The Holiday Table Is Set
Questions for reflection and conversation around the Shavuot table, adapted for various age groups
Need a little extra flavor? Draw on the sources below to spark a rich and meaningful discussion!
On Kindness and Generosity (for children, kindergarten through 5th grade)
What does it mean to be kind? How can we show kindness, and to whom? What was the great act of kindness that Ruth showed Naomi? And what was the great act of kindness that Boaz showed Ruth?
A question to think about: How can you show kindness? Where, and to whom?
On Kindness in a Social Context (for teens)
The world stands on three things: Torah, service, and acts of loving kindness. What makes kindness so significant that it is one of the three pillars of the world? Is there a connection between Torah, service, and kindness, or does each stand on its own?
What are the five “gifts to the poor” mentioned in Jewish tradition? Which of these appear in the Book of Ruth?
What can we learn from Boaz’s instruction to his workers to allow Ruth to glean even beyond the standard gifts?
Which commandment is mentioned most often in the Torah? (Loving the stranger, 36 times.) Why does the Torah repeat it so many times? Does this commandment fall under the category of kindness? If so, what does that kind of kindness mean? What is the connection between this commandment and Boaz’s instruction regarding Ruth?
A question to think about: Where in your life can you show kindness to people who may feel like “outsiders”?
“Who Is Rich? One Who Is Happy with Their Portion” (for family discussion)
The Book of Ruth mentions the great wealth of Elimelech’s family, and how he chose to turn his back on his community.
What are the sources indicating that each of the three patriarchs was very wealthy? Is wealth a good thing? What does it really mean to be rich? And how does that connect to the idea that “the truly rich person is one who is content with what they have”?
What is money really for? How do we use it wisely, and who is in control: us or the money?
What was the meaningful “investment” made in the Book of Ruth? Who invested, in what, and what was the return?
A follow-up question: What makes a loan a wise one, and when does a loan become a risk?
A question to think about: How do we teach ourselves and our children to manage money well?
Additional Sources for Enriching the Conversation
On Kindness (for children)
“Shimon the Righteous was among the last of the Great Assembly. He used to say: On three things the world stands: on Torah, on service, and on acts of loving kindness.” (Pirkei Avot 1:2)
“For I said: the world is built on kindness; the heavens, You establish Your faithfulness in them.” (Psalms 89:3)
“Were it not for acts of loving kindness, the world could not endure for even a single hour.” (Midrash, Otiyot DeRabbi Akiva)
“Rabbi Akiva says: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ is a great principle of the Torah.” (Bereishit Rabbah 24:7)
“Acts of loving kindness are greater than charity, for loving kindness can be done with one’s body or one’s resources, for the poor or the wealthy, for the living or the deceased.” (Tractate Sotah 49b)
On Kindness in a Social Context (for teens)
Rabbi Simlai taught: Torah begins with acts of loving kindness and ends with acts of loving kindness. It begins with kindness, as it is written: “God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” And it ends with kindness, as it is written: “He buried him in the valley.” (Sotah 14a)
This teaches us that kindness is not only financial or material help. Kindness is the ability to truly understand another person’s situation and help them through it, without judgment, without holding their past against them, and without concern for one’s own honor or reputation. That is how God acted toward Adam and Eve, who brought their situation upon themselves. And that is how God acted in burying Moses.
Kindness does not have to take a physical form. Even a kind word or a warm smile that lifts someone’s spirits is an act of kindness, and a fulfillment of the command to “walk in God’s ways.”
“Rabbi Yochanan said: One who shows another person a bright smile does more for them than one who gives them milk to drink.” (Ketubot 111b)
The point is this: a genuine smile, a kind word, a moment of warmth; these are among the most meaningful ways we can connect with one another. They cost nothing and mean everything.
“Why did Boaz ask, ‘Whose young woman is this?’ Did he not recognize her? Rather, because he noticed something graceful in her manner: while all the other women bent down to glean, she sat and gleaned. While others gathered from between the sheaves, she gathered only from what was left in the open. While others laughed with the harvesters, she kept to herself. ‘She sat beside the harvesters,’ and not among them. She would take two stalks, but not three.” (Yalkut Shimoni, Ruth)
“Do not wrong one another.” This refers to verbal wrongdoing. For example: if someone has changed their ways, do not say to them, ‘Remember what you used to do.’ If someone is the child of converts, do not say to them, ‘Remember what your ancestors did.'” (Bava Metzia 58b)
“Who Is Rich? One Who Is Happy with Their Portion” (for family discussion)
On the patriarchs and wealth:
Abraham: “Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.” (Genesis 13:2) Isaac: “Isaac sowed in that land and reaped a hundredfold that year, for God blessed him.” (Genesis 26:12) Jacob: “God has greatly blessed my master, and he has become prosperous. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels and donkeys.” (Genesis 24:35) Moses: Moses became wealthy only from the fragments of the tablets. As it is written, “Carve for yourself,” meaning: what is carved away is yours. (Talmud, Nedarim 38a)
From Pirkei Avot (2:1): “Go out and see which is the right path for a person to follow. Rabbi Eliezer says: a generous eye. Rabbi Yehoshua says: a good friend. Rabbi Yossi says: a good neighbor. Rabbi Shimon says: one who sees the consequences of their actions. Rabbi Elazar says: a good heart… Go out and see which is the wrong path from which a person should distance themselves… Rabbi Shimon says: one who borrows and does not repay.”
Rabbi Shimon’s wisdom here is worth sitting with. He tells us that the right path belongs to the person who thinks ahead: who looks at what they have now, considers what they still need, and sets clear priorities. A person like this can genuinely feel rich, because they are the ones choosing what to do with their money, based on their own values rather than outside pressure. When you have a plan, social pressure and impulse spending have far less power over you. You are in the driver’s seat.
And the wrong path? Borrowing without the ability to repay. Rabbi Shimon is not saying that taking a loan is always wrong. Loans can be tools for growth: to start a business, to bridge a gap, to move forward. But taking on debt without checking whether you can repay it, without understanding the interest, without asking whether it will actually improve your situation, that is a sign that something needs to change. In our personal lives, if we want something we cannot afford, the answer is not to borrow from friends. The wiser path is to work, to save, and then to buy.
“Happy is the person who is gracious and lends, who conducts their affairs with justice.” (Psalms 112:5)
