Sukkos: Hashem grants renewed joy and desire

בסוכות תשבו כו' למען ידעו דורותיכם כי בסוכות הושבתי כו'.

"In sukkos you shall dwell… so that your generations shall know that I caused [Bnei Yisrael] to dwell in sukkos…" (Vayikra 23:42-43).

The Sefas Emes opens with the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah, whose purpose is that the generations should know that Hashem settled Bnei Yisrael in sukkos when He took them out of Mitzrayim.

הענין הוא דכתיב ואשא אתכם על כנפי נשרים כו' פרש"י שנאמר על שנאספו בשעה אחד מרעמסס לסוכות.

The matter is that it is written, "and I bore you on eagles' wings…" (Shemos 19:4), which Rashi explains was said about how they were gathered in a single moment from Ra'amses to Sukkos.

Rashi teaches that being carried "on eagles' wings" refers to the miraculous instant in which all of Bnei Yisrael were gathered from Ra'amses to Sukkos at the start of the Exodus.

פי' שאינו עפ"י הטבע.

That is, it was not according to nature.

Such an instantaneous gathering of an entire nation was wholly supernatural — above the ordinary workings of the natural world.

איך שנהפכו בשעה אחד מהיותם עבדים לפרעה. להיות נמשך אחר ענני כבודו ית'.

How they were transformed in a single moment from being slaves to Pharaoh into being drawn after the Clouds of His Glory.

In one instant Bnei Yisrael were utterly transformed — from enslavement to Pharaoh to following the Ananei HaKavod (Clouds of Glory) in devotion to Hashem.

וזה חסד גדול בסוכות הושבתי בהוציאי כו'.

And this is a great chesed: "I caused them to dwell in sukkos when I brought them out…"

That sudden elevation was an act of immense Divine kindness — Hashem sheltered them under His Clouds the very moment He freed them.

וכמו כן נעשה מזה בכל שנה אחר ר"ה ויוהכ"פ שנגאלין מיצה"ר בכח האדם בשעה אחת להתהפך ולכנוס תחת צלו ית'.

And likewise this happens every year after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when a person is redeemed from the yetzer hara, with the power to transform himself in a single moment and to enter under His shade.

The same miracle is renewed each year: having been freed from the grip of the yetzer hara through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a person can, in one moment, transform himself and enter beneath Hashem's protective shade in the sukkah.

וזה בסוכות תשבו הוא נתינת רשות לבנ"י לישב בסוכות.

And this is "in sukkos you shall dwell" — it is the granting of permission to Bnei Yisrael to dwell in sukkos.

The command to dwell in the sukkah is also a granting of reshus — Hashem permits and invites Bnei Yisrael to enter and sit beneath His shelter.

וע"ז איתא הפותח שער לדופקי בתשובה.

And about this it is taught: "He who opens the gate to those who knock in teshuvah."

Just as Hashem opens the gate to those who knock through teshuvah, He opens the sukkah as a gateway of return and closeness for Bnei Yisrael.

והשי"ת נותן בימים אלו שמחה לבנ"י כמ"ש ושמחתם.

And Hashem gives Bnei Yisrael joy in these days, as it is written, "and you shall rejoice."

During Sukkos, Hashem Himself bestows simchah (joy) upon Bnei Yisrael, as the Torah commands "and you shall rejoice."

וע"י מצות ד' מינים שהם מביאים שמחה כי בעה"ב צריך לקבל האורח בסבר פנים יפות.

And through the mitzvah of the arba minim (four species), which bring joy, for the host must receive the guest with a pleasant countenance.

The four species are a source of this joy. Hashem, as the "host," receives His guests warmly — and the mitzvos of the day are the means by which that gracious welcome is expressed.

וכתיב אשרי יושבי ביתך.

And it is written, "fortunate are those who dwell in Your house" (Tehillim 84:5).

The one who sits in the sukkah is "dwelling in Hashem's house," for the sukkah is called the dwelling of the Makom (the Omnipresent).

והוא בסוכה שנק' ביתו של מקום שחל שם שמים על הסוכה.

And this is in the sukkah, which is called "the house of the Omnipresent," for the Name of Heaven rests upon the sukkah.

The sukkah is literally Hashem's house, since His Name rests upon it — to sit in it is to dwell within the Divine Presence itself.

עוד יהללוך סלה ע"י הלולב שיכולין להלל ולשיר לפניו בשמחה.

"They will yet praise You, selah" (Tehillim 84:5) — through the lulav one is able to praise and sing before Him with joy.

The verse continues that those who dwell in Hashem's house "will yet praise You" — fulfilled through the lulav, with which one praises and sings to Hashem in joy.

