Introduction
In this part of the chapter, we reach the heart of the encounter between Boaz and Ruth in the field. Until now, we saw how Ruth came to glean, and how Boaz inquired of the foreman overseeing the reapers who she was. From here on, Boaz addresses Ruth herself, and in every single word he says to her, there is care, respect, preservation of modesty, and a hint of far-reaching plans. We will follow the order of the verses in light of the explanations of the Malbim and the Vilna Gaon, weaving in the words of the Midrash, the insight of the Minchat Chinuch, and the wonderful incident involving Rav Shach.
"Have You Not Heard, My Daughter?" - You See How They Speak on Your Behalf
וַיֹּאמֶר בֹּעַז אֶל־רוּת הֲלוֹא שָׁמַעַתְּ בִּתִּי אַל־תֵּלְכִי לִלְקֹט בְּשָׂדֶה אַחֵר וְגַם לֹא תַעֲבוּרִי מִזֶּה וְכֹה תִדְבָּקִין עִם־נַעֲרֹתָי׃ - Boaz said to Ruth, "Have you not heard, my daughter? Do not go to glean in another field, nor pass on from here, but stay close here to my maidens."
The Vilna Gaon explains: Boaz is telling her, see how you hear and see how they praise you here, what wonderful things they say on your behalf - qualities that make you worthy of me taking you as a wife. This connects to the explanation of the Malbim: when Boaz arrived and saw the large quantity she had gleaned, he wondered in his heart whether she had taken from the sheaves something she was not permitted to take. Then the young foreman, his worker, came and explained to him that everything she did was completely legitimate and permitted, and that she had taken nothing forbidden. Boaz therefore says to her: "Have you not heard, my daughter?" - do you see how favorably you are judged here, how they speak in your defense? Therefore, "do not go to glean in another field," for there they might not be pleased with you and might not give you the benefit of the doubt.
And what is added by "and do not depart from here"? To this Boaz says: do not move even within my own fields. For I have many fields, and you might think: Boaz respects me, so I will go to another one of his fields. He tells her: no. Stay in this specific field, for it may be that the supervisor there or the young men themselves will not be pleased with you, will not treat you properly, and might even disparage you. Therefore - "and do not depart from here."
Furthermore, because there was a concern regarding modesty, he adds: "and keep close here to my maidens." In the field there were both young men and young women, male and female laborers, working in two separate areas - these reaping here and those there. Boaz tells her: stay alongside the maidens, not alongside the young men. And why? Because I see that you are modest, and on the contrary - I want you to safeguard your modesty.
"And When You Are Thirsty, Go and Drink" - Special Privileges with the Water of Bethlehem
עֵינַיִךְ בַּשָּׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר־יִקְצֹרוּן וְהָלַכְתְּ אַחֲרֵיהֶן הֲלוֹא צִוִּיתִי אֶת־הַנְּעָרִים לְבִלְתִּי נׇגְעֵךְ וְצָמִת וְהָלַכְתְּ אֶל־הַכֵּלִים וְשָׁתִית מֵאֲשֶׁר יִשְׁאֲבוּן הַנְּעָרִים׃ - "Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn."
"Let your eyes be on the field that they reap" - referring to the maidens; "and go after them" - follow the maidens. And do not fear that the young men might take offense and say to you: Why are you going over there? Is it not good for you to glean near us? Did we do you any harm? To this he reassures her: "Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you?" - I have instructed them not to say anything to you and not to reprove you for leaving their area and going over to the side of the maidens.
And not only that, but he grants her an additional privilege not given to others: "And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn." For otherwise, what is the novelty? It would have been sufficient to write "and when you are thirsty, drink"; furthermore, would water ever be withheld from a thirsty pauper? Rather, the Malbim explains: David said, "Who will give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate?" - the plain meaning being that there was exceptionally pure and crystal-clear water there, unique water from the well of Bethlehem. And "by the gate" was the seat of the Sanhedrin, for Bethlehem was the seat of the Sanhedrin, and they would not allow the young women to come and draw water from there, because it was not modest for maidens to come draw water at the place where the Sanhedrin sat - rather, only the young men drew water from there.
