Sukkot

Overview

Sukkos begins on the fifteenth of Tishrei, five days after Yom Kippur, and lasts seven days in the autumn. It recalls the clouds of glory and the booths in which Hashem sheltered Israel during their forty years in the wilderness, and it is also the festival of the harvest ingathering. Jews dwell in the sukkah, eating and living beneath its temporary roof, and take up the four species, lulav, esrog, hadas, and aravah, each day. It concludes with Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. Known as z'man simchaseinu, it is the season of our joy.

Themes

• The sukkah above nature
• Z'man simchaseinu, boundless joy
• Ingathering holy sparks
• Shemini Atzeres and inner unity
• Bitachon reveals the inner point
• Torah as living rain

Must-read teachings

1. 1Sukkos: peace, ingathering, and the joy of TorahIt is written, "Hashem shall open for you … His good treasury …" (Devarim 28:12). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse promising Hashem's "good treasury," which he will connect to the festival of Sukkos. And it refers to this chag (festival)…תרמ"א
2. 2Sukkos as the joyous expanse after the Yamim NoraimIt is written, "From the straits I called out to Kah; Kah answered me with expansiveness." The Sefas Emes builds on this pasuk from Tehillim, contrasting the cry from "narrow straits" with the "wide expanse" of Hashem's answer. The hint is …תרמ"ב
3. 3Hashem's Name resting on the sukkahBeloved is the mitzvah of sukkah, regarding which Chazal expounded that the Name of Heaven (Shem Shomayim) rests upon the sukkah. The mitzvah of sukkah is uniquely cherished because, as Chazal teach, Hashem's Name actually dwells upon the s…תרמ"ח
4. 4Sukkos: gathering holy sparks into one garmentIt is taught in the holy Zohar on the verse "But (ach) on the tenth [of this seventh month]" (Vayikra 23:27). The Sefas Emes opens with a teaching of the Zohar on the verse describing Yom Kippur, the tenth of Tishrei. The explanation of "[f…תרמ"ח
5. 5Four Species and sukkah draw down supernal joyConcerning the Four Species (Daled Minim) on the festival, on which we are judged regarding water. Sukkos, when the world is judged for rainfall, is bound up with the mitzvah of the Four Species. And the collective body of Bnei Yisrael are …תרמ"ז
6. 6Bitachon draws down and reveals the hidden penimiyusAnd in the Midrash: "And I was beside Him as a nursling (amon)" (Mishlei 8:30) — hidden away, covered, etc. — meaning that the Torah is concealed within the creation. The Midrash reads "amon" as something tucked away and covered. The Torah,…תרמ"ט
7. 7The sukkah, berur, and the daas of redemptionThe mitzvah of the sukkah is associated with the aspect of Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him, and with Aharon HaKohen. The Sefas Emes opens by linking the sukkah to two figures: Avraham, the first of the patriarchs, and Aharon, the kohen — b…תרמ"ט
8. 8Shemini Atzeres: supernatural joy and Torah-rain"On the eighth day there shall be a gathering for you" (Bamidbar 29:35). The Sefas Emes turns to Shemini Atzeres, the "eighth day," whose distinct character he will draw out. For it is taught that the Hallel and the rejoicing are for eight …תרמ"ד