had left Israel a proud and wealthy woman, but is about to return a penniless widow.

Ruth and Orpah remain with lonely Naomi after the death of her husband and sons. For this, Naomi thanks her daughters-in-law: “May G-d do kindness with you as you have done with the dead and with me” (Ruth 1:8).

Naomi encourages her daughters-in-law to leave her, noting that she has no more children for them to marry. Unlike Naomi, they are young enough to find mates; they can still build a life for themselves. Orpah agrees and returns to her roots, but Ruth refuses: “Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people are my people, and your G-d is my G-d” (Ibid., 1:16). Ruth performs an incredible kindness, abandoning her homeland and forever jettisoning her background in order to stay with her aged mother-in-law.

In Bethlehem, Ruth resorts to collecting stray sheaves of corn, left in the fields for the poor, so that she and Naomi will have sustenance. Boaz, the landowner, observes Ruth’s modest manner of dress and behavior and inquires about her. Naomi tells Ruth to go to Boaz at night and ask that he marry her. It is against Ruth’s modest nature, but she does go. Boaz agrees, knowing the ancient law prohibiting marriage with Moab applies to the Moabite males, not to the females. Boaz and Ruth beget Oved, who begets Yishai, who begets David.

The Fifth Commandment says: “Honor your father and your mother.” Other verses in the Torah require us to honor our elders and Torah sages. Ruth personified this attribute, and for this she was rewarded. She had the merit to be alive when her great-grandchild David ascended to the throne as king. As it says, “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days will be lengthened upon the land that G-d, your L-rd, gives you” (Exodus 20:12).

Respecting elders is a concept that is not at ease in Western culture. Our society trains us to glorify youth and disdain age. When Bob Dole ran for president, the media cited his advanced age as a reason he would not make a good chief executive. Stories and advertisements in the newspapers emphasize youth. Cheeky children making wisecracks are de rigeur in many a television family and children’s book. Youth is refreshing; old age is decrepit.

In olden times, generations of families lived in close proximity. Today’s kids grow into adulthood and can’t wait to move away. Gone are the days when stories from zayde were the best entertainment around. And parents with large families and full-time jobs have so much less time to tend to the older generation.

What does the Torah believe about aging? After Pesach, we begin reading Pirkei Avos, the Ethics of the Fathers. There it says that at age forty, one acquires insight; at fifty, counsel; at sixty, old age; at seventy, good old age; at eighty, might (or triumph); and so on. The older, the better — this is the Torah’s view.

We tend to forget the loneliness an older person may feel, especially once he or she is widowed or retired. When going to shul, we may notice older people who come every week but whom we don’t really know. Where do they eat on Shabbos? Many of these people go back to their apartments and eat alone. This is the sum total of their life, alone! Older widows, especially, sit at home, uninvited, overlooked. It is so important to acknowledge these people. Especially on Shavuos, when our elderly congregants are in synagogue to say Yizkor, which recalls the dead, we should also consider the living and act in the manner of Ruth.

On this holiday, may we merit witnessing the coming of Mashiach, a direct descendant of Ruth.

—Sara Levy