And because it was a great exertion to go all the way there and bring it back, they would not give this special water to paupers; a pauper is told: go to the nearby well. Boaz therefore tells her: I am granting you a special privilege, that you may drink from the vessels drawn by the young men - from the special water brought from the well of Bethlehem, and not from what the maidens draw from a nearby source, which is not nearly as fine.
"Why Have I Found Favor in Your Eyes" - Rut's Fallen Countenance
וַתִּפֹּל עַל־פָּנֶיהָ וַתִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו מַדּוּעַ מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ לְהַכִּירֵנִי וְאָנֹכִי נׇכְרִיָּה׃ - She fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should single me out, seeing that I am a foreigner?"
Rut is asking: If I find such favor in your eyes, it must be either on account of myself, that you saw something worthy in me, or on account of my family, that you know my relatives. She therefore opened with, "Why have I found favor in your eyes" - what good did you see in me on my own merit? And concerning the second possibility, she said, "seeing that I am a foreigner" - I have no family here at all; my husband died, my father is Eglon - from where would you know me? It turns out, then, that it is neither on my own account nor on account of my family.
Others explain further: "Why have I found favor in your eyes" - if your intention is for marriage, surely I am a foreigner. And from where do we know that marriage is implied? From the words of the Gemara, "the charm of a woman is upon her husband." To this she says: Who would want a foreign woman, a convert with no distinguished lineage, and certainly not you, a judge and a distinguished leader? Furthermore, I am a Moabitess - from the nation that did not greet you with bread and water - yet you tell me: Come and glean bread, go and drink water. What reason did you see to treat me this way?
The Vilna Gaon explains wonderfully: As is known, when a person's expectations are dashed, their face falls, as was said to Kayin, "Why has your face fallen?" Initially, Rut heard encouraging words, the speech of one who speaks with honor and intends to marry her - "Behold, you see that the youths say you are fitting for me," and similar hints. Yet in the end, instead of taking her as a wife, he sends her to glean among the maidens. This was a deferred hope yielding nothing. This is the meaning of what she said: "Why have I found favor in your eyes to recognize me" - "favor" refers to the charm of a woman upon her husband, and "to recognize me" means to take me as a wife; "seeing that I am a foreigner" - but in the end I see that you treat me as a foreigner, sending me to glean in the field. Therefore, "she fell on her face" - expressing anguish, that very falling of the countenance, for her hopes had been disappointed.
Boaz's Response: The Deeds, the Conversion, and the Halachic Uncertainty
וַיַּעַן בֹּעַז וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ הֻגֵּד הֻגַּד לִי כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂית אֶת־חֲמוֹתֵךְ אַחֲרֵי מוֹת אִישֵׁךְ וַתַּעַזְבִי אָבִיךְ וְאִמֵּךְ וְאֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתֵּךְ וַתֵּלְכִי אֶל־עַם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַעַתְּ תְּמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם׃ - Boaz answered and said to her, "I have been fully told of all that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and went to a people you did not know yesterday or the day before."
Boaz replies: The reason I initially hinted at my desire to marry you was because I heard about your extraordinary deeds and the conversion you undertook. However, once I heard that you left your nation, your father, your mother, and your homeland - and your nation is Moav, while the Torah states, "An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter the congregation of Hashem," and the youth indeed told me, "She is a Moabite maiden" - I was cast into doubt as to whether you are permitted to me. Therefore, in the meantime, I told you to glean among the maidens and stay here, as a sign that my intentions regarding you have not been abandoned, but merely require halachic clarification.
As we will see later, the halachah of "a Moabite male, but not a Moabite female" had not yet been fully clarified at that time, and the ruling was tenuous in their hands. Boaz had to convene the Sanhedrin and the Sages so that they could establish the halachah clearly. Even this was not sufficient, for in the days of David this halachah again became uncertain in their hands, and only after David's era was it firmly established, making it clear to all that a Moabite woman is permitted to enter the congregation.
