Hear
Our
Voice
Article
No.
39,
1985
In
the
Slichot
[prayers
for
pardon],
we
say,
“Hear
our
voice,
the
Lord
our
God,
have
mercy
and
pity
on
us,
and
accept
our
prayer
mercifully
and
willingly.”
In
the
Monday
and
Thursday
litanies
we
say,
“Have
pity
on
us,
O
Lord,
with
Your
mercy,
and
give
us
not
to
the
hands
of
the
cruel.
Why
should
the
nations
say,
‘Where
is
their
God?’
Hear
our
voice
and
pardon
us,
and
do
not
abandon
us
in
the
hands
of
our
enemies
to
obliterate
our
name.
In
the
end,
we
have
not
forgotten
Your
name;
please
do
not
forget
us.”
We
should
understand
why
it
ends,
“In
the
end,
we
have
not
forgotten
Your
name;
please
do
not
forget
us.”
It
implies
that
this
is
the
reason
why
we
ask
that
the
Creator
will
help
us,
because
it
says,
“In
the
end,
we
have
not
forgotten
Your
name.”
What
reason
and
cause
is
there
in
“In
the
end,
we
have
not
forgotten
Your
name,”
for
which
we
say,
“please
do
not
forget
us”?
To
understand
the
above,
we
must
know
how
are
the
nations
who
are
asking
heretic
questions,
since
we
say,
“Why
should
the
nations
say,
‘Where
is
their
God?’”
We
also
need
to
understand
why
we
say
to
the
Creator,
“Give
us
not
to
the
hands
of
the
cruel.”
Who
are
the
cruel?
Also,
it
seems
that
if
we
were
not
placed
in
the
hands
of
the
cruel
in
exile,
it
would
not
be
so
terrible
and
we
would
not
need
to
pray
to
be
delivered
from
the
exile
among
the
nations.
We
will
explain
this
according
to
our
way.
Since
we
are
born
after
the
Tzimtzum
[restriction]
and
the
concealment,
and
only
the
will
to
receive
for
ourselves
is
revealed
in
us,
it
lets
us
understand
that
we
should
work
only
for
our
own
benefit.
By
becoming
enslaved
to
self-benefit,
we
become
remote
from
the
Creator.
It
is
known
that
near
and
far
relate
to
disparity
of
form
and
equivalence
of
form.
For
this
reason,
when
a
person
is
immersed
in
self-reception,
he
is
separated
from
the
life
of
lives.
Naturally,
he
cannot
feel
the
flavor
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments],
for
only
when
he
believes
that
he
is
keeping
the
Creator’s
commandment
not
for
his
own
benefit
can
he
adhere
to
the
Giver
of
the
Torah.
Since
the
Creator
is
the
source
of
life,
at
that
time
a
person
feels
the
taste
of
life
and
calls
the
Torah,
“Torah
of
life,”
and
the
verse,
“This
is
your
life
and
the
length
of
your
days,”
comes
true.
But
during
the
separation
everything
is
dark
for
him.
Although
our
sages
said,
“One
should
always
engage
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
Lo
Lishma
[not
for
Her
sake],
and
from
Lo
Lishma
he
will
come
to
Lishma
[for
Her
sake],”
there
are
many
stipulations
to
this.
First
he
needs
to
have
a
need
to
achieve
Lishma.
A
person
thinks,
“What
am
I
losing
by
engaging
Lo
Lishma,
for
which
I
should
always
remember
the
reason
why
I
am
learning
Lishma?
It
is
not
in
order
to
receive
a
corporeal
or
spiritual
reward.
Rather,
the
reason
I
am
learning
Lo
Lishma
is
to
thereby
achieve
the
degree
of
Lishma.
At
that
time
the
question,
“Should
I
labor
for
something
I
do
not
need?”
awakens
in
him.
The
body
comes
to
him
and
says,
“What
will
I
gain
by
your
desire
to
work
in
order
to
bestow,
called
Lishma?
If
I
exert
in
Lo
Lishma,
will
I
receive
something
important
called
Lishma?”
In
truth,
it
is
to
the
contrary.
If
he
tells
his
body,
“Work
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
Lo
Lishma,
which
is
the
reason
by
which
you
will
achieve
Lishma,”
the
body
will
certainly
disrupt
him,
if
this
is
his
purpose,
to
achieve
Lishma.
It
brings
many
excuses
to
a
person
why
he
cannot
do
the
work
of
Lo
Lishma.
