Rebbetzin Esther Offengenden
She extends her palm to the poor, and her hands to the weary…
Here the reference is to a woman from Zarephath who, in order to feed the prophet Elijah, held out bread to him in her palm.
(In essence, this act was merely a physical action, an outward appearance, the form taken by the trial appointed for the widow. The prophet did not need water or bread; he was carrying out the Creator's will. This does not mean that the widow's trial was easy. Giving away her last drop of water and last bit of flour required all this woman's courage and selflessness. And as a result, the Almighty blessed her so that the flour and oil in her home never ran out).
But what do “palm” and “her hands” mean? The “palm” is what she offers a poor person in need. She extends both hands to someone who is weary and thirsty (tormented by longing). For such a person, one palm is not enough; both hands must be offered.
There is also a parallel here with Naomi, who brought Ruth to where she so fervently longed to be.
The root of the name Ruth in Hebrew means “to quench thirst.” And it is said that Naomi saw how strongly Ruth wanted to be with the Jewish people: “I will not leave; wherever you go, I will go; as you are, so am I; I will be with you and your people everywhere… Your people are my people! Your G-d is my G-d!”
One possible translation of the next verse is:
Her household does not fear snow—all of them are dressed in warm clothes...
There is another, more accurate translation. “She does not fear for her household; they are not afraid of snow, for they are all clothed in scarlet garments” (thread dyed red; wool was usually dyed this way, and woolen clothing is naturally warm).
According to tradition, this verse speaks of Rahab. A reminder for our readers: the Book of Joshua says that Rahab, who had hidden Jewish spies in her home—a home built into the city wall—helped them escape their pursuers by letting them out of the city through her window. They climbed down using a rope made of scarlet (red) thread (see chapter 2, verse 18).
As they left, the spies instructed Rahab to tie a red cord to the window. It would be a guarantee that she and her loved ones would survive when the Jews came to Jericho.
Snow is a symbol of destruction and death; it blankets everything around it in cold and numbness.
A dead person is cold. A living person is hot. Life is fire. Life is red, hot blood. Rahab's family does not fear snow; all the members of her household are dressed in red. They will not be destroyed when the city is captured.
It is also interesting to consider who the messengers she saved were. According to one opinion, they were Caleb and Pinchas (this time, the most reliable men were sent so that the tragedy of forty years earlier would not be repeated).
According to another opinion, they were Peretz and Zerach, Tamar's twins. Why? Because a red thread was tied around Zerach's little hand when he was born.
We have already mentioned that ten prophets and priests descended from Rahab. There is an opinion that it was eleven rather than ten, since Huldah, a descendant of Rahab, was also a prophetess. Incidentally, Huldah's father-in-law was named Tikvah. And Rahab calls the thread she ties to the window “tikvat chut ha-shani.”
The red thread is woolen, but that is not the only reason it provides warmth. Red is a warm color, better in winter than any other; psychologically, it is much more comfortable in bitter cold to wear clothing in warm colors.
to be continued