The Malbim explains: Boaz enumerates two reasons here why she found favor in his eyes. The first - "I have been fully told of all that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband," which testifies to the goodness of her character and the kindness of her heart. For typically, a daughter-in-law feels resentment toward her mother-in-law, and especially after the husband's death, when she no longer feels any obligation: as long as my husband was alive, I was compelled to honor her for his sake, but once he has died, what do I have to do with you? Yet you, not only did you harbor no resentment toward your mother-in-law, but even after your husband's death you went and supported her, and this is no simple matter at all.
And the second - "and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and went to a people you did not know yesterday or the day before": you converted purely for the sake of Hashem, without any personal benefit or gain. Here you came to be an impoverished, solitary woman, when you could have been a princess, returning to your father and mother's house in the royal palace - yet you left it all behind. This is the proof that your conversion was truly for the sake of Heaven.
The Chiddush of the Minchat Chinuch: "You Shall Not Seek Their Peace nor Their Prosperity"
The Minchat Chinuch introduces a major novel insight. There is a negative prohibition in the Torah regarding an Ammonite and a Moabite: "You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days." The Minchat Chinuch asserts two points: first, that this prohibition remains in force even after they convert - if an Ammonite or a Moabite converts, "You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity" still applies. Second, it applies to women as well. Although the Sages expounded, "An Ammonite shall not enter" - an Ammonite male, but not an Ammonite female, meaning an Ammonitess is permitted to enter the congregation - nevertheless, regarding "You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity," there is no distinction between male and female, and it is forbidden even toward a female convert. The essence of "You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity" is that one must not perform actions that express goodwill toward them or assist and support them, but rather keep one's distance from them all one's days.
The Question of Rabbi Yechezkel Aschayek and the Answer of Rabbi Eliyahu Baruch Finkel
Rav Shach writes in his work Avi Ezri (Hilchot Melachim 6:6): One of the yeshiva students, the esteemed Rabbi Yechezkel Aschayek - who would later serve as Rav Shach's personal attendant for many years - posed a formidable question while still a young yeshiva student: the position of the Minchat Chinuch is seemingly contradicted by Megillat Rut! For here we see how abundantly Boaz bestows kindness upon Ruth: telling her not to go to glean in another field, to glean only here, telling her to go and drink if she is thirsty, giving her bread, handing her parched grain, letting her dip her bread in vinegar, and commanding the young men not to humiliate her. Yet this should have been forbidden to him whichever way one looks at it: if you maintain that it is forbidden even if she converted - she had converted; and if you maintain that it is forbidden even to a woman - she was a woman. Both novel rulings combined create an outright contradiction in our case: had you said only that it is forbidden toward a convert but permitted toward a woman, it would be understandable; had you said only that it is forbidden toward a woman who remains a gentile, but permitted toward a convert, it would also be understandable. But if both a woman and a convert are forbidden, how could Boaz treat Ruth this way? It is a tremendous difficulty.
One summer zman, Rabbi Eliyahu Baruch Finkel met Rav Shach in the Ponevezh Yeshiva and told him: I have a resolution to the question you cited in the name of Rabbi Yechezkel Aschayek, based on the Hagahot Maimoniyot. The Hagahot Maimoniyot distinguishes between derishat shalom (initiating goodwill) and tashlumei shalom (reciprocating goodwill). Initiating goodwill occurs when a person has done nothing for me and I suddenly shower benevolence upon him - that is forbidden. But reciprocating goodwill, where he has helped me and provided for me and I am repaying him, is permitted. This is a clear distinction that is also evident regarding the prohibition of lo techonem, which forbids giving a free gift to a gentile. How, then, may one give a gift to an Arab worker on his holidays? Because it is not an unearned gift, but rather like sending a tribute in exchange for service - reciprocating a benefit. Giving an arbitrary gift to a gentile on the street is forbidden, but giving one to a worker employed by me, whereby I strengthen the working relationship and encourage his diligence on the job, presents no problem.
According to this, Rabbi Eliyahu Baruch continued, everything is beautifully understood: Boaz was permitted to repay Ruth's kindness, for Naomi was Boaz's relative, and who had performed chessed with his relative? Ruth, who accompanied her, cared for her, and fed her. It turns out that this was not initiating goodwill, but reciprocating goodwill, and reciprocating goodwill is permitted - I am obligated to repay her for all the goodness she bestows upon my kinswoman. And Rav Shach accepted this resolution.
