The sukkah as freedom above nature

איתא בגמ' כי בסוכות הושבתי איכא מ"ד סוכות ממש ואיכא מ"ד ענני כבוד.

It is stated in the Gemara on "For I caused [Bnei Yisrael] to dwell in sukkos" (Vayikra 23:43): there is an opinion that they were actual booths, and there is an opinion that they were the Clouds of Glory (Sukkah 11b).

The Sefas Emes opens with the Gemara's two views about what the sukkos of the Exodus were: literal huts, or the Ananei HaKavod (Clouds of Glory) that surrounded Bnei Yisrael.

ומסתמא הכל אמת דצריכין להבין למ"ד סוכות ממש מה ענין זה.

And presumably both are true; we must understand, according to the opinion of "actual booths," what the matter of this is.

Since "both these and those are the words of the living God," both views must be true. The challenge is to understand the deeper meaning of the opinion that they were merely ordinary physical booths.

ויש לומר עפ"י אמרם ז"ל אמרה תורה צא מדירת קבע ושב בדירת ארעי.

And one may say, based on what they said, that the Torah declared: "Leave your permanent dwelling and dwell in a temporary dwelling."

Chazal teach that the mitzvah of sukkah is to depart one's fixed home (diras keva) and live in a temporary one (diras arai) — a key to understanding the "actual booths."

וזהו באמת עיקר החירות שניתן ביציאת מצרים לכל איש ישראל שלא יהי' מוטבע בעניני הטבע.

And this is truly the essence of the freedom that was given at the Exodus from Mitzrayim to every Yid — that he should not be sunk into the affairs of nature.

The real cheirus (freedom) of Yetzias Mitzrayim was inner: liberation from being "embedded" in the material, natural world — the ability to live above it.

וז"ש בסוכות הושבתי כו' בהוציאי אותם שהי' נטיעה בלבות בנ"י לצאת ממאסר הגוף והטבע להיות בעוה"ז בארעי.

And this is the meaning of "in sukkos I caused them to dwell… when I brought them out" — that there was implanted in the hearts of Bnei Yisrael to go out from the imprisonment of the body and nature, to be in this world in a temporary manner.

"Dwelling in sukkos" expresses what Hashem planted in the Yidden's hearts at the Exodus: to break free from the "prison" of the body and nature and to live in olam hazeh as temporary residents — not sunk into it as a permanent home.

כמ"ש ויסעו מרעמסס סוכתה שדרשו חז"ל זה על פסוק ואשא אתכם על כנפי נשרים ע"ש.

As it is written, "And they journeyed from Ramses to Sukkos" (Shemos 12:37), which Chazal expounded in connection with the pasuk, "and I bore you on the wings of eagles" (Shemos 19:4); see there.

Chazal link the journey "to Sukkos" with being carried "on eagles' wings," indicating that this first stage of the Exodus was an elevation above the natural world.

והוא כנ"ל שניתן להם כח להיות למעלה מהטבע להיות להם כנפים שלמים לפרחא בהון לאביהן שבשמים.

And this is as above: that they were given the power to be above nature, to have complete "wings" with which to fly up to their Father in Heaven.

The "eagles' wings" signify the spiritual power Bnei Yisrael received to rise above nature — wings to soar toward their Avihem shebaShomayim (Father in Heaven).

וכפי מה שמתקיים בכל איש ישראל דירה זו שלא להיות מוטבע בעוה"ז. כך חל עליו שם שמים וסוכת ענני כבוד.

And to the degree that this dwelling — not being sunk into this world — is fulfilled in each Yid, so does the Name of Heaven, and the sukkah of the Clouds of Glory, rest upon him.

Here the Sefas Emes reconciles the two opinions: the "actual booth" (living temporarily, detached from materiality) is the avodah; and to the extent a person achieves it, the higher reality — the Shechinah and the Ananei HaKavod — comes to rest upon him. The physical sukkah and the Clouds are two stages of one truth.

ולכן ניתן זו המצוה אחר יוהכ"פ.

Therefore this mitzvah was given after Yom Kippur.

This explains the timing of Sukkos right after Yom Kippur.

כי לא בכל עת אנו זוכין לזה רק בהיות פעם אחת בשנה שבנ"י מטוהרין כמ"ש יכפר עליכם כו' אז באין למדריגה זו.

For not at every time do we merit this; only when, once a year, Bnei Yisrael are purified, as it is written, "He shall atone for you…" (Vayikra 16:30), do we come to this level.

Rising above nature to the level of the Clouds of Glory is not attainable at any moment; it requires the purity achieved on Yom Kippur, after which Bnei Yisrael are cleansed and can reach this elevated rung — hence Sukkos follows immediately.

