RABBI EFREM GOLDBERG (Aish.com)
In 2007, an employee of a New Jersey Dunkin Donuts named Dustin Hoffmann (not that one) made news when the store was nearly robbed by a serial robber who jumped on the counter grabbing the cash out of the cashiers’ register. The 20-something Hoffmann fought back. Grabbing the man’s arm with one hand and a large coffee mug with another, he quickly and repeatedly smashed the crook’s head with the mug and successfully thwarted the crime.
When later asked about the incident, Hoffmann said that what galvanized him into action was YouTube: “What was going through my mind at that point,” he said, “was that the security tape is either going to show me run away and hide in the office, or whack this guy in the head, so I just grabbed the cup and clocked the guy pretty hard! There are only a few videos like that on YouTube now, so mine’s going to be the best. That’ll teach this guy!”
We traditionally assume that we read The Book of Ruth on Shavuot because the story of Ruth describes the paradigmatic convert. Ruth made the choice to join the Jewish people and to forge her destiny with ours. She is the model of “opting in” and on the holiday in which we commemorate the mass conversion of our nation at Mount Sinai, her story inspires us to embrace our Torah, our tradition and our heritage with great enthusiasm, zeal, and fervor.
Without rejecting that reason, I would like to suggest another one. The Midrash (Ruth Rabbah 5) says:
When a person does a mitzvah, he should do it with a happy heart, because if Reuven would have known that G-d would write about him, “And Reuven heard and saved him (Yosef) from their hands,” he would have brought Yosef back to his father carrying him on his shoulders. If Aaron would have known that G-d would write about him, “Behold he will come out towards you and be happy in his heart,” he would have come out with drums and musical instruments (to greet Moshe). If Boaz would have known that G-d would write about him, “And he picked for her roasted corn,” he would have served her fatted calves.)