Ruth Herself Asked the Question - and Boaz Provided the Answer
Rabbi Eliyahu Baruch added: The young Yechezkel Aschayek, in his wonderful question, was actually intuiting the very thought of Ruth the Moabitess herself, for it was she who raised this exact difficulty! See how beautifully this aligns with the verses. After Boaz permits her to glean and showers her with benevolence, she falls on her face and asks: "Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, seeing that I am a foreigner?" Now seemingly, she had converted - why did she refer to herself as a foreigner? Rather, this was her question: According to the law that one must not seek their peace and prosperity, which applies to women and even after conversion, I am considered a foreigner in this regard, and it is forbidden to seek my welfare and do good to me - so how can you treat me so favorably?
The Targum states this explicitly: "Ve'ana me'ama nuchra'ah mibnatehon deMoav" - I am from a foreign nation, from the daughters of Moab. Even though the daughters of Moab are permitted to enter the congregation, it is nevertheless forbidden to seek their welfare. This is the idea: I am from the daughters of Moab, so why are you treating me with such kindness?
To this Boaz replies: "I have been fully told all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband" - in other words, he responds to her with the principle of the Hagahot Maimoniyot: it is permitted to do good to someone who has done good for you. I was told of what you did for my relative, your mother-in-law, after your husband died; thus, you performed a kindness for my kinswoman, and everything I am doing for you is nothing other than reciprocating that kindness, which is entirely permitted. It turns out that not only is there no contradiction from Megillat Rut, but quite the contrary - the verses of the Megillah serve as support and proof for both the Minchat Chinuch and the Hagahot Maimoniyot alike. It is related that Rav Shach's face beamed with joy upon hearing this, to the point that onlookers said they could not remember him ever praising a Torah thought so enthusiastically, and that he took Rabbi Eliyahu Baruch by the hand and danced with him all the way from the yeshiva to his home, in immense rejoicing over this marvelous insight into Megillat Rut.
"May Hashem Repay Your Work, and May Your Reward Be Complete"
יְשַׁלֵּם יְהֹוָה פׇּעֳלֵךְ וּתְהִי מַשְׂכֻּרְתֵּךְ שְׁלֵמָה מֵעִם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר־בָּאת לַחֲסוֹת תַּחַת־כְּנָפָיו׃ - May Hashem repay your deed, and may your reward be complete from Hashem, the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to take refuge.
Seemingly there is a redundancy here: if "May Hashem repay your work," then naturally "may your reward be complete"! Rather, the Malbim explains: "May Hashem repay your work" corresponds to what you did for your mother-in-law; "and may your reward be complete from Hashem, the God of Israel" corresponds to your conversion. Hashem is the God of Israel, Who watches over Israel, and not over Israel alone but also over the converts who attach themselves to them. The name of Israel is already upon you, for "you have come to take refuge under His wings" - and if so, you too are a part of Israel, and your reward shall be complete.
The Midrash of Rabbi Chasa: The Pieceworker and the Salaried Worker
The Midrash states: Rabbi Chasa said, "Under Whose wings you have come to take refuge [lachasot]." This is a wondrous Midrash: aside from the wordplay between his name and the teaching quoted in his name, what did Rabbi Chasa add to what is already stated in the verse itself?
The Malbim explains: there is a difference between wages and payment for a task, and between a salaried worker [sachir] and a pieceworker [po'el]. A po'el is a craftsman who receives payment for his specific output - a tailor is paid per suit, not by time, and likewise one who fashions a vessel is paid per vessel; this is known as payment for an action. A sachir, on the other hand, is hired for a set period of time: a month, a year, or even several years, like Rabbi Akiva who worked as a hired laborer for three years. A hired worker receives his salary whether he performed work at every moment or not. At the end of the day, an employer cannot tell his hired worker, "You did nothing for twenty minutes, so I will deduct that from your wage" - for the worker can rightly answer: "I was present for you to assign me work; my entire day was dedicated to your service, and I set aside my time for you." By contrast, a pieceworker is paid strictly according to what he produced.
