RABBI LAZER BRODY ON SELICHOT

What can we say, how can we justify ourselves?" (“Lecho Hashem Hatzdaka,” first Slichot prayer, said daily after Ashrei and Half Kaddish). Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches (Likutei Moharan I:9) that when a person utters words in truth, Hashem illuminates that person with His Divine Presence. The biggest liar is one who lies to himself. To avoid the pitfalls of fooling ourselves, we should make honest, cogent self-evaluation and soul-searching a high-priority of our daily routine, especially during this period of Slichot. When we compare our actual actions to the Torah's requirements, we come up lacking. Western society teaches a person to hide his or her shortcomings; the Torah teaches the opposite. If we're smart, we'll turn to Hashem, lower our heads, and cry, "What can we say, how can we justify ourselves?" Rather than being punished, our souls will receive the reward of Hashem's illumination for telling the truth.