Original subtitles

Mother doesn't like it when we tell her story.

She says we're making it out to be more than it is.

l think it's the most amazing story l've ever heard.

She is honest,

down to earth,

and beautiful!

So beautiful!

She showed up out of nowhere, Iooking prem.

She knew exactly what buttons to push with Boaz.

She knew what excited him, what does it for him.

And that is what she did.

lt was my daughter who disappointed me,

who left me with nothing but her absence.

She taught me the most important Iesson of my life.

As It Was

Ruth 1 100 B.C. BETHLEHEM

ln the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land...

ln the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land...

Ruth 1:1

l remember the famine from my childhood.

lt was a rough time.

Don't let these fertile fields

behind me fool you.

We were starving back then.

Many people left

to find their fortune elsewhere.

Boaz the land owner

...and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons,

went to live for a while in the country of Moab.

Ruth 1:1

Refugees came here

because of the famine in Bethlehem.

Petron Ruth's father

We went down to Moab with our two sons,

when they were still young.

Naomi Ruth's mother-in-law

We got by somehow,

but after we arrived in Moab, trouble began.

Elimelech, the man of the family, passed away,

and Naomi was left alone.

l raised the two boys on my own.

They grew up and married Moabite women.

My mother was very young then.

She met Mahlon,

who was the son of Elimelech and Naomi.

They fell in love and decided to marry.

Obed Ruth's son

They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth.

Ruth 1 :4

lt wasn't easy when my beloved daughter Ruth came to me

and told me she wanted to marry Mahlon.

l would rather see her marry a Moabite.

But that was her choice, and l couldn't stop her.

Mahlon married Ruth.

And Ruth-- Ruth was special.

Ruth was smart. She was educated.

l taught her.

Some women live

only to perform their chores,

and that doesn't require schooling.

But l wanted her to have something more.

Maybe l was wrong.

Maybe if she'd remained a simple Moabite woman,

then none of this would have happened.

l guess that was how it was meant to be.

Really,

from the first minute l met her,

l recognized her glow.

She was radiant,

very charismatic,

slender and beautiful.

So they got married.

Those snobby Israelites,

they think they're so lucky to be the chosen people.

Actually, they were the ones

who made the trouble.

Our happiness didn't last long.

About 10 years after we arrived there...

my two sons died.

Excuse me.

Disaster struck.

The tragedy

had a financial effect as well.

lt left them penniless and hungry.

The Jewish law says

that if the sons of the family die,

the inheritance is nullified.

There was no one to inherit.

They lost their lands, possessions-- everything.

l decided to leave.

Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,

''Go back, each of you, to your mother's home...''

Ruth 1:8

Naomi, now a widow and a mother of two dead sons,

decided she was going back to Bethlehem.

And l can understand why.

She wanted to return to her homeland.

And that's when something extraordinary happened.

My grandmother Naomi decided

she should go back alone.

What reason did Orpah and my mother Ruth

have to come here? It is not their land.

My daughters-in-law

both wanted to come with me.

l said, ''Absolutely not.''

l told them l was going alone. It is my land, my people.

''You're still young. You stay here, remarry.

Life has plenty more to offer you. You can have children.''

So Orpah gave up and went back home.

Mom, she decided to stick by Naomi.

Even though she wasn't part of the family by blood,

she treated Grandma like her mother.

She was spellbound by Naomi.

She followed her like a child.

Naomi made her feel like a queen.

And Ruth felt so good.

She couldn't give Naomi up.

So she told her she was going with her to Bethlehem.

She would leave Moab and go.

''Honor thy mother and father,'' goes the Commandment.

That's it in a nutshell--

the wonderful relationship my grandmother and my mother shared.

l thought she was making

a reckless mistake.

But sometimes being rational isn't the only thing that counts.

The heart is sometimes more important.

lt wasn't easy. We started the journey,

lt wasn't easy. We started the journey,

and there wasn't a dull moment.

Ruth constantly asked about the Israeli

customs and history,

and l told her everything--

about Sarah, Rivkah,

Rachel, Leah.

The most moving moment

l heard about from my grandmother,

because Mom's very humble

and won't brag--

it was when my mother decided to convert.

She told me, ''Wherever you go, l will go.

Wherever you will sleep, l will sleep.

Your people are my people.

Your God is my God.''

With those words, she converted.

She decided she was a part of the Israeli people,

a part of Naomi's family, and no one could come between them.

lt's not just the insult of being abandoned

at an elderly age

when you need your children to take care of you.

She abandoned her people.

She's no longer a Moabite.

When we finally arrived in Bethlehem,

you wouldn't believe how we were welcomed.

So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.

When they arrived in Bethlehem,

the whole town was stirred because of them,

and the women exclaimed, ''Can this be Naomi?''

Ruth 1:19

l was sure they'd forgotten all about me!

When they saw me, they all went out to greet me,

my neighbors and my friends.

They greeted Grandma with such joy.

She was so cherished.

They didn't know my mother, though.

She didn't belong. She came from Moab. She was a foreigner.

lt was almost hopeless.

