Today’s learning is dedicated to the refuah sheleima of Simcha Nosson ben Zissel.

(We’ll be taking a quick break from the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy to discuss some of the incredible lessons to be learnt from the Festival of Succos.)

The joy we experience on the Three Festivals can give us a share in the light of Hashem’s countenance. This brings new life to the soul and the mind, through which we gain a perception of Hashem.   —   Rebbe Nachman’s Advice, The Three Festivals # 1

The Rambam teaches that while there is a mitzvah to be happy on all of the Festivals, on Succos there is a mitzvah to have extra joy and happiness, since regarding Succos the Torah explicitly says, “You shall be happy before Hashem your G-d for seven days” (Vayikra 23:40).

Rebbe Nachman teaches, “The truest joy comes from fulfilling the mitzvos. The more a person forms some estimate of the true greatness of Hashem, the greater the joy he can feel with every mitzvah he performs. He begins to realize how privileged he is to perform the will of the Holy One, Who alone is, was, and will be for all eternity. The joy of all the mitzvos we perform throughout the year is collected together, as it were, on the Three Festivals. This is what makes up the joy of the festival. All the good points of all the mitzvos performed throughout the year are joined together and concentrated in the festival, and the joy becomes truly palpable. If we make an effort to search for the holy joy that is to be found in performing the mitzvos on the other days of the year, then this ‘festival joy’ will be accessible to us every day of the year. But on the actual festivals themselves, the joy is something special.”

Rebbe Nachman teaches that by honoring the Festivals, we receive increased knowledge. And as discussed previously, increased knowledge leads to increased love and joy. Rebbe Nachman teaches, “The mitzvah of waving the Four Species brings about a revelation of holy understanding; we realize that ‘the whole earth is filled with His glory’ (Isaiah 6:3) and we can see G-dliness everywhere… People on every level, even the lowest, come to acknowledge Hashem and draw closer to Him. This mitzvah helps us bind our heart to the knowledge of Hashem and in this way bring the heart under our control. This is what brings us to love Hashem – and through loving Hashem we show the truest love to ourselves. Then we can rise to receive the light of the love which is in holy understanding. This is the ‘hidden light’ stored up for the righteous. Through glimpsing it, the hidden tzaddikim and the hidden Torah are revealed, and abundant peace spreads forth in the world.”

On Succos, we demonstrate our gratitude to Hashem for His care toward our ancestors as they left Egypt, specifically, for providing them with the Clouds of Glory which offered miraculous protection. (Celebrating the Clouds of Glory is the opinion of Rebbe Eliezer (Sukkah, 11b). Although Rebbi Akiva differs in opinion, Rashi follows Rebbe Eliezer’s approach (Vayikra, 23:24). See also the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, 625:1)

During these days we are told to leave our permanent dwelling to reside in a temporary one. The roof of a Succah is made of mere twigs and branches, it is not considered “secured” based on its structure. We therefore rely solely on Hashem to keep it standing. This teaches us that even when we are surrounded by thick fortified walls and roofs, it is truly Hashem Who is keeping us safe and secure.

As we find in other instances, the word “Succah” denotes security and safeguarding. As we say at the end of davening between from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Shemini Atzeres, “He will hide me in His Shelter (Succah) on the day of evil; He will conceal me in the concealment of His Tent, He will lift me upon a rock” (Psalms 27). And as we read in the evening prayers, “Spread over us the Shelter (Succah) of Your peace… and in the shadow of Your wings, shelter us – for G-d Who protects and rescues us are You.”

Succos is a time to draw closer to Hashem, as Rebbe Nachman teaches, “On the festivals we should return to Hashem out of joy.” The Talmud says that the first day of Sukkos is the beginning of the reckoning of sins. Rebbe Levi Yitzchak explained, “The Talmud says that if a person does teshuvah (repentance) out of fear of Hashem, his intentional sins are mitigated to the status of unintentional sins. If a person repents out of love for Hashem, his sins are converted into merits. “On the awesome days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we do teshuvah out of fear. Our sins are downgraded to unintentional, but they are still sins. On Succos, with the joy of Succos, we do teshuvah out of love for Hashem – and our sins are converted into merits. That’s when Hashem wants a reckoning.”

The verse states “Search for Hashem when He is near” (Yeshayah 55). The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 18) asks, “When is Hashem near? These are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.” The Shlah HaKadosh (Succah, Torah Or 70) asks, there are only seven days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; why does the Talmud say that there are ten days? He answers that the Talmud is hinting to the ten days between Yom Kippur and Hoshanah Rabba. These are the days that Hashem is nearby. (Yom Kippur is called Rosh Hashanah as it states, “On Rosh Hashana on the tenth of the month,” and Hoshanah Rabba is called Yom Kippur as this is when the fait of the coming year is sealed.)

