Torah as living water of Sukkos

במשנה ובחג נדונין על המים.

In the Mishnah: "And on the festival [of Sukkos] judgment is rendered concerning water" (Rosh Hashanah 1:2).

On Sukkos the world is judged regarding rainfall — the Sefas Emes will read this as judgment over the inner "water" of Torah as well.

לכן מתפללין על הגשם.

Therefore we pray for rain.

This is why the prayers for rain are associated with Sukkos.

ומסתמא עיקר הכוונה על התורה שנאמ' כל צמא לכו למים.

And presumably the main intent is the Torah, as it says, "All who are thirsty, go to the water" (Yeshayahu 55:1).

The deeper meaning of "water" is Torah; the thirst the pasuk speaks of is a thirst for Torah.

וכמו שהמים הם מזון וקיום העולם לפתוח הקרקע ולעשות פירות.

And just as water is the sustenance and survival of the world, opening the ground to produce fruit,

Physical water nourishes the earth and enables it to bring forth produce.

כן התורה בלב האדם.

so too is the Torah within the heart of man.

Torah does for the human heart what rain does for the soil — it opens it up and brings forth spiritual fruit.

וכתיב וכל שיח השדה כו' כי לא המטיר כו' ואדם אין כו' פרש"י שאין מי להכיר טובת הגשמים ולהתפלל.

And it is written: "And no shrub of the field [was yet in the earth]... for [Hashem] had not caused it to rain... and there was no man [to work the ground]" (Bereishis 2:5), and Rashi explains that there was no one to recognize the goodness of rain and to pray for it.

Rain was withheld until man existed who could appreciate it and daven for it — the flow depends on a recipient who asks.

ובודאי זה הסדר נוהג בכל שנה.

And certainly this order operates every year.

This pattern — flow depending on man's request — repeats annually.

שבר"ה מתחדש הבריאה.

For on Rosh Hashanah creation is renewed.

Rosh Hashanah re-creates the world afresh.

ואחר כך צריכין לבקש פרנסה וקיום העולם.

And afterward one must request parnasah (sustenance) and the survival of the world.

Once creation is renewed, man must then ask for the sustenance that keeps it going.

שזה תלוי בתפלת התחתונים.

For this depends upon the prayer of those below.

The downward flow of sustenance is contingent on the davening of people here in this world.

וזהו טעם הפשוט של מצות סוכה לצאת החוצה מן הבית ולידע כי הארץ צריכה מטר מן השמים.

And this is the plain reason for the mitzvah of sukkah: to go out of one's house and to know that the land needs rain from the heavens.

Leaving the permanence of the house for the temporary sukkah reminds a person that all survival depends on what comes down from Above.

וכמו כן בפנימיות לשפוך שיח לפני השי"ת להריק דעת ללב האדם.

And likewise, on the inner level, to pour out one's speech (lishpoch siach) before Hashem, that He pour daas (understanding) into the heart of man.

Just as we ask for rain, inwardly we pour out prayer asking Hashem to pour the "water" of Torah-understanding into our hearts.

שגם השפעת דעת התורה תלוי כפי השתוקקות ורצון האדם.

For the influx of the daas of Torah, too, depends on the yearning and desire of the person.

Torah knowledge flows in proportion to how much one longs and desires it.

כמ"ש כל צמא לכו.

As it says, "All who are thirsty, go [to the water]."

The pasuk's condition is thirst — desire is the prerequisite for receiving the "water" of Torah.

וכ' ישוטטו לבקש דבר ה'.

And it is written, "they shall roam about seeking the word of Hashem" (Amos 8:12).

One must actively search and wander in pursuit of Torah — the seeking itself opens the channel.

ואמרו חז"ל הוי גולה למקום תורה.

And Chazal said, "Exile yourself to a place of Torah" (Avos 4:14).

One should be willing to leave home and uproot oneself to reach Torah — paralleling the sukkah, where one leaves the home.

וכמו שהי' במדבר שלא זכו לתורה עד שנמשכו אחר השי"ת למדבר צי'.

And as it was in the wilderness, that they did not merit the Torah until they were drawn after Hashem into the parched desert (midbar tziyah).

Bnei Yisrael received the Torah only after following Hashem into the barren desert — the model of "exiling oneself" to attain Torah.

ומזה הטעם ע"י הסוכה זוכין לתורה אחר כך.

And for this reason, through the sukkah one merits the Torah afterward.

By leaving the home for the sukkah — like following Hashem into the desert — one prepares to merit Torah.