We were two widowed women trying to get by,

walking the countryside together

with no one to take care of us. We were penniless.

Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem

with just the clothes on their backs.

And the town welcomed them in.

You've got to hand it to the Hebrews--

they will help foreigners

who come to live in their midst.

For example, they leave a certain part of their grain

during harvest Iying about their fields,

so there'd be some left

for travelers and foreigners.

l told Ruth that harvest was nearing.

l told her l would go out to the fields

to glean the grains,

like the poor women do.

She said, ''No.

You sit and rest at home. l will go.''

That's Ruth for you.

This was a foreign land to her for sure.

She decided to go and pick up

the grain the harvesters left behind.

Naomi is a very bright lady. Very bright.

She knew their only hope for a life other than a life of poverty

was to marry Ruth off

to a family member--

a ''redeemer'' as they call it.

He would save her and her family from poverty.

lf he married her, they could reclaim their lands,

and all's well that ends well.

So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters.

As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz,

who was from the clan of Elimelech.

Ruth 2:3

Don't ask me how,

it must have been the work of God,

but she came to my father's field.

Boaz's farm - Bethlehem

l'll never forget the day Ruth came here. Never ever.

lt was a sunny morning.

She came from there, passed right between those two trees.

Boaz happened to be there,

he was standing there supervising the work.

Hella A field worker

l suddenly noticed this woman standing a little way off.

Not just any woman.

Her posture was straight and noble

and her gaze was fierce and penetrating.

She sure picked her timing right-- when the sun was hanging overhead

and the wind was playing with her hair.

And she looks--

So she's good-looking. So what? Big Deal.

We looked at one another and, l don't know,

l guess l was shy

so l looked down.

To tell the truth, l was instantly drawn to her.

Something in her touched me.

lt's hard to explain. It makes no sense.

He never met her before in his life,

but he knew she was something special.

He asked his workers who she was.

So they told me she was Ruth, Naomi's daughter-in-law.

l knew Naomi.

She is a distant relative of mine.

l had already heard of Ruth and what had happened to her.

He just had to talk to her.

There was one problem with Boaz, though.

The guy was terribly shy.

He couldn't speak his mind

to a woman he desired.

Listen, l'm the owner here,

and l have quite a bit of money,

so l don't always know

when people are after me,

or after my wealth.

l can't tell when someone Ioves the real Boaz,

regardless of all this land you see here.

We all had a chance of winning Boaz.

He's a good, simple guy.

lt's not like him to go off and marry someone like that.

We're all nice Jewish girls here. We work the fields.

We do our job well.

l don't know what came over him.

To say hello,

l broke bread with her.

l gave her a piece,

just to be polite.

She looked at me,

she put the bread down,

and our fingers touched.

That was actually the first time l touched my--

well, she wasn't my wife back then, she was just Ruth.

They say he was the top dog of Bethlehem.

A very rich landowner

with many friends.

He was a good man. You couldn't help but like him.

Ruth robbed me of the life

l could've had with Boaz.

And l'm sure a lot of the women here

would tell you the same thing.

l told the young guys to leave her alone.

l gave instructions to give her

whatever she needed--

wheat to take home, anything.

She worked alongside the other girls, ate and drank with them.

And l sort of

took care of her

in the background.

At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed,

''Why have l found such favor in your eyes

that you notice me - a foreigner?''

Boaz replied, ''l've been told all about what you have done

for your mother-in-law...''

Ruth 2:10-11

(Boaz - the land owner) Something about her won me over,

something l've never seen before in people,

and l've met quite a few.

Something about her was different.

(Hella - A field worker) She was treated like a worker,

not like the beggar she was.

They gave her so much food!

She couldn't eat it all.

So they let her take it home!

(Naomi - Ruth's mother-in-law) Ruth came back

carrying a huge sack of wheat.

lt lasted 50 days

at least.

And she would give me

her leftovers from lunch at the field.

(Obed - Ruth's son) Grandma Naomi couldn't believe it!

Where did all the wheat come from?!

Then Ruth told her mother-in-law

about the one at whose place she had been working.

''The name of the man l worked with today is Boaz,'' she said.

Ruth 2:19

l thought this was about as clear a sign

as God could give--

to have her come to Boaz's field,

have him fancy her, and vice versa.

''What a coincidence!'' Sure!

She just happened to come to Boaz's fields!

''Divine Providence!'' Yeah, right.

She must think we were born yesterday.

lt's a ploy that she cooked up with Naomi

to sink their little fangs into Boaz's fortune.

They set out to do just that from day one.

When she heard it was Boaz,

Grandma told her she must have Boaz

as her redeemer.

Boaz was older

and an experienced businessman,

but he was still single.

He had a bit to learn about women.

And that's just where l come in.

(Petron - Ruth's father) Naomi was a wise woman.

She noticed Boaz was attracted to Ruth.

He just didn't know how to approach her.

l told her to go to the threshing floor,

where they sort

the chaff from the grain.

Boaz would be there, working.

l told her to go to him, and...

