Shavuos: hastening redemption through Torah and prayer

ענין מגילת רות בשבועות.

The matter of Megillas Rus on Shavuos.

The Sefas Emes addresses why we read Megillas Rus specifically on the festival of Shavuos.

לבקש הגאולה בכח התורה.

It is to request the geulah (redemption) through the power of the Torah.

Rus, ancestress of Dovid HaMelech and Mashiach, is read to arouse our plea for redemption — a geulah brought about by the merit and power of Torah.

דכתיב בעתה אחישנה זכו אחישנה והוא כשיהי' הגאולה בכח התורה דכ' תוחלת ממושכה מחלה לב פי' בזוה"ק כשהשפע יורד על פי מדריגת הטבע ע"ש פ' מקץ ועץ חיים תאוה באה כשמתדבקין בעץ החיים כראוי יכולין ליגאל בכל רגע כי התורה למעלה מן הזמן ואין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה.

As it is written: "in its time… I will hasten it" — if they are worthy, "I will hasten it." And this hastening is when the geulah comes through the power of the Torah, for it is written "hope deferred makes the heart sick" — which the Zohar explains (see parashas Mikeitz) as when the shefa (Divine flow) descends according to the gradations of nature — "but desire fulfilled is a tree of life": when one cleaves properly to the Eitz HaChaim (Tree of Life), they can be redeemed at any moment, for the Torah is above time, and there is no "earlier" or "later" in the Torah.

Redemption can come either "in its time" through the slow pace of nature, or be "hastened" if we merit it. The hastened geulah comes through Torah, the "Tree of Life" that transcends time; "hope deferred" describes shefa bound by nature's slow gradations, while cleaving to the timeless Torah enables redemption to come in an instant.

זהו אם יגאלך טוב בכח התורה שנקראת טוב.

This is the meaning of "if he will redeem you, good" — through the power of the Torah, which is called "good."

Boaz's words to the closer redeemer, "if he will redeem you, tov (good)," allude to redemption through the Torah, which Chazal call "good" — the hastened geulah.

ואם לא יחפוץ כו' שכבי עד הבוקר הוא הגאולה בעתה.

"And if he does not wish… lie down until the morning" — this is the geulah "in its time."

If the swifter redemption through Torah is not attained, then one must wait "until the morning" — the redemption that arrives in its appointed time by the course of nature.

לכן בעצרת צריכין לבקש על הגאולה בכח התורה.

Therefore on Atzeres (Shavuos) we must request the geulah through the power of the Torah.

Shavuos, the time of the giving of the Torah, is the fitting occasion to pray for the hastened redemption that comes through Torah's power.

גם בכל התפלות איתא לעמוד בתפלה מתוך דברי תורה אז תאוה באה.

Also, regarding all the tefillos, it is taught to rise for prayer out of words of Torah — then "desire fulfilled comes."

One should move directly from learning Torah into davening; joining prayer to Torah brings "the fulfilled desire" — the realization of one's requests.

ומכש"כ בחג הזה צריכין לסמוך תפלה לתורה.

And all the more so on this festival we must join tefillah to Torah.

On Shavuos especially, the day of the Torah, we must bind our prayer for redemption to the Torah itself.

וכן שמעתי ממו"ז ז"ל רמז שתי הלחם לתורה ותפלה:

And so I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory, a hint that the shtei halechem (two loaves) allude to Torah and tefillah.

The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) that the two loaves brought on Shavuos symbolize Torah and prayer — the pair that together hasten the geulah.

Summary: Megillas Rus is read on Shavuos to plead for the geulah through the power of the Torah. Redemption can come either "in its time" (the slow pace of nature) or be "hastened" if we are worthy — and the hastened path is through the Torah, the timeless "Tree of Life" that transcends "earlier and later," allowing redemption at any moment. Therefore on Shavuos, the day of the Torah, we must bind our prayer to Torah — as the two loaves of Shavuos hint at the union of Torah and tefillah that brings the redemption.