Hoshana Rabbah: salvation through humility

ליום הושענא רבה.

For the day of Hoshana Rabbah.

The Sefas Emes opens a teaching specifically concerning Hoshana Rabbah.

מה שקבעו חז"ל רוב תפלות בזה היום.

Regarding why Chazal established so many prayers on this day.

He asks why this particular day is so laden with supplications for salvation.

כבר כתבנו שנקרא הושענא רבה שיכולין להוושע בו אפילו השפלים ודורות השפלים שהם בחי' ערבה לא טעם ולא ריח.

We have already written that it is called Hoshana Rabbah ("the great salvation") because even the lowly, and the lowly generations, can be saved on it — they are the aspect of the aravah (willow), which has neither taste nor scent.

The aravah, lacking both taste and fragrance, represents those who have neither Torah nor good deeds; yet Hoshana Rabbah is precisely the day on which even they can be saved.

ויש להבין א"כ מה כחם.

One must understand, then, what their strength is.

If such people have neither Torah nor mitzvos, the question is on what merit they could possibly be saved.

אך כ' דלותי ולי יהושיע פי' ע"י שיודעים שהם דלים וצריכין להושע ולהם הישועה.

But it is written: "I was brought low, and He saved me" (Tehillim 116:6) — meaning that precisely because they know they are impoverished and in need of salvation, the salvation belongs to them.

Their very "strength" is their recognition of their lowliness; this awareness of need is itself what draws Hashem's salvation toward them.

וכ"כ חז"ל אעפ"י שאני דלה לי נאה להושיע הוא מטעם הנ"ל.

So too Chazal said: "Even though I am poor, it is fitting for Me to save," which is for the reason mentioned above.

Hashem, as it were, takes special pleasure in saving the lowly, for it is the humble who are the proper recipients of His salvation.

כדאיתא בגמ' לא מרובכם כו' כי אתם המעט שאתם ממעטין עצמיכם כשהקב"ה משפיע להם טובה ע"ש.

As the Gemara teaches on "Not because you are more numerous… [for you are the fewest]" (Devarim 7:7) — "because you make yourselves small (the fewest)," when the Holy One bestows good upon them.

Bnei Yisrael are beloved because they humble themselves; even when Hashem showers them with goodness, they diminish themselves rather than grow proud.

וכן הוא באמת מידתן של בנ"י.

And so it truly is the character of Bnei Yisrael.

This humility is an essential trait of the Jewish people.

כשהקב"ה משפיע להם בחסדו מתבוננים האמת שאין ראוים לכך וממעטין עצמן ביותר.

When the Holy One bestows upon them in His kindness, they reflect on the truth that they are not worthy of it, and they humble themselves all the more.

Rather than feeling entitled, the receiving of Hashem's chesed only deepens their sense of unworthiness and humility.

וכן הוא המדה כי עיקר הישועה לדלים.

And such is the measure: the essence of salvation is for the lowly.

Salvation is, by its very nature, directed toward those who recognize their own poverty before Hashem.

ולכן עיקר הישועה שיבוא משיח צדקינו במהרה מוכן דוקא להיות בדורות השפלים.

Therefore the ultimate salvation — the speedy coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu — is prepared specifically for the lowly generations.

The final geulah is reserved precisely for the humble, lowly generations who know they cannot rely on their own merit.

גם פי' דלותי ולי יהושיע היינו אפילו אחר הישועה נשארים דלים שצריכין לידע שהוא בחסד עליון.

The verse "I was brought low, and He saved me" can also mean that even after the salvation they remain lowly, for they must recognize that it came through supernal kindness.

True humility does not vanish once one is saved; the recipient continues to know that the deliverance was purely a gift of Hashem's chesed, not his own due.

וכן בד' מינים הערבה צריכה להבטל לשאר המינים.

So too among the four species, the aravah must nullify itself before the other species.

The willow's role is bittul — to subordinate itself to the loftier species rather than stand on its own.

והוא סימן בין ערבה שעלה שלה משוך וצפצפה עלה עגול.

This is the sign distinguishing the kosher aravah, whose leaf is elongated, from the tzaftzafah (a disqualified willow), whose leaf is round.

The halachic difference between the valid willow and the invalid one becomes a symbol of two opposite responses to lowliness.

שמהשפלות עושה לו בנין לעצמה ופסולה.

For the tzaftzafah makes its lowliness into a structure for itself — and is therefore disqualified.

The round-leafed willow, which "builds itself up" out of its lowliness — turning humility into a kind of self-importance — is invalid.

אבל הערבה נמשכת אחרי מינים הגבוהים ממנה וזה עלה משוך.

But the kosher aravah is drawn after the species loftier than itself — and this is the meaning of its elongated leaf.

The proper willow, with its leaf stretching outward, "reaches toward" the higher species; true humility draws a person after those greater than himself.

וכמו כן דורות שלנו צריכין להבטל לדורות הראשונם להיות נושעים בזכות אבותינו.

Likewise, our generations must nullify themselves before the earlier generations, to be saved in the merit of our forefathers.

Just as the willow leans on the higher species, we must attach ourselves humbly to the earlier, greater generations, drawing on the merit of our ancestors.

ואז הישועה מוכנת לנו ביותר מלהראשונים.

Then salvation is even more prepared for us than for the earlier ones.

Paradoxically, our very lowliness and dependence make us all the more fitting recipients of salvation than those great earlier generations.

וזה דלותי ולי יהושיע.

This is the meaning of "I was brought low, and He saved me."

Our impoverishment, far from disqualifying us, is precisely what makes the salvation ours.

והשי"ת אשר הוא עוזר דלים ירחם ויחוס ויושיע לעם עני ודל.

And may Hashem, who is the helper of the lowly, have mercy, take pity, and save a poor and lowly people.

The Sefas Emes turns to prayer, invoking Hashem precisely as the One who helps the poor and humble.

שמה נוכל להיות יותר דלים מכמונו עתה ולה' הישועה:

For how could we possibly be more lowly than we are now — and salvation belongs to Hashem.

Acknowledging the depth of our lowliness, we plead that this very state qualifies us for the salvation that is Hashem's alone to give.

Summary: The Sefas Emes explains why Hoshana Rabbah is filled with prayers for salvation: it is the day on which even the lowliest — represented by the aravah, the willow with neither taste nor scent — can be saved. Their "strength" is their very humility, for "I was brought low, and He saved me" — salvation belongs to those who know they are unworthy. The kosher willow's elongated leaf, reaching toward the higher species, teaches that true humility draws a person after those greater than himself; thus our lowly generations, by nullifying ourselves before our forefathers, become all the more fitting recipients of the final geulah.