Megilas Rus opens up with the character, Elimelch. He was a wealthy man. Even at the time when there was a famine throughout the land and people were starving, he still remained with plenty. The posuk says that he came from the city of Beis Lechem. Literally, the words “beis lechem” mean “a house of bread”, for on a deeper level this alludes to the fact that in his house there was still food to be had. But unfortunately he did not want to share his wealth with those in need and left Eretz Yisroel for the Land of Moav. Moav would seem to be the precise destination for such a man. We know that the Torah criticizes the Moavim for not going out to greet the Jewish nation with food and water and for this reason a Moavi man may not marry into the Jewish nation. The attitude of Elimelech was in sync with the ways of the Moavim.

It would seem that Elimelech had a grain of selfishness and arrogance about him which eventually brought about his untimely death. His name, Elimelech, teaches us that he felt the melucha (kingship) coming to him or that the melucha should come from his descendants. Eli-melech can be expounded as, “eilei melech”- to me shall come the kingship. It is precisely for this reason that he did not merit being the father of the Davidic dynasty. Someone who thinks that the malchus (kingship) is coming to him is not fitting to be the king. Elimelch therefore did not merit to be the forbearer of Dovid Hamelech. The Kingdom of Israel was brought forth from his brother, Salmon, instead.

On the other extreme we find Rus. Rus was the daughter or granddaughter of the king of Moav. She grew up in royalty. She consented to marry Elimelech’s son, Machlon, because Elimelech’s family was a royal one too and indeed Elimelech himself had the potential to be the forerunner of the kingdom of Dovid Hamelech if not for the flaw in his character. In contrast to Elimelech, Rus renounced her royal status and converted to Judaism after he husband died an untimely death. She chose a life of utter destitution over a life of a princess. When she returned to Eretz Yisroel she supported herself and her mother in law by collecting bits of grain left in the fields for the poor. All she wanted was to fulfill the will of Hashem even if that meant giving up her royal status. It is precisely because of this that she was worthy to be the mother of the melucha (kingship).

Upon the instruction of her mother in law, Rus approached Boaz prepared to get married to him. Boaz was eager to marry her. He understood that through her would come Malchus Beis Dovid (the Davidic Dynasty). But he knew that there was someone else, a closer relative, who had the preferential right to marry her. Boaz located him to inform him of his right all the while knowing that by doing so he was in fact passing up the opportunity to be the forbearer of the royal dynasty. As it happened, that relative declined and Boaz married Rus and merited having Dovid Hamelech as his great grandchild. By being willing to forgo the kingship, if that was the correct thing, Boaz merited fathering it.

This same trait we find by Dovid Hamelech himself. When he was overthrown by his son Avsholom, he fled with a group of supporters, one of whom brought the Oron (holy ark) with him. Dovid gave him instructions to return the Oron to Yerushalyim saying, “If Hashem wants me to see the Oron again then he will enable me to do so.” Dovid accepted his fate. “If Hashem has decided to depose me from being king than I accept and if he chooses to return me to the throne then so shall it be.” Dovid did not try to force himself to the position of king and that is the middah (character trait) necessary to become a king.

In Tehilim 133 it says, “shir hama’alos l’dovid Hashem lo govah libi v’lo romu einei etc.”, a song of ascents, by David, “Hashem, my heart was not proud and my eyes were not haughty nor did I pursue matters too great and to wondrous for me. I swear that I stilled and silenced my soul. etc.” The medrash tell us that this is referring to the moment when Shmuel Hanovi (Samuel the prophet) anointed Dovid to become king over all of Israel. Concerning that moment, Dovid Hamelech testifies about himself that he did not feel one bit conceited, he did not feel one iota of greatness more than before. It was simply a time to serve Hashem in a different way. Remarkable!

To be the king of the Jewish nation, to have the greatest position of power, one must be someone who does not seek that power. That is real power, the power over the self. Dovid fought off lions and bears and killed them; he may have been very strong. But to say “lo govah libi”, my heart did not feel conceited at such a moment, that is real might. That’s what it takes to become king.

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