Reb Simcha Bunim of Peshischa asked, “Shlomo Hamelech said, ‘As water reflects a face to a face, so is the heart of one man to another man’ (Mishlei 27:19). In other words, feelings are reciprocal. But since we say Hashem loves His people, why doesn’t that generate our love for Hashem?” Reb Simcha answered as follows, “Shlomo said as waters reflect; not as mirrors reflect. There’s a difference. A mirror can reflect even at a distance, whereas water only reflects one close to it. If we move close to Hashem, His intense love for us will bring about our love for Him.” On Succos, Hashem draws closer to us leading to a mutual love and an everlasting bond.

The Succah itself also represents a heightened level of closeness and love from Hashem. Rabbi Moshe Kormornick writes, “The Chida explains that unlike the miracle of the mannah which fell every day, or Miriam’s well which followed the Jewish People to provide them with water at all times, the Clouds of Glory were not actually a necessity. For, while the Jewish People would have been unable to survive without food or water in the desert for forty years, they could have survived without the Clouds of Glory. Therefore, by providing the Jewish People with this luxury, Hashem was showing them that He was not merely keeping them alive due to His promise to Avraham that his children will become a great Nation, but because He loved them and wanted the best for them in every situation. Therefore, Succos specifically is the time to demonstrate our happiness, gratitude, and appreciation in the knowledge that just as Hashem loved our ancestors thousands of years ago, He loves us in exactly the same way today.”

In fact, the Arizal hinted toward the link between Succos and Hashem’s love for us when detailing the minimum halachic requirement of a sukkah: two full walls and a third partial wall (measuring a tefach), which he depicted as Hashem embracing those in the succah (representing the two sections of the arm, as well the hand) – to show that when we dwell in the succah, we should feel Hashem’s love, protection, and warm embrace. (This is based on the verse which refers to Succos, “Hashem’s right arm embraces me” (Shir HaShirim 8:3).  Furthermore, the succah itself is referred to as the “Shade of Emunah (faith)” to further demonstrate the immense love and care that we are to feel in the succah (Zohar 3:103b).)

Rabbi Kormornick quotes Rav Noach Weinberg who would say that just as Hashem is infinitely greater than any of His creations, so too, His love for us is infinitely greater – even more than a parent could possibly love his only child. (Rav Weinberg would remind his children before bed each night, “You know how much Ima and Abba love you? Well Hashem loves you even more!)

Rabbi Kormornick concludes, “This message is crucial for us to internalize, especially in our generation where so many struggle to recognize and feel Hashem’s love for them. So much so, that Rav Yitzchak Berkovits often says that if the Rambam was writing his Thirteen Principles of Faith today, he would add another one near the top, requiring everyone to believe with perfect faith that Hashem loves them!”

Rabbi Elimelech Biderman quotes the Midrash that states, “The esrog is Hakadosh Baruch Hu… The lulav is Hakadosh Baruch Hu… The hadassim are Hakadosh Baruch Hu… The aravos are Hakadosh Baruch Hu.” Rabbi Biderman explains that this corresponds to the concept that the Four Species represent the four letters of Hashem’s holy name. Based on this, Rebbe Naftali of Ropshitz explains the verse, “Hashem is with me, I am not afraid” to mean, “Since Hashem is in my hands [as I hold the Four Species], I have nothing to fear… Hashem will provide all my needs.”

This sense of Hashem’s love and protection should lead to a feeling of incredible joy. And by focusing on the importance of the day, and the miracles Hashem performed for us, we begin to recognize His guiding hand in our daily encounters. As Rabbi Meir Simcha HaCohen (1843-1926) said, “Nature is but a constant miracle.”

Similarly, Rebbe Nachman teaches, “The Festival days cry out, proclaim and reveal Divine will, which rules over all. There is no such thing as the ‘inevitability of nature.’ Every festival commemorates the awesome signs and miracles that Hashem performed on our behalf – all of them contrary to nature. Peach commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. Shavuos recalls the Giving of the Torah. And on Succos we remember the Clouds of Glory that surrounded us in the desert. Through these awesome signs and wonders it was revealed that everything comes about through the will of Hashem alone. There is nothing inevitable about nature at all. You must just take care to direct your ear and heart to the holy message that is thus proclaimed. The more carefully you attend to this message, the greater the joy of the festival you will attain.”

