The sukkah shields against the evil eye of praise

שמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל בפסוק ולמקנהו עשה סוכות דבנ"י הם קנין אחד.

I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory, on the pasuk "and for his livestock he made sukkos" — that Bnei Yisrael are a single acquisition.

The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) reading "mikneihu" (his livestock/acquisition) as a hint to Bnei Yisrael, who are Hashem's unique kinyan (acquisition).

וזה הקנין שבחר הקב"ה בנו כדכתיב עם זו קנית דבר זה צריך הגנה.

And this acquisition, that the Holy One, blessed be He, chose us, as it is written, "this nation You have acquired" — this thing requires protection.

Because Hashem "acquired" us as His chosen people (Shemos 15:16), this precious possession needs guarding.

והוא מצות הסוכה עכ"ד פח"ח.

And that is the mitzvah of the sukkah. These are his words, pleasant words of the living.

The protective covering for this acquisition is the mitzvah of sukkah — so taught his grandfather.

וי"ל משום דביוהכ"פ מלאך רע עונה אמן בעל כרחו.

And one can say that this is because on Yom Kippur the evil angel answers "amen" against its will.

The Sefas Emes explains why protection is needed precisely now: on Yom Kippur even the accusing angel is forced to acknowledge Bnei Yisrael's greatness and say "amen."

כדאיתא שמלמד עליהם זכות למעלה שדומים למלאכים.

As is brought, that it speaks merit on their behalf above, that they resemble the angels.

On Yom Kippur Bnei Yisrael are so elevated — fasting and abstaining like malachim — that even the prosecutor must defend them on high.

ובזה השבח יכול ליתן עין רעה ח"ו בישראל כדאיתא בזוה"ק גבי בלעם וירא את ישראל שוכן כו' ותהי עליו על בנ"י רוח אלקים לכסות אותם ע"ש.

And through this very praise it can cast an evil eye, God forbid, upon Yisrael, as is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh regarding Bilaam, "and he saw Yisrael dwelling," etc., that "a spirit of God came upon him" — over Bnei Yisrael — to cover them (see there).

Yet that very praise can become dangerous: as with Bilaam, whose admiring gaze threatened an ayin hara (evil eye), so Bnei Yisrael now need to be "covered" and shielded from the danger lurking within high praise.

וכן הוא מצות הסוכה אחר יוהכ"פ שהקב"ה מגין עלינו מעינו של אותו רשע.

And so it is with the mitzvah of sukkah after Yom Kippur, that the Holy One, blessed be He, shields us from the eye of that wicked one.

This is why sukkah follows right after Yom Kippur: the sukkah's covering protects Bnei Yisrael from the evil eye aroused by their Yom Kippur elevation.

דכ' הצילני נא מיד אחי מיד עשו פירשו המפרשים דצריך הצלה בבחי' השנאה וגם שלא יוכל להזיק ע"י התקרבות ואחוה.

For it is written, "Save me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisav" — the commentators explained that one needs rescue both from the aspect of hatred and also so that he cannot harm through closeness and brotherhood.

Yaakov's prayer names Eisav as both "my brother" and "Eisav," teaching that one needs deliverance from two dangers: open hatred, and also the subtler harm that comes through affection and closeness.

ובפסח יציאת מצרים הוא הישועה מתוך הצרות.

And on Pesach, the Exodus from Mitzrayim, is the salvation from within the troubles.

Pesach represents redemption from outright affliction and hostility — salvation "from the hand of Eisav," the danger of hatred.

ועתה הישועה שלא יוכל להזיק בהתקרבות כנ"ל מיד אחי.

And now the salvation is that he cannot harm through closeness, as above — "from the hand of my brother."

Sukkos provides the other kind of rescue: protection from the harm that can come through "my brother" — the danger hidden in admiration and closeness.

לכן אחר שנתפייס עמו עשו כתיב ויעקב נסע סכותה:

Therefore, after Eisav became reconciled with him, it is written, "and Yaakov journeyed to Sukkos."

This is why, precisely after Yaakov reconciled with Eisav — when the danger of harm-through-closeness arose — the Torah says he journeyed to "Sukkos," for the sukkah is the shield against exactly that threat.

Summary: Bnei Yisrael are Hashem's precious kinyan, and the mitzvah of sukkah guards them. After Yom Kippur, when they are elevated like malachim and praised even by the accuser, that very praise exposes them to an ayin hara — like Bilaam's gaze and like Eisav's "brotherly" closeness. The sukkah shields them from harm-through-closeness, which is why Yaakov journeyed to Sukkos right after reconciling with Eisav.