The sukkah as Hashem's protective garment

למען ידעו כו' כי בסוכות הושבתי כו' בהוציאי אותם מארץ מצרים.

"So that they will know etc. that I caused them to dwell in sukkos etc. when I brought them out of the land of Mitzrayim." (Vayikra 23:43)

The Sefas Emes opens with the pasuk that gives the reason for the mitzvah of sukkah — that Hashem settled Bnei Yisrael in sukkos when He took them out of Mitzrayim.

דכתיב אני ה' אלקיכם אשר הוצאתי כו' להיות לכם לאלקים כו'.

As it is written: "I am Hashem your God who brought you out etc., to be a God to you etc." (Vayikra 22:33, Bamidbar 15:41)

He links the Exodus to its purpose: Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim in order to be our God — that His Name should rest upon us.

וזה עצמו שחל שמו ית' על בנ"י להיות נקרא אלקי ישראל הוא ההגנה והסוכה.

And this itself — that His Name rests upon Bnei Yisrael, to be called "the God of Yisrael" — is the protection and the sukkah.

The true "sukkah" is not merely a physical hut but the resting of Hashem's Name upon Bnei Yisrael. That divine Name is itself the shelter and protection.

והרמז לדבר כי אוהל הוא שם אלוה.

And the hint to this is that "ohel" (tent) is the Name "Eloah."

The Sefas Emes finds a remez: the letters of the word ohel (tent/dwelling) allude to Hashem's Name Eloah — showing that the protective dwelling is really the divine Name itself.

והוא המלבוש שיש לכל איש ישראל.

And this is the garment (malbush) that every Jew has.

This divine Name resting upon a Jew is like a spiritual garment that clothes and surrounds him.

ובר"ה שמתחדש החיות מחי החיים.

And on Rosh Hashanah, when the life-force is renewed from the Life of all life.

On Rosh Hashanah a fresh flow of chiyus (life-force) descends to the world from Hashem, the source of all life.

וכל נקודה עליונה צריכה מלבוש להתלבש בו.

And every supernal point requires a garment in which to clothe itself.

This newly renewed inner point of life cannot remain exposed; it needs a "garment" — a vessel — through which it can be drawn down and contained.

וזהו הלבוש ניתן בחג הסוכות.

And this garment is given on the festival of Sukkos.

Sukkos provides precisely that garment for the inner life-force renewed on Rosh Hashanah — the sukkah that clothes and shelters the supernal point.

וע"ז נאמר פורס סוכת שלום וכו'.

And concerning this it is said: "Who spreads a sukkah of peace etc."

The bracha "Who spreads a sukkah of peace" describes this very garment — Hashem spreading His protective shelter of shalom over Bnei Yisrael.

כי השלימות צריך להיות בעזר אלוקי.

For completeness (shleimus) must come with divine assistance.

True wholeness cannot be achieved by human effort alone; it requires Hashem's help — the garment He provides from above.

כי השלום שלו.

For the peace (shalom) is His.

Shalom — completeness and peace — belongs to Hashem; it is His to grant, not something man can produce on his own.

ה' עוז לעמו יתן הוא נקודת הפנימיות.

"Hashem will give strength to His people" (Tehillim 29:11) — this is the inner point (nekudas hapenimiyus).

The "strength" Hashem gives corresponds to the inner point of life — the penimiyus renewed within Bnei Yisrael.

אח"כ יברך את עמו בשלום הוא המלבוש והגנה הנ"ל:

Afterward, "Hashem will bless His people with peace" (Tehillim 29:11) — this is the garment and protection mentioned above.

The second half of the pasuk, the blessing of shalom, corresponds to the garment of the sukkah that clothes and protects that inner point — first the inner strength, then its protective outer garment.

Summary: The true sukkah is the resting of Hashem's Name upon Bnei Yisrael, serving as a protective garment. On Rosh Hashanah the inner point of life is renewed, and on Sukkos it receives its garment — the "sukkah of peace" — for shleimus and shalom come only with divine help: first Hashem grants the inner strength (the penimiyus), then He clothes it in the protective garment of peace.