Torah as the reviving power of chesed

וענין קריאת רות בשבועות כי מצות יבום הוא חסד שעושין עם המת והוא בכח התורה שנקראת עץ חיים ויש בה טל של תחיה כמ"ש חז"ל אין לך אות בתורה שאין בה להחיות מתים אלא שאין אנו יודעין לדרוש.

And the matter of reading Megillas Rus on Shavuos: the mitzvah of yibum (levirate marriage) is a chesed that one performs with the dead, and it is accomplished through the power of the Torah, which is called the "Tree of Life," and which contains the tal shel techiyah (the dew of resurrection), as Chazal said: "There is no letter in the Torah that does not contain the power to revive the dead — only that we do not know how to expound it."

Yibum is a kindness done on behalf of one who has passed on, perpetuating his name. The Sefas Emes connects this to the Torah itself, which carries within it the life-force that can revive the dead. Reading Rus on Shavuos — the day the Torah was given — links the kindness of yibum to the reviving power of Torah.

ולכן איתא חסד שעושין עם המתים הוא חסד של אמת.

Therefore it is taught that the chesed one does with the dead is a "chesed shel emes" (a kindness of truth).

Such kindness is called "true" because it can never be repaid; it is done purely for the other, with no expectation of return.

הרמז שזה החסד אי אפשר לעשות רק בכח התורה שנקראת אמת.

The hint is that this chesed can only be performed through the power of the Torah, which is called "emes" (truth).

True kindness — the kind that reaches even the dead — draws its strength from the Torah, whose defining quality is truth.

וע"ז אומרים באור פניך נתת לנו כו' תורת חיים ואהבת חסד.

And concerning this we say: "In the light of Your countenance You gave us… a Torah of life and a love of kindness."

The blessing in our davening pairs "Torah of life" with "love of kindness," teaching that the Torah's life-giving power and the practice of chesed are bound together.

והעוסק בתורה לשמה ואוהב חסד יש בו כח להחיות מתים ונתקיים במעשה בועז שעשה חסד עם המת ונברא מזה מלך המשיח.

One who toils in Torah lishmah (for its own sake) and loves chesed has within him the power to revive the dead — and this was fulfilled in the deed of Boaz, who did chesed with the dead, and from this Melech HaMashiach was brought into being.

Boaz, in marrying Rus and perpetuating the name of the deceased, performed exactly this fusion of Torah and chesed — and from that union descended Dovid HaMelech and ultimately Mashiach, a literal bringing of new life out of death.

וזה הי' בכח התורה.

And this was through the power of the Torah.

Boaz's act of kindness was not merely a social gesture; it drew on the reviving force inherent in Torah.

כדאיתא בו עז.

As it is taught: "Bo-az" — "in him is oz (strength)."

The very name Boaz is read as "bo oz," "in him is strength" — a hint to the source of his power.

עוז של התורה.

The strength of the Torah.

That "oz" within Boaz was the strength of Torah itself, which is what enabled his life-giving chesed.

ולכן במתן תורה יצאה נשמתן של ישראל והתורה החזירתן להם להודיע שיש בתורה להחיות מתים.

Therefore, at Matan Torah the souls of Yisrael departed, and the Torah restored them to them — to make known that the Torah has the power to revive the dead.

Chazal teach that at Sinai the awesome force of the Divine word caused Bnei Yisrael's souls to leave them, and the Torah itself returned their souls. This was a demonstration that the Torah revives the dead.

ולכן ניתנה התורה לתחתונים כמ"ש לא תמצא בארץ החיים רק בעוה"ז השפל שיש בו מיתה ניתן התורה להחיות ישיני עפר.

And therefore the Torah was given to those below, as it says, "It is not found in the land of the living" — rather, specifically in this lowly world, where death is found, the Torah was given to revive those who sleep in the dust.

The angels argued that the Torah belonged on high, yet it was davka given to mortals in this world. Precisely because this is a world of death, the Torah's reviving power has where to take effect — to awaken "those who sleep in the dust."

והמשכיל יבין יותר:

And the discerning one will understand further.

The Sefas Emes closes by inviting the thoughtful reader to draw out the deeper implications on his own.

Summary: Reading Rus on Shavuos links the chesed shel emes of yibum to the reviving power of the Torah given that day. The Torah, called "Tree of Life" and "truth," carries the dew of resurrection; Boaz ("in him is the oz of Torah") channeled this by uniting Torah and kindness, producing the line of Mashiach. Davka in this world of death, the Torah was given to revive those who sleep in the dust.