Reading Rus and earning the geulah through Torah

קריאת רות בחג השבועות.

The reading of Megillas Rus on the festival of Shavuos.

The Sefas Emes opens by addressing why we read Rus specifically on Shavuos.

עפ"י הפסוק והי' כו' אם יגאלך טוב כו' כמ"ש בעתה אחישנה.

It is based on the pasuk "And it shall be… if he will redeem you, good…", as it is written, "in its time I will hasten it."

In Rus, Boaz tells her that if the closer redeemer "will redeem — good," and if not, Boaz will. The Sefas Emes links this "tov (good)" to the words of Yeshayahu about the geulah, which can come either "in its time" or be "hastened."

ורצון הבורא ית' שיהיה גאולה העתידה בכח התורה ומצות לא בחנם.

And the will of the Creator is that the future geulah should come through the power of Torah and mitzvos — not "for free."

Hashem's desire is that the final redemption be earned through our Torah and mitzvos ("achishenah" — hastened by our zechus), rather than arriving unearned simply when its set time comes.

ואם יהי' כן יהי' שמחה יתירה.

And if it will be so, there will be added simcha.

A geulah earned through our own avodah carries an extra measure of joy, since we will have had a share in bringing it.

לכן כתיב והי' לשון שמחה.

Therefore it is written "v'hayah," which is a term of simcha.

Chazal teach that "v'hayah" always connotes joy; its use here hints at the heightened joy of a redemption brought about through Torah.

לכן צריכין בחג הזה להתעורר להתחזק בהתורה לזכות לגאולה ע"י התורה שנק' טוב.

Therefore on this festival we must arouse ourselves to strengthen in Torah, in order to merit the geulah through the Torah, which is called "tov (good)."

Shavuos, the time of Matan Torah, is the moment to renew our grip on Torah — called "tov" — and thereby become worthy of the redemption it can bring.

כי יום זה הקב"ה זוכר בנו.

For on this day the Holy One remembers us.

Shavuos is a day on which Hashem recalls Bnei Yisrael with special favor.

ממשמע שצוה לנו שלא לשכוח זה היום כדכתיב פן תשכח כו' יום אשר עמדת לפני ה' אלקיך בחורב.

This is implied from His commanding us not to forget this day, as it is written, "Lest you forget… the day you stood before Hashem your God at Chorev."

The Torah's warning not to forget the day of standing at Sinai implies that the day itself is one of mutual remembrance — we remember it below, and Hashem remembers us through it.

כענין שכ' בזוה"ק ע"פ חי ה' אשר עמדתי לפניו באליהו הנביא ופי' בזוה"ק אשר עמדתי לפניו קודם שנשתלחה נשמתו לעוה"ז ע"ש.

This is like what the Zohar writes on the pasuk "As Hashem lives, before whom I stood," regarding Eliyahu HaNavi — and the Zohar explains "before whom I stood" to mean before his neshamah was sent down to this world (see there).

The Zohar reads Eliyahu's "I stood before Him" as referring to his soul's prior standing before Hashem, before it descended into the world — a primordial "standing before Hashem" of the neshamah.

כמו כן כללות ישראל שעלה לפניו במחשבה בזכות מה שהיו עתידין ביום הזה לקבל התורה

Likewise, the totality of Klal Yisrael arose before Him in thought, in the merit of their being destined on this day to receive the Torah.

The collective neshamah of Bnei Yisrael "arose in the Divine thought" at the root of creation precisely because of their future acceptance of the Torah on Shavuos — so this day too is bound up with our standing before Hashem from before.

לכן צריכין לזכור בכל יום מתן תורה מכש"כ שנזכר לפניו במרום זה היום.

Therefore we must remember Matan Torah every day — all the more so, this day is remembered before Him on high.

Since the day is so deeply rooted above, we are obligated to keep the memory of Sinai alive every day, and certainly Hashem keeps this day in remembrance in the upper worlds.

והאמת כפי הזכירה למטה כן מתעורר ביותר הזכירה לפניו ית'.

And the truth is, according to the measure of remembrance below, so is the remembrance before Him aroused all the more.

There is a reciprocal dynamic: the more we cherish and remember Sinai down here, the more we awaken Hashem's remembrance of us Above.

לכן יש לנו לקוות ביום הזה להיות נברא בו אורו של משיח הקדוש שיבוא במהרה בימינו אמן כי"ר:

Therefore we may hope on this day that the light of the holy Mashiach be created within it, who should come speedily in our days, amen, may it be His will.

Because Shavuos awakens such powerful remembrance Above, it is a fitting day to hope that the light of Mashiach be drawn into the world and the geulah hastened.

Summary: We read Rus on Shavuos because of its theme of redemption "if he will redeem — good," tied to the geulah that Hashem desires be earned through Torah and mitzvos rather than granted unearned. Such a redemption brings added simcha (hinted by "v'hayah"), so Shavuos is the time to strengthen in Torah. The day is one of mutual remembrance — rooted in Klal Yisrael's neshamos standing before Hashem from before creation in the merit of receiving the Torah — and the more we remember it below, the more it awakens Hashem's remembrance above, making it a fitting day to hope for the light of Mashiach.