''Let him finish his food,

his drink, his day...''

''...find out, while the sun is still up, where he goes to bed...''

''...let him fall asleep

and then, slowly and gently,

approach and lie down at his feet.

That's all.''

''That's all you've got to do. He'll pick up from there.''

Yes, l heard what happened at the threshing floor.

Who hasn't?

She crept there like a thief in the night.

She thought no one was watching.

Guess what? l was there, watching!

l was in a deep sleep.

Suddenly l felt a tug

on my sleeping gown.

l was frightened. l thought it could be an animal,

a snake,

or even thieves.

Dad claims he couldn't make out much

because it was dark, you see.

He asked who was there. She told him it was her.

l thought l was still dreaming,

but my back was itching from the hay,

so l knew it was real.

l thank God for sending Ruth to me.

What's so enchanting about her,

besides her beauty,

is her straigh_orwardness.

''Who are you?'' he asked.

''l am your servant Ruth,'' she said.

''Spread the corner of your garment over me,

since you are a kinsman-redeemer.''

Ruth 3:9

She faced me. She wasn't playing games.

She told me, ''You're the man who can redeem me.''

She told him.

She told him she wanted him

as a husband and redeemer.

''You will be my husband, and you will redeem us

of our life of want and poverty.''

l was very moved. It was what l'd hoped for.

And l told her l was happy

she reserved herself for me.

She's a girl that's

been through so much.

What kills me

is that Boaz marched straight into her trap.

l guess that's what men like--

brazen and shameless women.

lf l knew that was what Boaz liked, it would be a different story.

Naturally, l was overjoyed to hear what she said.

Naturally, l was overjoyed to hear what she said.

But l knew there still was one hitch.

Boaz had already Iooked into Ruth's status.

He found out there was a redeemer

that was more closely related than he was.

l told her l would look into it the next day.

l must remind you that l only went along with this interview

because l was promised that you would

disguise my voice and my face.

l want to distance myself from this affair.

l have a family and l want nothing to do with this.

Ploni Almoni A Hinsman

Boaz took it upon himself...

to meet this redeemer

who was more entitled to Ruth in terms of kinship.

He was first in line to redeem Ruth, you see.

Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there.

When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said,

''Come over here, my friend, and sit down.''

Ruth 4:1

Boaz asked me to sit down with him.

We were at the city gates with everyone watching,

10 witnesses,

when he told me of this girl, Ruth.

A Moabite, a foreigner.

So he urged me to redeem her if l had any desire,

and if l didn't he would,

but he needed my okay for it.

Elimelech's lands aren't so hot.

The crops are prem bad there.

l knew the field.

lt was very rundown back then.

lt was all in ruins.

lt required a substantial investment.

The way he put it--

a foreign woman

whose late husband died a mysterious death...

Which was true. l told no lies.

Their family was no stranger

to tragedy and trouble and sickness.

He knew that if the redeemer saw my mother,

he would fall in love with her. That was for sure.

Boaz convinced him it was a bad idea to marry Ruth.

l didn't think it fitting that l,

a father and a loving husband to my wife,

bless her, should get involved with redemption

and bring into my house another successor.

''Then l cannot redeem it,

because l might endanger my own estate.''

Ruth 4:6

l don't want to name him,

out of respect for his honor and Ruth's.

That redeemer who was to perform the mitzvah

shall remain anonymous.

l know the redeemer. His name is --.

He lives near here with his wife,

what's her name?

Who's the wife of that guy --?

- Right, --.

Anyway, they're just tarnishing his reputation,

Ruth could have brought nothing but bad news to his doorstep.

She's jinxed-- marry her and die.

Once honor had been assured,

my father declared he would redeem Ruth,

buy off Elimelech's property

and live with her happily ever after.

Everything was legit,

and we could go forward with our plans.

l figured it was a thumbs-up for Ruth and me to get married.

Well, l can't begin to describe

the joy we felt.

There was a huge wedding.

The entire city was invited.

lt was quite a party.

Of course, that's the same year l was born.

When l see Obed, our son, the fruit of our love,

l know deep inside that it wasn't just a coincidence

that Ruth and l met.

l believe God brought us together.

Never mind our love and joy

and all that we've been through--

l know that son of mine will grow up

to sire sons and grandsons.

Our lineage will continue to blossom

and reach new heights.

l sometimes regret that Elimelech

and my sons

didn't get to have such bliss.

When Ruth sees me deep in thought,

she puts her hand on me and asks,

''You're thinking of your sons, aren't you?''

l tell her,

''Yes, l have lost two sons,

but l got you instead,

and to me, you're worth more than seven sons.''

Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.

The women living there said, ''Naomi has a son.''

Ruth 4:16-17

Boaz and Ruth lived happy long lives.

They became living legends and were loved by all.

Hella worked in Boaz's fields until her dying day.

Her sons worked there also.

Ruth's father, the Moabite, joined his daughter in Bethlehem.

ln his old age he too converted to Judaism.

And Boaz sired Obed,

And Obed sired Jesse,

And Jesse sired David.