Perhaps
this
is
the
reason
why
the
body
disrupts
people
who
learn
Lo
Lishma
so
that
it
will
lead
them
to
Lishma,
and
does
not
let
them
engage
even
in
Lo
Lishma,
since
the
body
is
afraid
“lest
the
man
will
achieve
Lishma.”
This
is
not
so
for
the
kind
of
people
who
do
not
learn
with
the
intention
to
achieve
Lishma,
and
engage
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
because
the
Creator
commanded
us
to
keep
His
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
in
return
for
which
we
will
be
rewarded
in
the
next
world.
During
the
study
of
Torah
they
do
not
aim
to
exit
self-love
and
be
able
to
keep
Torah
and
Mitzvot
in
order
to
bestow.
It
follows
that
since
he
is
not
going
against
the
body,
meaning
against
self-love,
the
body
does
not
object
so
much
to
keeping
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
since
the
body’s
view
is
that
it
will
keep
everything
in
its
own
authority,
meaning
in
self-love.
But
for
those
who
intend
during
their
engagement
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
to
be
rewarded
with
Lishma,
it
is
difficult
to
observe
even
Lo
Lishma,
since
the
body
is
afraid
that
it
might
lose
all
the
self-love
and
will
do
everything
for
the
Creator,
leaving
nothing
for
the
body.
It
follows
that
there
is
a
difference
even
in
the
Lo
Lishma,
meaning
in
the
intention
of
the
Lo
Lishma
itself.
If
the
intention
is
to
remain
in
Lo
Lishma
and
not
to
go
further,
meaning
achieve
Lishma,
a
person
can
persist
in
learning
Torah
because
his
body
does
not
pose
much
resistance.
But
if
a
person
aims,
while
engaging
in
Lo
Lishma,
to
thereby
achieve
Lishma,
it
contradicts
the
view
of
the
body.
While
it
is
true
that
he
is
still
engaging
Lo
Lishma,
but
since
the
aim
is
to
achieve
Lishma,
the
body
will
resist
every
single
movement
and
will
present
obstructions
over
every
little
thing.
This
means
that
when
those
who
do
not
go
for
the
goal
of
achieving
Lishma
look
at
the
obstructions
that
people
who
are
walking
on
the
path
to
achieving
Lishma
speak
about,
they
laugh
at
them.
They
say
that
they
don’t
understand
them,
that
they
take
every
little
thing
as
a
tall
mountain,
and
every
little
thing
becomes
a
huge
barrier
for
them,
and
they
have
to
muster
great
strength
for
every
single
movement.
They
do
not
understand
them
and
tell
them:
“Take
a
look
for
yourselves
and
see
how
unsuccessful
your
way
is.
We,
thank
God,
study
and
pray,
and
the
body
has
no
power
to
deter
us
from
engaging
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot.
But
you,
with
your
way,
you
yourselves
say
that
every
little
thing
you
do
is
as
though
you
have
conquered
a
tall
mountain.”
We
can
compare
this
to
what
our
sages
said
(Sukkah,
52),
“In
the
future
(referring
to
the
days
of
the
Messiah),
the
Creator
will
take
the
evil
inclination
and
slaughter
it
before
the
righteous
and
before
the
wicked.
To
the
righteous,
it
will
seem
like
a
tall
mountain.
To
the
wicked,
it
will
seem
like
a
hairsbreadth.”
Although
there
it
discusses
the
days
of
the
Messiah,
we
can
take
an
example
from
there,
meaning
explain
here
that
those
who
intend
to
achieve
Lishma
are
regarded
as
righteous,
since
their
aim
is
to
be
righteous,
meaning
that
their
intention
will
be
only
for
the
Creator.
To
them
the
evil
inclination
is
regarded
as
a
tall
mountain
Those
who
haven’t
the
goal
of
achieving
Lishma,
meaning
to
exit
self-love,
are
considered
“wicked”
because
the
evil,
called
“receiving
in
order
to
receive,”
remains
in
them.
They
themselves
say
that
they
do
not
want
to
exit
self-love,
and
to
them
the
evil
inclination
seems
like
a
hairsbreadth.
This
is
similar
to
the
story
that
is
told
about
Rabbi
Bonim:
He
was
asked
in
the
city
of
Danzig,
Germany,
why
Polish
Jews
are
liars
and
wear
dirty
clothes,
while
German
Jews
are
truthful
and
wear
clean
clothes.
