Crying Out Through Mesirus Nefesh

בפסוק את הנערה ע"ד א"ל צעקה בעיר כו' כ' במ"א כי זה ראי' שכל שיכולין להושע ע"י צעקה

Regarding the pasuk about the betrothed maiden — 'because she cried out in the city' (Devarim 22:24) — I have explained elsewhere that this is a proof that whenever one is able to be saved by means of crying out,

The Torah's case of the maiden who cried out in the city teaches a broad principle: the ability to be saved by crying out determines whether a person is held responsible.

כמ"ש כחן של ישראל בפה

as it is written that the strength of Bnei Yisrael lies in the mouth,

The unique power of Bnei Yisrael is the power of speech and tefillah — crying out to Hashem.

לא נחשב אונס

[failure to cry out] is not deemed an act of compulsion (oness).

Since crying out could have brought salvation, one who could have cried out is not considered to have acted under compulsion.

ובאמת בכלל ישראל בזמן המקדש היו נענים בכל עת

And in truth, the entire body of Bnei Yisrael, during the time of the Beis HaMikdash, were answered at every moment.

When the Beis HaMikdash stood, Bnei Yisrael's cries were always answered, with no obstruction.

וז"ש בעיר

This is the meaning of 'in the city.'

The 'city' represents that close, populated state in which help is at hand — the era of the Beis HaMikdash.

ובגלות נאמר גם כי אזעק כו' שתם תפלתי לכן כתי' בשדה

But in galus it is said, 'Even when I cry out, my tefillah is shut out' (Eichah 3:8); therefore it is written 'in the field.'

In galus the connection is blocked, like the lament that tefillah is shut out; this matches the 'field,' a place of distance and isolation.

צעקה כו' ואין מושיע

'She cried out... and there was none to save her' (Devarim 22:27).

Even in that distant 'field' state, the maiden cried out yet was not saved, reflecting the difficulty of galus.

עכ"ז גם בשדה כ' צעקה שצריכין מקודם לצעוק

Even so, also concerning the field it is written 'she cried out' — for one must first cry out.

Nevertheless, the Torah still records that she cried out even in the field, teaching that crying out remains an obligation even when salvation is not immediate.

וע"ז נתקנו הג' תפלות בכל יום

It is for this purpose that the three tefillos of each day were instituted.

The fixed three daily tefillos are this very act of crying out, planted into our routine for both the era of the Mikdash and of galus.

ואיתא בגמ' הא יש מושיע כו' ניתן להציל בנפשו של רודף

And it is brought in the Gemara: where there is one to save her, one is permitted to save [the victim] at the cost of the life of the pursuer (rodef).

The Gemara derives from 'one to save her' the law of the rodef: when rescue is possible, one may stop the pursuer even by taking his life.

והיינו שע"י הצעקה יש הפלה לסט"א לגמרי

That is to say, through the crying out there is a complete toppling of the sitra achra.

On the spiritual plane, the act of crying out to Hashem brings about the total downfall of the forces of evil.

אכן צריכין מקודם להיות מוכן למס"נ כי באמת על ג' עבירות אלו צריכין למס"נ רק הרודף רוצה לכופו בע"כ לעבור

Yet one must first be prepared for mesirus nefesh — for in truth, for these three aveiros one is required to give over one's life; only that the pursuer wishes to compel him against his will to transgress.

But this rescue requires prior readiness for mesirus nefesh, since these three grave aveiros demand giving one's life; the rodef is merely trying to force transgression against one's will.

אבל [*אם] הנרדף מוכן למס"נ אז צריכין להצילו בנפשו של רודף

But if the pursued one is prepared for mesirus nefesh, then one must save him at the cost of the life of the pursuer.

When the victim is genuinely ready to give his life rather than sin, then the halachah of stopping the rodef at the cost of his life applies.

וכן הוא בכל נפש אדם

And so it is with every human soul.

This same dynamic operates within every person's neshamah in the inner battle against the yetzer hara.

לכן התקינו ק"ש קודם התפלה שע"י המס"נ בק"ש יכולין להיות נושע בתפלה כנ"ל:

Therefore they instituted Krias Shema before the tefillah, so that through the mesirus nefesh in Krias Shema one is able to be saved in the tefillah, as explained above.

Therefore Chazal placed Krias Shema before Shemoneh Esrei: the mesirus nefesh accepted in Krias Shema empowers the tefillah that follows to bring salvation.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the Torah's case of the betrothed maiden, where crying out 'in the city' versus 'in the field' becomes a metaphor for tefillah in two eras. During the time of the Beis HaMikdash — the 'city' — the cries of Bnei Yisrael were always answered, while in galus — the 'field' — tefillah is often shut out and salvation does not come immediately. Even so, the Torah records that the maiden cried out even in the field, teaching that one must always cry out to Hashem, and it is for this that the three daily tefillos were instituted. Drawing on the halachah of the rodef, he explains that crying out can bring about the complete downfall of the sitra achra, but only when one is first prepared for mesirus nefesh, since these grave aveiros demand giving over one's life. This is why Chazal placed Krias Shema, the daily acceptance of mesirus nefesh, before the tefillah — so that the readiness to give one's life empowers the tefillah to bring salvation.