א"כ הוא עדות שבסוכות הושבתי כו'. מאחר שיש עת שמתקיים.

If so, it is a testimony that "in sukkos I caused them to dwell…", since there is a time when it is fulfilled.

The very fact that there is a season (Sukkos, after Yom Kippur) when a Yid actually attains this state serves as living testimony to the original truth that Hashem caused Bnei Yisrael to dwell in sukkos above nature.

לכן עלינו לטהר עצמינו בכל עידן ועידן לזכות לזה תמיד.

Therefore it is upon us to purify ourselves at every time and season, to merit this always.

The lesson is to strive for that purity continually, so as to merit this elevation above nature not only once a year but at all times.

וכתיב למען ידעו דרתיכם חסר. פי' שהוא עדות שלא יתיאשו בנ"י עצמם באחרית הימים כמונו היום בשפל המדריגה.

And it is written, "so that your generations [doroseichem] shall know" — written defectively. The explanation is that it is a testimony that Bnei Yisrael should not despair of themselves in the latter days, like us today, in our lowly level.

The word "doroseichem" is spelled defectively (chaser), hinting at "diroseichem" (your dwellings) and at later, diminished generations. The sukkah testifies that even in our lowly state in the end of days, Bnei Yisrael must not give up hope of rising above nature.

עכ"ז צריך איש ישראל להאמין כי בימים אלו יוצא מאפילה לאורה.

Nonetheless, a Yid must believe that in these days he goes out from darkness to light.

Despite our lowliness, every Yid must hold firm in emunah that during this Yom Tov he emerges from darkness into light.

כי לא יוכל איש ישראל להיות נטבע לגמרי בטבע.

For a Yid can never be completely sunk into nature.

The inner core of a Yid can never be wholly submerged in the material world; the spark to rise above it always remains.

וזהו בסוכות הושבתי כמ"ש.

And this is "in sukkos I caused them to dwell," as explained.

This enduring capacity to live above nature is precisely what "dwelling in sukkos" attests to.

ואפשר כי בדורות הללו חביב ביותר לפניו ית' מצות סוכה. שקראו בזוה"ק צלא דמהמנותא.

And it is possible that in these generations the mitzvah of sukkah is especially beloved before Him — that which the Zohar called "the shade of emunah" (tzila dimheimanusa).

The Sefas Emes suggests that in our weaker generations the sukkah is even dearer to Hashem; the Zohar calls it the "shade of faith," for sitting in it is itself an act of pure emunah.

כי הראשונים הרגישו בחלות שם שמים על הסוכה וראו האושפיזין.

For the early ones sensed the resting of the Name of Heaven upon the sukkah and saw the Ushpizin (the exalted guests).

Earlier, greater generations could actually perceive the Shechinah dwelling on the sukkah and even beheld the Ushpizin — the holy guests who visit each day.

ואנחנו אין אתנו יודע עד מה.

But we have no one among us who knows how long [or who perceives anything] (cf. Tehillim 74:9).

We, by contrast, have no such perception; we sense nothing of that revealed holiness.

ועכ"ז אנו חסין בצלו כמאמר עם עני ודל וחסו בשם ה'.

And nonetheless we take refuge in His shade, as in the saying, "a poor and lowly people, and they take refuge in the Name of Hashem" (cf. Tzefaniah 3:12).

Precisely because we perceive nothing yet still enter the sukkah and trust in Hashem, our act is pure faith — the "poor and lowly people" who take shelter in His Name with nothing but emunah.

אח"כ ראיתי שגם אמו"ז ז"ל אמר כעין דברים אלו שנק' עתה יותר צלא דמהמנותא:

Afterward I saw that my grandfather, of blessed memory, also said something like these words — that now it is called even more "the shade of emunah."

The Sefas Emes notes with satisfaction that his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) expressed the same idea: in our generation, when we sit in the sukkah with no perception yet full of trust, it is even more truly the "shade of faith."

Summary: The Gemara's two views of the sukkos — actual booths or Clouds of Glory — are both true and form one idea. The "actual booth" embodies the essence of the freedom of Yetzias Mitzrayim: leaving the permanent dwelling for a temporary one, breaking free from the imprisonment of body and nature to live in this world only provisionally. To the degree a Yid achieves this, the Shechinah and the Ananei HaKavod rest upon him — which is why Sukkos follows the purity of Yom Kippur. The sukkah testifies that a Yid can never be wholly sunk in nature and must never despair even in lowly generations. Indeed, in our generation, when we sit in the sukkah perceiving nothing yet trusting in Hashem, it is all the more the "shade of emunah."