Rabbi
Bonim
replied
that
it
is
as
Rabbi
Pinhas
Ben
Yair
said
(Avoda
Zarah,
21),
“Rabbi
Pinhas
Ben
Yair
said,
‘Torah
leads
to
caution,
cleanness
leads
to
abstinence,
and
fear
of
sin
leads
to
holiness.’”
Therefore,
when
the
Jews
of
Germany
began
to
adopt
cleanness,
the
evil
inclination
came
to
them
and
told
them,
“I
will
not
let
you
engage
in
cleanness
because
cleanness
leads
to
other
things
until
you
finally
arrive
in
Kedusha
[holiness].
It
follows
that
you
want
me
to
allow
you
to
achieve
Kedusha.
This
will
not
happen!”
What
could
they
do?
Because
they
yearned
for
cleanness,
they
promised
it
that
if
it
would
stop
interfering
with
their
work
on
cleanness
they
would
go
no
farther,
and
it
has
no
reason
to
fear
that
they
might
achieve
Kedusha,
for
they
are
truthful.
For
this
reason,
the
Jews
of
Germany
are
clean,
since
the
evil
inclination
does
not
disturb
them.
When
the
evil
inclination
saw
that
Polish
Jews
are
engaging
in
cleanness,
it
came
to
them,
as
well,
and
wanted
to
obstruct
them
because
they
would
achieve
Kedusha,
and
it
opposes
it.
They
said
to
it,
“We
will
not
go
farther.”
But
what
did
they
do?
When
he
left
them,
they
kept
going
until
they
reached
Kedusha.
When
the
evil
inclination
saw
that
they
are
liars,
it
promptly
fought
with
them
over
cleanness.
Therefore,
because
Polish
Jews
are
liars,
it
is
hard
for
them
to
walk
in
cleanness.
In
the
same
way,
we
should
understand
those
who
engage
Lo
Lishma
and
say
that
our
sages
promised
us
that
from
Lo
Lishma
we
come
to
Lishma,
and
therefore
we
need
not
make
great
efforts
to
achieve
it,
but
that
it
will
eventually
come.
Therefore,
we
have
no
business
with
the
view
that
we
should
always
remember
that
everything
we
do
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
is
in
order
to
achieve
Lishma
and
this
is
our
reward,
and
this
is
what
we
expect.
Rather,
we
will
engage
in
Lo
Lishma
and
in
the
end
it
will
come,
as
our
sages
promised
us.
This
is
why
the
evil
inclination
does
not
come
to
divert
them
from
engaging
Lo
Lishma,
since
it
sees
that
they
have
no
desire
whatsoever
to
achieve
Lishma,
so
it
does
not
bother
them
at
all,
as
with
the
story
about
Rabbi
Bonim.
But
with
those
who
do
yearn
to
achieve
Lishma,
the
evil
inclination
sees
that
they
engage
in
Lo
Lishma
because
there
is
no
other
way
but
to
begin
in
Lo
Lishma,
as
our
sages
said,
“He
should
not
engage
Lo
Lishma
unless
because
from
Lo
Lishma
we
get
to
Lishma,”
and
they
sit
and
wait,
“When
will
I
achieve
Lishma
already?”
When
the
evil
inclination
sees
that
they
are
exerting
to
achieve
Lishma
through
the
remedy
of
Lo
Lishma,
it
promptly
comes
to
them
and
does
all
kinds
of
things
to
disrupt
them,
so
they
do
not
achieve
Lishma.
It
does
not
let
them
do
even
tiny
things
Lo
Lishma
because
of
fear,
since
they
are
exerting
to
achieve
Lishma,
as
in
Rabbi
Bonim’s
reply.
Accordingly,
there
are
two
discernments
in
Lo
Lishma:
1)
His
purpose
in
Lo
Lishma
is
to
achieve
Lishma.
He
always
examines
whether
he
has
already
taken
a
step
in
his
work
toward
arriving
at
Lishma.
When
he
sees
that
he
has
not
moved
an
inch,
he
regrets
it
and
pretends
that
he
has
not
even
started
with
the
work
of
the
Creator,
since
his
gauge
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
is
how
much
he
can
aim
for
the
Creator.
For
this
reason,
when
he
sees
that
he
cannot
even
aim
the
smallest
thing
for
the
Creator,
he
feels
as
though
he
hasn’t
done
a
thing
in
the
work
of
the
Creator,
and
regards
himself
as
a
useless
tool.
At
that
time
he
begins
to
contemplate
his
purpose.
The
days
pass
and
he
cannot
come
out
of
his
state;
all
he
wants
is
self-love!
