Who would choose
To be an underdog?
Relegated to subservient Dialogue
Last to be noticed
Hardly seen
A tiny cog
In a vast machine
Ruth joined the underdogs
Became one of them
Downtrodden,
Trudging into Bethlehem
Cast off the crown
Of royalty
For an ideology
Widowed, a gair and a foreigner
Bethlehem did not welcome her
Her sister, Orpah
Couldn’t take the heat
Took a noble stance at first
But then hit the street
Couldn’t see living
Among the lowly poor
Went back to Moab
Where her future was sure
Boaz saw something
Special in Ruth
Refined and dignified
In truth
Boaz learned they could marry
He could redeem Ruth, as kin
But Tob, whose right to do so,
Came before him.
Ruth risked it all
When she offered her hand
In Levirate marriage
To this fatherly man
Boaz faced a choice
As Ruth lay at his feet
But he waited to claim her
Til all was legal and complete
Tob, or Ploni Almoni
Passed up the chance
Didn’t want to add an heir
To his inheritance
He took the easy path
And followed the money
While Boaz and Ruth
Marched into history
Their kindness, bravery and modesty
Began the Davidic dynasty
The book of Ruth opens
With poverty,
Suffering and strife
But ends in deliverance, joy
Regeneration and life
To those who make
The harder choices:
You are blessed
For in you HaShem rejoices
Showing faith as hardships You abide
Ha Kadosh Baruch Hu’s Name
Thereby sanctified
To you underdogs,
Like Ruth
Who take the high road
Love justice and mercy
Who live by a code
Life may not always
Be easy
But still, it is wise
It’s the way of the righteous
Beloved in G-d’s eyes
May HaShem remember Ruth
May her vineyards grow strong
And may her progeny, Mashiach
Arrive, before long!
By Sharon Marcus
