Choosing penimiyus and unity on Sukkos

ענין סוכה ולולב דכתיב ולקחתם לכם.

The matter of the sukkah and the lulav, as it is written: "And you shall take for yourselves."

The Sefas Emes opens his discussion of the mitzvos of Sukkos with the Torah's phrasing "you shall take for yourselves," which he will show points to an inner dimension placed in our hands.

דכ' וידעת היום והשבות אל לבבך.

For it is written: "And you shall know this day and take it to your heart."

He connects the mitzvah to the theme of daas (knowledge) — drawing awareness of Hashem down into the heart.

כי בסוכות נמשך הדעת לבנ"י דכתיב למען ידעו.

For on Sukkos daas (divine knowledge) is drawn down to Bnei Yisrael, as it is written "so that they shall know."

Sukkos is a time when a special illumination of daas — awareness of Hashem — flows into Bnei Yisrael.

והד' מינים הם להמשיך הדעת בפנימיות האדם.

And the four species are meant to draw this daas into the inner self (penimiyus) of the person.

The arba minim serve to internalize that divine awareness, bringing it into a person's inner core.

ובאור הענין סוכה ולולב כמו ציצית ותפילין שהוא אור המקיף והמשכת הדעת בד' בתים דתפילין כמו הד' מינים.

And the explanation of the matter: sukkah and lulav are like tzitzis and tefillin — the sukkah being the surrounding light (or makif), and the drawing-in of daas through the four compartments of the tefillin like the four species.

The sukkah, like tzitzis, is an encompassing "surrounding light," while the lulav and its four species parallel the four chambers of the tefillin that draw daas inward.

כי נודע שיש בכל דבר פנימיות וחיצוניות.

For it is known that in everything there is an inner dimension (penimiyus) and an outer dimension (chitzoniyus).

Every reality has both an inner essence and an outer shell.

וכן בעבודת האדם.

And so too in the avodah (service) of a person.

This inner/outer distinction applies as well to a person's spiritual service.

בזמן שהי' ביהמ"ק קיים היה נתקן גם כל החיצוניות שכל ענין הקרבנות הוא במעשה גשמי.

In the time when the Bais Hamikdash stood, even all the outer dimension was rectified, for the whole matter of the korbanos is a physical act.

While the Temple existed, the korbanos — being concrete physical acts — repaired and elevated even the outer, material dimension of avodah.

ועתה נשאר רק ענין הפנימיות.

And now only the matter of the inner dimension (penimiyus) remains.

In the absence of the Bais Hamikdash, our avodah is left primarily with its inner, spiritual dimension.

ובאמת הוא מעלה יתירה אך שאין יכולין להשיג הפנימיות בלי תיקון החיצוניות.

And in truth this is a higher level, except that one cannot attain the inner dimension without the rectification of the outer dimension.

Focusing on penimiyus is actually loftier, yet the inner cannot be reached without also rectifying the outer — the two are interdependent.

ולכן בזמן שהי' ביהמ"ק קיים הי' הכל בנקל.

Therefore, in the time when the Bais Hamikdash stood, everything came easily.

Because the Temple rectified the outer dimension, attaining the inner came readily in those days.

ולקחתם לכם הוא לרמוז שגדלה מעלה הפנימיות שזה ביד האדם.

"And you shall take for yourselves" hints that the level of the inner dimension is great, for this lies in the hand of a person.

"Take for yourselves" indicates that the precious inner dimension is now placed within each person's own grasp and choice.

וזה ענין הע' פרים בחג נגד ע' שרים.

And this is the matter of the seventy bulls offered on the festival, corresponding to the seventy heavenly princes (sarim).

The seventy bulls of Sukkos correspond to the seventy guardian angels of the seventy nations.

כי המשכת השפע ע"י המלאכים והשרים הכל ענין החיצוניות.

For the drawing-down of the flow (shefa) by means of the angels and princes is entirely a matter of the outer dimension.

Divine abundance channeled through angels and heavenly princes belongs to the outer, mediated dimension of reality.

ולאשר כי בנ"י בוחרין להם הפנימיות מניחין הכל להע' שרים.

And since Bnei Yisrael choose for themselves the inner dimension, they leave all the outer flow to the seventy princes.

Bnei Yisrael relinquish the external, mediated abundance to the seventy princes because they have chosen the direct, inner connection instead.

והוא כמו המלך שמכניס אורח לביתו ויש בזה ב' דברים שמספיק לו צרכו ושהוא בהיכל המלך.

And it is like a king who brings a guest into his house, in which there are two things: that he provides for the guest's needs, and that the guest is in the palace of the king.

A royal guest gains two things — his material needs are met, and he is granted presence in the king's own palace.

והחכם מדבק עצמו בזה שהוא בהיכל המלך.

And the wise one attaches himself to this — that he is in the palace of the king.

The wise person values not the provisions but the privilege of being in the King's presence itself.

וז"ש ולקחתם כו' כענין אתה תומיך גורלי שמרמזין לבנ"י לבחור להם הפנימיות.

And this is the meaning of "and you shall take…" — like the verse "You uphold my lot" — which hints to Bnei Yisrael to choose for themselves the inner dimension.

"Take for yourselves" and "You uphold my lot" both signal that Bnei Yisrael are to choose the penimiyus — closeness to Hashem Himself over external benefits.

