Departure Amidst Darkness

The first night of selichos passed without R' Yitzchak Vorka seeing his son R' Menachem Mendel in shul. Consequently, he later asked his son why he hadn’t come to say selichos.

His son responded, “The truth is that I came to shul. However, when I heard the chazzan say לך ה' הצדקה ולנו בשת הפנים, Yours, Hashem, is the righteousness and ours is the shamefacedness (beginning of selichos), I became filled with embarrassment to the extent that my soul didn’t have strength to remain in shul. Consequently, I left shul in order to fix my actions and purify my soul so that I’ll be able to stand before Hashem.”

See Bamidbar 23:21, Rashi. Bamidbar 29:1.