והג' מועדות יש בהם ג' ברכות על בני חיי ומזוני.

And the three festivals contain three blessings — of children (banei), life (chayei), and sustenance (mezonei).

The three Regalim correspond to the three great blessings of children, life, and sustenance.

והחג הוא מזוני.

And the festival [of Sukkos] is "sustenance."

Sukkos is specifically the festival of mezonei, parnasah.

ולכן הוא בזמן שמחה.

And therefore it is at a time of joy.

Because Sukkos is bound up with sustenance, it is "the season of our rejoicing."

כי הקב"ה כביכול שמח בהכינו מזון לבריותיו.

For HaKadosh Baruch Hu, as it were, rejoices when He prepares food for His creatures.

Hashem Himself "delights" in providing sustenance, so the season of parnasah is a season of joy.

וכמ"ש הנה נתתי לכם כו' כל עשב כו' ובכ"מ דכתיב לשון זה הוא לשון שמחה.

As it is written, "Behold, I have given you... every herb..." (Bereishis 1:29), and wherever this expression ["behold, I have given"] appears, it is a language of joy.

The phrase "Behold, I have given" connotes the joy of a giver bestowing a gift.

ללמד לאדם לקבל אורח בסבר פנים יפות לתת צדקה בשמחה.

To teach a person to receive a guest with a pleasant countenance, and to give tzedakah with joy.

From Hashem's joyful giving we learn to welcome guests and give charity gladly — fittingly, hosting guests is central to Sukkos.

לכן קבע זמן הפרנסה בזמן שמחתינו.

Therefore He set the time of parnasah at "the time of our rejoicing."

Hashem deliberately placed the judgment over sustenance during Sukkos, the season of joy, since giving and joy belong together.

וכפי מה שנמצא אנשי דעת שמכירין טובת השי"ת יש לפניו ית' שמחה להשפיע להם כל טוב.

And to the extent that there are people of daas who recognize the goodness of Hashem, there is, so to speak, joy before Him to bestow upon them all good.

When people appreciate Hashem's kindness, Hashem "rejoices" to pour goodness onto them — the recipient's recognition draws the flow.

לכן בזמן הזה שיורד שפע פרנסה יש שמחה לפניו במרום.

Therefore at this time, when the flow of sustenance descends, there is joy before Him on high.

The descent of parnasah during Sukkos is accompanied by Divine joy above.

וכמו כן בפנימיות השפעה שהיא התורה לישראל כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחי' כו' מוצא פי ה' והיא התורה שנק' באר מים חיים.

And likewise on the inner level, the [true] flow is the Torah to Yisrael, for "man does not live by bread alone... but by all that comes forth from the mouth of Hashem" (Devarim 8:3) — and that is the Torah, which is called "a well of living waters."

The real sustenance is Torah itself, the "well of living waters" that gives true life, paralleling the physical mezonei.

ובמד' ויצא ג' עדרי צאן ג' רגלים כו'.

And in the Midrash: "And behold, three flocks of sheep [lay there by the well]" (Bereishis 29:2) — these are the three Regalim.

The three flocks at the well in Yaakov's story are darshened as the three pilgrimage festivals.

ומסתמא ונאספו שמה כל העדרים הוא בחג הסוכות חג האסיף שבו מתאספין כח כל הג' רגלים.

And presumably "and all the flocks would be gathered there" (Bereishis 29:3) refers to the festival of Sukkos, the "Festival of Ingathering" (Chag HaAsif), in which the power of all three Regalim is gathered.

Sukkos, the Chag HaAsif, gathers and concentrates the spiritual force of all three festivals into one.

לכן נפתח בו הבאר.

Therefore the well is opened on it.

Because Sukkos gathers all the flocks, the well — the source of Torah's living waters — is opened then.

ומשם שואבין רוח הקודש כמו שהי' בשמחת בית השואבה:

And from there one draws ruach hakodesh, as it was at the Simchas Beis HaSho'eivah (the Rejoicing of the Water-Drawing).

From this opened well one draws ruach hakodesh — exactly as the joy of the Simchas Beis HaSho'eivah in the Bais Hamikdash, where they drew water and inspiration alike.

Summary: On Sukkos the world is judged for water — outwardly rain, inwardly the "living waters" of Torah, both of which flow only in proportion to man's thirst, prayer, and recognition. Leaving the house for the sukkah mirrors exiling oneself to a place of Torah and following Hashem into the desert. As the Chag HaAsif, Sukkos gathers the power of all three festivals, opening the well from which one draws sustenance, joy, and ruach hakodesh.