Sukkos and receiving honor safely

בשם אא"ז מו"ר ז"ל כי הג' רגלים הם לבטל הג' מדות רעות קנאה תאוה כבוד.

In the name of my grandfather, my teacher and master, of blessed memory: that the three Regalim (festivals) are meant to nullify the three evil traits — jealousy, desire, and honor.

The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather that each of the three pilgrimage festivals comes to uproot one of the three character flaws that, as Chazal say, drive a person out of the world: kinah (envy), taavah (craving), and kavod (chasing honor).

ומסתמא סוכות נגד הכבוד כי הוא נגד ענני הכבוד.

And presumably Sukkos corresponds to honor, since it corresponds to the Ananei HaKavod (Clouds of Glory).

Sukkos, which recalls the Clouds of Glory that surrounded Bnei Yisrael, is the festival aimed at the trait of kavod — teaching how honor should properly be handled.

ובחג הזה הקב"ה מכבד בנ"י יותר מכל האומות.

And on this festival the Holy One, blessed is He, honors Bnei Yisrael more than all the nations.

On Sukkos, Hashem singles out Bnei Yisrael for honor above all the other nations of the world.

והוא הוראה שבני ישראל הם מוכנים לקבל הכבוד.

And this is an indication that Bnei Yisrael are fit to receive honor.

The fact that Hashem grants them this honor shows that Bnei Yisrael have reached a state in which honor can be given to them without harm.

דאיתא המרבה כבוד שמים וממעט כבוד עצמו כבוד שמים מתרבה וכבודו מתרבה.

For it is taught: one who increases the honor of Heaven and diminishes his own honor — the honor of Heaven is increased, and his own honor is increased.

Chazal teach that the one who pushes aside his personal honor in order to magnify Hashem's honor ends up with both: Heaven's honor grows, and his own honor grows along with it.

וקשה מה לי בזה שכבודו מתרבה.

And this is difficult: what benefit is it to me that my own honor is increased?

The Sefas Emes asks: if a person has truly nullified his desire for personal honor, why should it matter to him, or be presented as a reward, that his own honor grows?

רק שזוכה עי"ז שיוכל לקבל הכבוד שאף שיתרבה כבודו יהי' מזה ריבוי כבוד שמים ג"כ.

Rather, through this he merits that he is able to receive honor — that even when his honor increases, this too will bring about an increase in the honor of Heaven.

The reward is not the honor itself, but the spiritual ability to hold honor safely: such a person reaches a level where any honor that comes to him only redounds to Hashem's honor, rather than feeding his ego.

ולכן אחר ר"ה ויוכ"פ שבנ"י שבו בתשובה הם מוכנים לקבל הכבוד כנ"ל:

Therefore, after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when Bnei Yisrael have returned in teshuvah, they are fit to receive honor, as above.

Because Sukkos follows the teshuvah of the Yamim Noraim, Bnei Yisrael have purified themselves of self-seeking, and only then are they ready to be honored in a way that magnifies Hashem rather than themselves.

Summary: The three Regalim uproot the three destructive traits, with Sukkos aimed at kavod. Through the teshuvah of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Bnei Yisrael become people whose honor only increases Hashem's honor, and so on Sukkos Hashem honors them above all nations — the Clouds of Glory reflecting their fitness to receive honor safely.