Rabbi Kormornick writes, “When discussing the mitzvah of shaking the Four Species, the Sefer HaChinuch outlines the principle that we are heavily influenced by the actions that we perform, whether for good or for bad. As such, Hashem gave us the mitzvah of shaking the Four Species to positively influence our bodies to serve Him properly through the performance of this mitzvah. Specifically, the Sefer HaChinuch notes that the Four Species represent different parts of our body: The esrog resembles the heart, which is the ‘seat of our Intelligence.’ Therefore, we shake the esrog to signify that we are prepared to serve Hashem with our intelligence. The lulav is compared to the spine, which is the main element of a person. Therefore, by taking the lulav, we state our commitment to direct our entire body to the service of Hashem. The hadas (myrtle) looks like eyes, so when we take the hadasim, we are stating that we will not let our eyes be led astray. And finally, the aravah (willow branches) has the appearance of lips, in order to show that we undertake to be careful with our words and refrain from negative speech.”

Rabbi Kormornick continues to explain that the Four Species are taken specifically on Succos, as apposed to Pesach or Shavuos, since Succos comes immediately after the tremendous inspiration that we experienced over Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Therefore, we are instructed to shake the Four Species which represent the different aspects of our body, in order to take the commitments we made during our moments of inspiration and put them into practice in a physical expression so that they stick with us.

Similarly, Reb Simcha Bunim of Peshischa said, “The mitzvah of Sukkah is the most wonderful of all mitzvos. Matzah you eat with your mouth, tefillin you put on your arm, shofar you hear with your ears, Torah you study with your eyes and mind, but the Succah, you go in completely, even with your boots!”

The Four Species also teach us an incredible lesson in unity. Regardless of our individual spiritual standing, we must join together as one. As Rabbi Avraham Twerski zt’l said, “Of the four species, the esrog has both taste and fragrance, representing the person who has both Torah and good deeds. The hadas is fragrant but has no taste, representing someone who has good deeds but no Torah. The lulav has taste but no fragrance, representing someone who has Torah but no good deeds. The aravah has neither taste nor fragrance, representing someone who has neither Torah nor good deeds (Vayikra Rabba 30:12). But as long as this person associates with the other three he is worthy, and an essential component of the mitzvah.”

Likewise, Rabbi Biderman teaches that all Four Species are bundled together to teach us that they need one another. The aravos (the Jewish people on a lower spiritual level) need to be close to the esrog (to the tzaddikim), and the tzaddikim also need to be connected to those on a lower level to truly complete their mission.

(Similarly, the ketores (incense offering) was composed of eleven spices, ten of them sweet-smelling and one (the chelbenah) foul-smelling. The chelbenah represents the “sinners of Yisrael.” The Talmud teaches that not only would the offering be disqualified if it is lacking the chelbenah, but this foul-smelling spice actually increased the pleasant aroma and pungency of the other spices; the chelbenah brought forth the true potential of the other spices. The tzaddikim are elevated through their interactions with every Jew, regardless of what level the Yid may be on.)   

Lastly, we must make an effort to receive all the benefits these days have to offer. The Talmud (Succah 3) teaches, “One’s head, most of his body, and his table must be inside of the succah [while eating].” Meaning, he can’t be partially in the succah, while mostly out of the succah. Even his table needs to be in the succah. The Sfas Emes explains that this rule hints at the mindset we should perform this holy mitzvah. We must be completely involved with the mitzvah; our heart, mind, and soul should be in the succah as well. A person must try not to let his mind and heart wander elsewhere while sitting in the succah. (The table represents one’s family… The head of the family has a responsibility to ensure that the members of his household are also completely enthralled with the Festival and its mitzvos.)

Moshe remained on Har Sinai for 120 days (three times for forty days each) without sleep. The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 47:7) writes, “How do we know that Moshe didn’t sleep during these days? We can compare it to a king who said to someone he loved, ‘Measure gold coins and take them for yourself.’ The man was so elated that he didn’t even think to ask to eat or drink. When he was tired, he said, ‘If I sleep, I will lose out.’ Similarly, Moshe was “measuring” Torah and forgot to eat and drink. When he wanted to sleep, he said, ‘If I sleep, I will lose out.” The Sfas Emes quotes this Midrash and explains that this is the reason Chazal (Succah 53a) tell us, “When we were in the Beis HaMikdash all night, celebrating the Simchas Beis Hashoeiva, we didn’t fall asleep.” This is because we knew that if we slept, we would miss out.

The Beis Yisrael zt’l would often repeat this lesson from the Sfas Emes, and explain that when it is Yom Tov, we need to take advantage of the time. We should feel that every moment is precious, every moment is worth savoring.

Wishing everyone a peaceful and joyous Succos!

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