תורה 65

7. And this is the explanation of [the opening verse]: And Boaz said to Ruth: [“Hear me well, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field, and do not pass on from here…. Keep your eyes on the field that they are reaping, and follow them. I have tziviti (enjoined) the young men not to nag’aikh (touch you). Should you become thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from that which the young men have drawn.”]

BOaZ—He is the intellect , as it is written (Ecclesia st es 7:19), “Wisdom ta ’OZ (strengthens) the wise.”

Ruth—She corresponds to the soul, which is the source of the words of prayer, song and praise . As our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: Why was she named RUth? On account of her descendant, David, who ReVah (satiated) the Holy One with songs and praises (Berakhot 7b) .

Hear me well, my daughter—<“My daughter” alludes to the soul,> since the soul is the daughter of the intellect, as explained. This is “Hear me well”—i.e., “Let your ears hear what you are bringing forth from your mouth.” In other words, incline your ear to hear the utterance begging and imploring [the soul] not to part from it, as explained above. And this is:

Do not go to glean in another field—For all the letters and words are precious gleanings gathered from the supernal fields, as explained above. Each utterance begs the soul not to leave it behind <“to glean in another field,”> to gather other gleanings. But this is impossible, since it has to go on and gather more, as above. Nevertheless…

and do not pass on from here—In other words, even when you go on to another word, do not pass on from the first word. This is accomplished by the ultimate goal, as explained above. And this is:

Keep your eyes on the field that they are reaping—This alludes to focusing on the ultimate goal, since reaping is the ultimate goal of plowing and sowing.

I have enjoined the young men not to touch you—This is the aspect of closing one’s eyes; one must shut them, in order to bind the vision and focus on the ultimate goal. Without this, it is impossible to focus on the ultimate goal, as explained above.

This is the meaning of “I have TZiViTi the young men”—it connotes TZaVTa (joining) and binding. One has to join and bind one’s vision [to the ultimate goal], as explained above. And the eyes are called “young men,” because they are the attendants of the intellect; as explained above, vision is the emissary and attendant of the .

And this is “not to NaG’Aikh,” the aspect of NeGA’im (afflictions) of the soul. When one’s vision is diffused and sees everything in sight—i.e., when he fails to completely shut his eyes so as not to look at this world—this is the aspect of afflictions of the soul. In order not to afflict the soul, he has to “enjoin and bind the young men”—i.e., his vision—so that he does not take [even] a sidelong glance at the vanities of this world. Then he will be able to focus on the ultimate goal. And by focusing on the ultimate goal, all the suffering is eliminated, as explained above.

However, afterwards, when one returns from the state of self-transcendence, the suffering becomes even more intense. This corresponds to the thirst of the soul, as explained above. This is:

Should you become thir st y, go to the vessels and drink from that which the young men have drawn—The way to quench the thirst is by means of the enhanced insight into Torah received by the mind—the vessel of the intellect—through the trace that remains from the transcendent state. It is from there that the soul drinks in order to quench its thirst, as explained above.

This is the meaning of “drink from that which the young men have drawn.” For “the young men”—the eyes of the intellect—draw enhanced Torah insight from the trace that remains after focusing on the ultimate goal, as explained above. Through this the suffering is later nullified, and the soul’s thirst is quenched.