Now, for each and every mitzvah a person performs, he receives a reward - and this is in the category of a po'el, who is paid for each distinct deed: you donned tefillin, receive a reward, just as when a tailor finishes a suit, he receives payment. Therefore Boaz says to her, "May Hashem reward your deed [po'olech]": for each and every mitzvah you fulfill, you will receive its own individual reward. But beyond that - "and may your salary be complete [u-tehi maskurteich sheleimah]": for the very fact that you took upon yourself to be a hired servant to Hashem from now on, dedicating your entire being to Him and converting. Until now she was a gentile, living solely for herself; from now on she subordinates herself to her Creator and accepts all the mitzvot upon herself, becoming like a hired hand to Hashem all the days of her life. For this, she deserves a continuous and complete salary, just as a hired worker receives wages even for a day when no work was assigned - simply for having reported in the morning and declared: "Here I am, ready to work."
This is what Rabbi Chasa meant by citing, "Under Whose wings you have come to take refuge": for what does she deserve a complete salary? For the very act of coming. Just as a hired worker deserves a full day's wage simply for reporting to work, having set aside his time and arrived, so too Rut deserves a complete wage for the very fact that she came to take refuge, dedicating herself unconditionally to the service of Hashem. And beyond that - "May Hashem reward your deed," so that you do not think that this is all; rather, you will also receive additional reward for each and every action, over and above the overarching reward for "having come to take refuge."
Why Is Reward Due for Mitzvot at All?
The Malbim raises a fundamental question: ostensibly, when a person performs Hashem's commandments, he does not deserve any reward at all. For if one is privileged to serve the supreme, exalted King, and through that service attains an exalted stature, acquires perfection for his soul, and is uplifted - that itself is the greatest reward there could possibly be! What more could one need? The very perfection he acquired in his soul, and the sheer privilege of being a servant who stands before the King on High, are the highest and greatest reward.
Imagine this: someone arrives at the home of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, and an announcement is made that someone is needed to prepare a cup of tea for the Rav - who is ready to step up? Before the sentence could even be completed, ten cups would already be standing ready. If they were told, "Wait, no one mentioned anything about payment," they would answer: "Payment? I would pay a thousand shekels for such a privilege!" A person can appreciate such an indirect privilege from a real incident: a visitor at Rav Chaim Kanievsky's home was asked if he was driving toward a certain destination. Since he had a car, he agreed. He was told that the Rebbetzin needed a ride, and she asked: "Are you willing to wait a minute while I prepare a cup of tea for the Rav?" He answered: "Of course, without question!" and waited. It turned out that he merited, even indirectly, to facilitate making a cup of tea for Rav Chaim Kanievsky. And if one is willing to pay just to do a favor for a great person, how much more so is serving the Creator of the universe the greatest privilege imaginable! Why, then, should one receive a salary for fulfilling the mitzvot? Yet the Torah repeatedly promises: "so that it will be good for you," "so that your days will be prolonged," promise upon promise. It is astonishing - after all, "the reward of a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself," which is the greatest reward a person could ever receive.
Rather, the Malbim explains, one who truly understands this requires no promises at all; he needs neither payment nor salary, performing the mitzvot purely for their own sake. However, there are many of limited perception who do not grasp this, viewing Torah and mitzvot as a burden, a hardship, and exhausting labor - and they must be compensated with promises of reward. But a person of spiritual stature needs no promises; even if told that performing each mitzvah incurred a fine or a penalty, he would still pursue the mitzvot, saying: "I am willing to pay to fulfill a mitzvah," for he recognizes what perfection he is acquiring for his soul.
According to this, the verse is understood: "May Hashem reward your deed" - He will grant you the reward for your specific actions. But in truth, you do not need promises of reward, for "may your salary be complete from Hashem" - the primary, complete reward is "under Whose wings you have come to take refuge." This is the greatest attainment you have acquired, and this is the ultimate reward: that you were privileged to draw close to Hashem. And this is what Rabbi Chasa meant by citing, "Under Whose wings you have come to take refuge" - what is the primary reward? It is the very fact that you came to take refuge, having acquired spiritual perfection and merited to serve the King.
