and World Rectification Q: l. Is Ruth the reincarnation of the mother of Moab (the daughter of Lot)? 2. Is it logical to expect that another reincarnation of that soul will appear just before the coming of Mashiach? 3. Concerning Lot's daughters, what is the structure/condition of their souls in comparison to the current souls of born-Jews? 4. How does all the above translate in regard to current female converts? 5. Given that Moabite men are not allowed to convert and Moabite women are, does this indicate a formal recognition that those daughters of Lot were meant to be as they were, so that women might be granted spiritual deference in spite of the evil of the men that control them? I am a female convert, and these questions weigh heavy. HELP! A: A Our Sages say that the story of the daughters of Lot was in order to extract two good sparks, or portions. One is Ruth the Moabite and the other is Na'ama the Amonite. Clearly these two sparks are related to the rectification of the two daughters of Lot who gave birth to the two peoples of Moab and Amon. They erroneously thought that the entire world had been destroyed, as in the time of the Flood, and that they had to retain the existence of the human race. Their good intention, which is the good spark within them, returned as the two converts, Ruth the Moabite and Na'ama the Amonite. Mashiach, whose role is to bring the earth to its final rectification, also descends from them. All of the basic soul-roots from Adam on reincarnate in order to continue to elevate their rectification. Spiritually, there is a relation between a ba'al teshuva ("returnee") and a convert, even though the ba'al teshuva is born a Jew. His spiritual service of being lost and reestablishing his identity is a process which is similar to conversion. This is the general state of being of our generation prior to the coming of Mashiach. When Mashiach comes he will cause all righteous Jews to become ba'alei teshuva. Everyone must experience "conversion." On Shavuot, the giving of the Torah, the entire Jewish People are called converts. This is why we read Megilat Ruth on Shavuot. There is definitely something unique about female converts. This is not only with regard to Moab and Amon, where Jewish law explicitly dictates that only females may convert and immediately marry into the Congregation of Israel. The intention of King Solomon by marrying the thousand princesses of the different nations was to elevate the holy spark of those Peoples. The holy spark of every People is in the princess, the female element, of the People and not in the male element. This is because the female is primarily a receiver. All nations of the earth are relatively receivers in relation to the Jewish People.
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