Torah as the engine of redemption

בענין קריאת רות בעצרת דאיתא בס' אוה"ח בפסוק אם שמוע תשמעו בקולי כו' והייתם לי סגולה.

Regarding the reading of Megillas Rus on Shavuos: the Ohr HaChaim explains on the verse "If you will surely listen to My voice… and you shall be to Me a treasure" (Shemos 19:5).

The Sefas Emes opens with the question of why we read Rus on Shavuos, drawing on the Ohr HaChaim's comment on the posuk where Hashem promises that if Bnei Yisrael keep His Torah they will become His treasured nation (segulah).

כי יכולין לקבץ ניצוצי קדושה המפוזרים בכח התורה ואין צריך להיות ע"י פיזור הגלות ע"ש.

For through the power of Torah one is able to gather in the scattered nitzotzos kedushah (holy sparks), and there is no need for this to come about through the scattering of galus (exile).

The Ohr HaChaim teaches that the holy sparks dispersed throughout the world can be collected purely through the strength of Torah study. When Bnei Yisrael learn Torah properly, they need not be scattered into exile in order to gather those sparks.

וז"ש אנכי כו' אשר הוצאתיך.

This is the meaning of "Anochi… who took you out" (I am Hashem… who brought you out of Mitzrayim).

The opening words of the Aseres HaDibros tie the giving of the Torah directly to the redemption from Mitzrayim, hinting that the Torah itself is the engine of geulah.

כי בכח התורה יכולין לבוא לגאולה.

For through the power of Torah one can come to geulah (redemption).

Torah is not only the goal of the redemption but the very means of achieving it; learning Torah draws down the geulah.

וכמ"ש לעיל פי' אין לך בן חורין אלא העוסק בתורה.

As was explained above, this is the meaning of "There is no free man except one who occupies himself with Torah" (Avos 6:2).

True freedom — cheirus — is found only in Torah, since Torah is what releases a person from the constraints of exile and the yetzer hara.

ולכן סומכין גאולת בן דוד העתידה ליום מתן תורה.

Therefore we associate the future redemption of Ben David (the Mashiach) with the day of Matan Torah.

Because Torah is the source of geulah, Chazal link the coming of Mashiach, descendant of Dovid, to Shavuos, the day the Torah was given.

שרוצין שיהי' הגאולה בכח התורה וכמ"ש במ"א פי' אם יגאלך טוב שהוא בכח התורה שנק' לקח טוב.

For we want the geulah to come through the power of Torah, as was explained elsewhere on the verse "If he will redeem you, good" (Rus 3:13) — that this "good" is the power of Torah, which is called "a good acquisition" (lekach tov).

The word "tov" (good) in Boaz's promise to redeem Rus hints at Torah, which Chazal call a "good acquisition." Our deepest desire is that the final redemption come about through Torah rather than through suffering.

ונראה שלכן נחשב אל אלימלך לחטא מה שהלך לחוץ לארץ הגם שנבנה מזה מלכות בית דוד ומלך המשיח.

It appears that for this reason it was reckoned a sin to Elimelech that he left Eretz Yisrael, even though from this very episode the kingship of the house of Dovid and the Melech HaMashiach were ultimately built.

Elimelech's departure from Eretz Yisrael to Moav set in motion the chain of events that produced Rus, Dovid HaMelech, and eventually Mashiach. Yet leaving the Land was still counted as a sin, despite the great good that came from it.

אך שהי' צריך לתקן כל זה ע"י התורה ולא ע"י הליכה בגלות ואז הי' התיקון בשלימות יותר כדברי האוה"ח הנ"ל:

The point is that all this should have been rectified through Torah and not through going into exile, and then the tikkun (rectification) would have been more complete — in accordance with the words of the Ohr HaChaim cited above.

The sparks of kedushah hidden in Moav that produced the royal line could have been gathered through Torah alone, without Elimelech going into galus. Had it been accomplished that way, the rectification would have been whole and perfect, without the loss and suffering that exile entails.

Summary: We read Megillas Rus on Shavuos because Torah is the true engine of redemption: it gathers the scattered holy sparks without requiring the pain of galus. This is why the future geulah of Mashiach is linked to Matan Torah, and why Elimelech's choice to leave Eretz Yisrael — though it ultimately produced the Davidic dynasty — was still a flaw, since the same tikkun could have been achieved more perfectly through Torah.