The Vilna Gaon's Explanation: A Convert Can Demand Reward
The Vilna Gaon offers a third explanation. A born Jew who serves Hashem does not serve in order to receive a reward, because he is obligated from the outset: his very body belongs to Hashem, as it says, "For to Me the Children of Israel are servants" (Vayikra 25:55), and the Holy One, blessed be He, states that He took us out of the land of Egypt so that we would be His servants. Were it not for that, we, our children, and our children's children would still be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt. Consequently, we cannot demand a wage - we are servants of Hashem.
However, one who was not in Egypt and whose ancestors were not redeemed from there, but rather is a convert - who was a gentile and nevertheless came and converted - such a person can indeed ask for reward, and it is rightfully owed to him. He can say: "I was under no obligation whatsoever; I was not redeemed; I owe nothing to anyone; and yet, I came and observed." This does not mean, Heaven forbid, that a born Jew receives no reward - he certainly does, but he cannot claim it strictly as a legal entitlement, and receiving it is an act of loving-kindness; whereas a convert can make a rightful claim.
According to this, Boaz's words are well understood: "May Hashem repay your deed, and may your wage be full" - you certainly will be able to ask for reward, and why? "Since you have come to take refuge under His wings." If an ordinary person asks for the reward of his deeds and a full wage, he is told: You have no inherent right to demand anything. But you - you can demand a wage, for you were not part of the Jewish people and you came on your own initiative. And this is what Rabbi Chasa meant: "Since you have come to take refuge under His wings." For he was troubled by the question: Why did Boaz need to tell her that Hashem would pay her reward? Is this not obvious, as the Mishnah states: "Your Employer is trustworthy to pay you the reward of your labor"? Rather, he came to tell her: You deserve reward as a matter of strict justice, and you can rightfully claim it - because you came to take refuge.
"And May Your Wage Be Full [Shelemah]" - Shlomo
By way of homiletical allusion, it is said: "And may your wage be full [shelemah]" - do not read it as shelemah, but as Shelomoh (Solomon). What was the wage of Ruth who came and converted? That King Solomon descended from her. It is written that she was the "mother of royalty," and she was granted wondrous longevity: from the era of the judging of the judges until the days of Solomon sitting on his royal throne, a very long period - and the throne beside him, "and he set a throne for the king's mother," refers to Ruth the Moabitess. This is the meaning of "and may your wage be Shelomoh."
"Under His Wings" - The Level of Converts
And what is meant by "since you have come to take refuge under His wings"? As is known from the Zohar, converts dwell under the wings of the Shechinah, whereas the people of Israel are above the wings of the Shechinah, as their spiritual level is higher. For this reason, many wonder about the text recited in the memorial prayer (hashkavah), "under the wings of the Shechinah, in the elevated ranks of the holy ones" - why "under," when Israel is above the wings of the Shechinah? Here, however, since Ruth was a convert, Boaz addressed her with precise terminology: you have come to take refuge under His wings.
In summary:
In these verses, the full depth of their encounter is revealed: Boaz instructs Ruth to remain specifically in his field and alongside the young women, out of concern that people judge her favorably and that her modesty be preserved, and he even grants her the special privilege of drinking from the choice water drawn from the well of Bethlehem. Ruth, for her part, falls on her face in distress and wonder - both because she lacks lineage and family, and because of the prohibition against showing favor to a Moabite woman. Boaz responds with two points: her kindness toward her mother-in-law, which represents a permissible repayment of gratitude, and her conversion, which was done purely for the sake of Heaven. In his blessing, "May Hashem repay your deed, and may your wage be full," are included both the reward for each individual mitzvah and the complete wage of a hired worker who has dedicated herself entirely to the Creator. And Rabbi Chasa teaches us the ultimate message: "Since you have come to take refuge" - the very privilege of taking refuge under the wings of the Shechinah, the very closeness to Hashem, is itself the fullest and most perfect reward.