ונחזור להתחלת דברינו כי הד' מינים הם להמשיך הדעת לכל הפרטים.

And let us return to the beginning of our words: the four species serve to draw the daas down into all the details.

Returning to his theme: the arba minim channel the divine awareness of Sukkos into every particular part of a person and of the nation.

וחז"ל אמרו ד' מינים נגד האנשים שבישראל שיש להם טעם וריח וטעם או ריח ובלי טעם ובלי ריח כו' ושיהי' כולם אגודה אחת כו'.

And Chazal said: the four species correspond to the types of people in Yisrael — those who have taste and fragrance, taste or fragrance, and those with neither taste nor fragrance — and that they should all be one bound bundle.

The well-known Midrash maps the four species onto four types of Jews (Torah and good deeds, one or the other, or neither), all to be bound together as a single unit.

כי באמת מה הפרש לפני המקום ב"ה בין הגדול או הפחות שבישראל לפיגודל רוממותו ית' מצד שבחר בישראל.

For in truth, what difference is there before Hashem, blessed be He, between the greatest and the least in Yisrael — given the immensity of His exaltedness — from the standpoint that He chose Yisrael?

Relative to Hashem's infinite greatness, the distance between the loftiest and lowliest Jew is negligible; what matters is that He chose Yisrael as a whole.

ולכן זה העיקר לבטל עצמו תוך כלל ישראל ואז מעלה טעם וריח לפני הקב"ה.

Therefore the essential thing is to nullify oneself within Klal Yisrael, and then one brings up taste and fragrance before Hashem.

The key avodah is bittul — nullifying one's individual self into the collective of Klal Yisrael — through which even one lacking "taste and fragrance" contributes them before Hashem.

ובאמת גם בכל איש פרטי יש אלו הד' מינים במדות ואברים מיוחדים.

And in truth, in every individual person too there are these four species, in particular middos (traits) and limbs.

The four types exist within each person as well — different traits and faculties, some more developed than others.

שבדבר זה הוא מתוקן יותר כו'.

That in this particular matter he is more rectified… (and in another, less so).

Each person is more refined in some areas of his character and less in others.

ולכן כפי מה שמבטל ומכניס מעשיו הטובים לכלל ישראל כמאמר חז"ל שימסרם לצבור יפה יפה.

Therefore, to the degree that one nullifies himself and brings his good deeds into Klal Yisrael — as Chazal said, that one should hand them over to the community well and truly —

By dedicating his good deeds to the community rather than keeping them as private merit, a person joins them to the whole of Klal Yisrael.

ע"י זה נעשה מזה קרבן ציבור.

Through this, it becomes a communal offering (korban tzibbur).

Deeds surrendered to the community take on the elevated status of a public korban, beyond any private offering.

זוכה עי"ז להעלות גם המקומות שנמצאו בו שצריכין תיקון כאמור.

Through this he merits to elevate even those areas within himself that require rectification, as mentioned.

By this self-nullification into the tzibbur, even his deficient, unrefined areas — his "without taste or fragrance" parts — get elevated along with the whole.

וכענין שאמרו חז"ל יותר ממה שבעה"ב עושה עם העני העני עושה עמו.

And it is like what Chazal said: more than the householder does for the poor man, the poor man does for the householder.

The recipient of tzedakah confers a greater spiritual benefit on the giver than the giver confers materially on him.

כמו כן אין עני אלא מן התורה כו'.

Likewise, "there is no poor man except in Torah."

Just as in material giving, so too in Torah and spiritual matters one may be "poor" in certain areas and dependent on the whole.

ועל ידי זה שעושה צדקה בהדעת שבו מקבל גם הוא.

And through this — that he performs tzedakah with the daas that is within him — he too receives.

When a person shares his portion of daas with others as a kind of tzedakah, he himself is enriched in return.

וכל העבודה צריך להיות כדי שיהי' להקב"ה נחת רוח מכלל ישראל.

And all of the avodah must be in order that Hashem have nachas ruach (satisfaction) from Klal Yisrael.

The ultimate aim of all our service is to give Hashem nachas from the unified whole of Klal Yisrael, not personal gain.

וז"ש ולקחתם לכם כו' ושמחתם לפני ה' אלקיכם.

And this is the meaning of "and you shall take for yourselves… and you shall rejoice before Hashem your God."

The Torah pairs the "taking" with rejoicing "before Hashem" — pointing the joy upward toward Him.

להעלות השמחה לפני הקב"ה על ידי הלקיחה שתקחו עצמיכם להיות כלולין כאחת:

To raise up the joy before Hashem by means of the "taking" — that you take yourselves to be included together as one.

The true "taking" of the four species is taking oneself to be bound together with all of Klal Yisrael as one, and thereby raising up the simchah before Hashem.

Summary: On Sukkos a special daas is drawn into Bnei Yisrael, with the sukkah as surrounding light and the four species drawing that awareness into one's penimiyus. Since the Bais Hamikdash's korbanos rectified the outer dimension, our avodah now centers on the inner dimension — a loftier level placed "in your hand," whereby Bnei Yisrael choose closeness to the King Himself over the external flow given to the seventy princes. The four species, representing four types of Jews bound as one, teach that the essential avodah is bittul into Klal Yisrael: by surrendering one's good deeds to the community as a korban tzibbur, even one's deficient areas are elevated, and the joy of "you shall take for yourselves" is raised before Hashem as one unified whole.