The willow's cry for salvation

בסוכות תקנו הושענות.

On Sukkos they instituted the Hoshanos.

The Sefas Emes opens by noting the special prayers of "Hoshana" — cries for salvation — fixed for Sukkos.

דשמעתי ממו"ז ז"ל ע"פ צעקה הנערה ואין מושיע.

For I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory, on the verse: "the maiden cried out, and there was none to save her."

He cites a teaching from his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) on the law of the betrothed maiden assaulted in the field, where the Torah notes that no rescuer was present.

ודרשו חז"ל הא יש מושיע חייב להציל אפילו בנפשו של רודף.

And Chazal expounded: but if there is one who can save, he is obligated to rescue her even at the cost of the pursuer's life.

The implication "there was none to save" teaches that where a rescuer does exist, he is duty-bound to stop the rodef, even by taking the pursuer's life.

וישראל נושע בה' וצריך להושיענו אפילו בנפשו של הרודף ולבטל כל הסט"א.

And Yisrael is saved by Hashem, and He must save us even at the "life" of the pursuer, nullifying the entire Sitra Achra.

Applied upward: Yisrael's Rescuer is Hashem, who is, as it were, obligated to save us — even to the point of obliterating the pursuing forces of evil, the Sitra Achra entirely.

אך כתיב בשדה מצאה כיון שע"י החטא נפרק עול מלכות שמים.

However, it is written "he found her in the field" — for through sin the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven is cast off.

The "field" is no accident: it signifies the ownerless, open place a person enters when, through sin, he has thrown off ol malchus Shomayim.

כמ"ש חז"ל הרשעים הם ברשות לבם וזה נקרא שדה מקום הפקר כו'.

As Chazal said, "the wicked are under the control of their heart" — and this is called a "field," a place of ownerless abandon.

The resha'im are ruled by their own desires rather than by Hashem; that lawless state is the "hefker field" where the pursuer can strike.

אבל אחר יוהכ"פ שנטהרו נפשות בנ"י צריכין לצעוק אל אדון המושיע.

But after Yom Kippur, when the souls of Bnei Yisrael have been purified, they must cry out to the Master who saves.

Once the neshamos of Yisrael are cleansed on Yom Kippur and have re-accepted the yoke, they are no longer in the "field"; now their cry for salvation can be heard, and so they call out to Hashem the Savior.

כדמצינו באנשי כנה"ג ויצעקו בקול גדול וזכו להעביר יצרא דע"ז.

As we find with the Men of the Great Assembly, "and they cried out with a great voice," and they merited to remove the yetzer hara for avodah zarah.

The Anshei Knesses HaGedolah show the power of a sincere outcry: through their great cry they succeeded in uprooting the very drive for idolatry from the world.

והנה בהושענא רבה בחי' ערבה.

Now on Hoshana Rabbah there is the aspect of the aravah (willow).

The Sefas Emes turns to the willow branch, which is the dominant symbol of Hoshana Rabbah.

וע"ז כ' פנה אל תפלת הערער דרשו חז"ל דערבה אין בה טעם וריח.

And about this it is written, "He turns to the prayer of the destitute (ar'ar)" — Chazal expounded that the willow has neither taste nor smell.

The aravah, lacking both flavor and fragrance, represents the Jew who has neither Torah (taste) nor mitzvos (smell); yet Tehillim promises Hashem turns to the prayer of just such a "destitute" one.

א"כ מה שבחן של אותן הדומין לערבה.

If so, what is the praise of those who resemble the willow?

The Sefas Emes asks: if such a person has neither learning nor good deeds, what merit can he claim?

אך עכ"פ הם נקיים מן החטא רק הם ריקנין מן המצות ונק' תפלת הערער שמוכנים הם עכ"פ לקבל הברכה:

But in any case they are clean of sin — they are merely empty of mitzvos — and this is called "the prayer of the destitute," for at least they are ready to receive the blessing.

After Yom Kippur even the simplest Jew is free of sin; he may be "empty" of mitzvos like the tasteless, scentless willow, but his very emptiness, scrubbed clean, makes him a fit vessel ready to receive Hashem's berachah.

Summary: The Hoshanos of Sukkos voice Yisrael's cry to be saved, even to the point of nullifying the Sitra Achra. Sin places a person in the lawless "field" beyond rescue, but after Yom Kippur the purified souls of Yisrael can cry out and be answered. The willow of Hoshana Rabbah — tasteless and scentless — represents the plain Jew with neither Torah nor mitzvos, yet now cleansed of sin and therefore a ready vessel to receive Hashem's blessing.