Worse
yet,
each
day,
instead
of
looking
at
disruptions
in
the
work
as
though
they
are
nothing,
he
sees
them
as
tall
mountains;
he
always
sees
a
great
barrier
in
front
of
him
that
he
cannot
overcome.
Baal
HaSulam
said
about
such
states
that
a
person
advances
precisely
in
these
states,
called
“states
of
Achoraim
[posterior].”
However,
one
is
not
allowed
to
see
it
so
he
will
not
regard
it
as
Panim
[anterior],
for
when
a
person
sees
he
is
advancing,
his
power
of
prayer
weakens
because
he
sees
that
the
situation
is
not
so
bad
since
in
the
end
he
is
advancing,
though
in
small
steps.
It
might
take
a
little
longer,
but
he
is
moving.
But
when
he
sees
that
he
is
regressing,
then
when
he
prays
the
prayer
is
from
the
bottom
of
the
heart,
according
to
the
measure
of
suffering
that
he
feels
due
to
his
poor
state.
By
this
you
will
understand
what
we
say
in
the
litany,
“Have
pity
on
us,
O
Lord,
with
Your
mercy,
and
give
us
not
to
the
hands
of
the
cruel.”
We
must
know
who
are
the
cruel.
We
should
know
that
when
we
speak
of
individual
work,
then
man
is
the
collective.
That
is,
he
contains
within
him
the
nations
of
the
world,
as
well.
This
means
that
he
has
lusts
and
views
of
the
nations
of
the
world,
and
he
is
in
exile
among
the
nations
of
the
world
that
exist
within
him.
This
is
called
“the
hands
of
the
cruel.”
We
ask
of
the
Creator,
“Give
us
not
to
the
hands
of
the
cruel.”
In
corporeality,
a
cruel
person
is
one
who
gives
troubles
to
people
mercilessly,
not
caring
that
he
is
hurting
others.
Likewise,
in
the
work
of
the
Creator,
when
a
person
wants
to
take
upon
himself
the
burden
of
the
kingdom
of
heaven,
the
views
of
the
nations
of
the
world
in
him
come
and
torment
him
with
the
slander
he
hears
from
them.
He
must
fight
them,
but
they
are
stronger
than
him
and
he
surrenders
and
is
compelled
to
listen
to
them.
This
pains
and
torments
him,
as
it
is
written,
“And
the
children
of
Israel
sighed
from
the
work
and
cried
out,
and
their
cry
from
the
work
went
up
to
God,
and
God
heard
their
groaning.”
Thus,
we
see
that
man’s
suffering
from
the
evil
inclination
is
the
reason
why
he
should
have
room
for
prayer.
It
follows
that
precisely
when
he
is
at
war
with
the
evil
inclination
and
thinks
that
he
cannot
advance,
precisely
here
he
has
room
for
progress.
Baal
HaSulam
said
that
a
person
cannot
appreciate
the
importance
of
the
time
when
he
has
serious
contact
with
the
Creator.
It
follows
that
a
person
feels
that
he
is
in
the
hands
of
the
cruel,
and
the
nations
of
the
world
in
him
have
no
mercy
on
him,
and
that
their
cruelty
against
him
is
especially
when
they
ask
him
as
it
is
written,
“Why
should
the
nations
say,
‘Where
is
their
God?’”
This
is
a
question
of
heresy,
that
they
want
to
obliterate
the
name
of
Israel
from
him,
as
it
is
written,
“Do
not
abandon
us
in
the
hands
of
our
enemies
to
obliterate
our
name.”
It
follows
that
the
main
thing
they
want
is
to
uproot
Israel’s
faith
in
the
Creator.
With
these
arguments
they
separate
him
from
the
Creator
so
he
cannot
connect
to
the
Creator,
to
adhere
to
the
life
of
lives
and
feel
the
taste
of
spiritual
life.
This
is
why
he
says
that
although
he
hears
each
day
their
spirit
of
heresy,
as
it
is
written,
“Why
should
the
nations
say,
‘Where
is
their
God?’”
but
“we
have
not
forgotten
Your
name,”
meaning
I
still
remember
the
address
to
turn
to.
That
is,
although
only
the
Creator
is
left
within
us,
and
not
what
there
is
in
the
name,
since
they
cause
the
name
that
stays
in
us
to
be
dry
and
tasteless,
still,
“we
have
not
forgotten
Your
name.
This
is
why
we
ask,
“Please
do
not
forget
us,”
meaning
that
He
will
give
us
the
strength
to
approach
Him
so
we
can
attain
what
is
contained
in
the
holy
name.