ובאמת אחר ימים הנוראים קשה למצוא השמחה.

And in truth, after the Yamim Nora'im (Days of Awe) it is difficult to find joy.

The Sefas Emes acknowledges a real challenge: after the awe and trembling of the Yamim Nora'im, joy does not come easily.

אם לא בעזר עליון ששולח שמחה בימים אלו ללבות בנ"י.

Were it not for the supernal help that sends joy in these days into the hearts of Bnei Yisrael.

The simchah of Sukkos is therefore a gift from Above — Hashem sends joy directly into the hearts of Bnei Yisrael, since they could not generate it on their own after the Days of Awe.

וע"ז נאמר רצון יראיו יעשה.

And about this it is said, "He fulfills the ratzon (desire) of those who fear Him" (Tehillim 145:19).

This Divine gift is alluded to in the verse "He fulfills the ratzon of those who fear Him" — Hashem grants the very desire and joy that His yir'ei Shomayim cannot produce themselves.

שימי סוכות הם ימי שמחה ורצון.

For the days of Sukkos are days of joy and ratzon (will/desire).

Sukkos is characterized as a time of both simchah and ratzon — joy together with a heightened, fulfilled desire toward Hashem.

דכתיב פותח את ידיך ומשביע לכל חי רצון.

As it is written, "You open Your hand and satisfy the ratzon of every living thing" (Tehillim 145:16).

The same Hebrew word ratzon appears here: Hashem "satisfies the ratzon of every living thing," providing not merely sustenance but the fulfillment of inner desire.

שהרצון הוא שלימות הנפש.

For ratzon is the completeness of the soul.

Ratzon — desire or will — is the perfection of the nefesh; a soul's wholeness is measured by the depth of its yearning toward Hashem.

וכפי התשוקה ושמחה ורצון האדם כך הוא מוכן לקבל.

And according to a person's longing, joy, and desire, so is he prepared to receive.

One's capacity to receive Divine bounty is determined by the measure of his teshukah (longing), joy, and ratzon — the greater the yearning, the greater the vessel for receiving.

ובר"ה ניתן חיות חדש לכל אדם לכן ניתן אח"כ בחג הזה הרצון כנ"ל.

And on Rosh Hashanah new vitality is given to every person; therefore afterward, on this festival, the ratzon is given, as above.

Rosh Hashanah infuses each person with fresh life-force; that renewal then gives rise on Sukkos to a renewed ratzon — a fresh desire and longing toward Hashem.

דאיתא לדעתן נבראו כו' אם כן בימים אלו שמתחדש הבריאה מתחדש גם הרצון.

For it is taught that they were created with their consent… If so, in these days when creation is renewed, the ratzon is also renewed.

Chazal teach that the works of creation came into being with their own "consent" or will. Therefore, when creation itself is renewed at the start of the year, the ratzon — the inner will that accompanies existence — is renewed along with it.

וז"ש רצון יריאיו יעשה.

And this is the meaning of "He fulfills the ratzon of those who fear Him."

This explains the verse anew: Hashem actively "makes" or generates the ratzon in His yir'ei Shomayim — He creates the very desire within them.

ע"י שקשה בעצמו להיות ברצון אחר ימים הנוראים שנופל פחד ויראה על האדם.

Because it is inherently difficult to be in a state of ratzon after the Yamim Nora'im, when fear and awe have fallen upon a person.

After the dread and yir'ah of the Days of Awe weigh upon a person, it is hard for him to summon joyful desire on his own.

לכן השי"ת עושה הרצון כנ"ל.

Therefore Hashem "makes" the ratzon, as above.

For this reason Hashem Himself generates the ratzon within a person — supplying the joyful longing he cannot reach unaided.

וע"י זה ואת שועתם ישמע ויושיעם כו' שהמה ימי ישועה:

And through this, "He hears their cry and saves them…" (Tehillim 145:19) — for these are days of yeshuah (salvation).

Because Hashem instills this renewed ratzon, the verse's continuation is fulfilled — "He hears their cry and saves them" — making the days of Sukkos days of salvation.

Summary: Just as Hashem transformed Bnei Yisrael in a single instant from slaves of Pharaoh into a nation following the Clouds of Glory, so each year after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur a person can in one moment transform himself and enter beneath Hashem's shade in the sukkah. Because joy is hard to summon after the awe of the Yamim Nora'im, Hashem Himself "makes the ratzon" — sending renewed desire and simchah into the hearts of His yir'ei Shomayim. Sukkos is thus a time of joy, fulfilled longing, and salvation, when Hashem grants the very desire that draws a person close to Him.