Leaving nature to perceive the hidden light

למען ידעו כו' בסוכות הושבתי י"א סוכות ממש וי"א ענני כבוד.

"So that they shall know... that I caused [Bnei Yisrael] to dwell in sukkos" (Vayikra 23:43) — one opinion holds these were literal booths (sukkos mamash), and another holds they were the Clouds of Glory (Ananei HaKavod).

The Sefas Emes opens from the well-known dispute over what the sukkos of the verse were: actual booths or the Ananei HaKavod.

ובודאי הכל אמת כי ענין סוכות ממש הוא מה שזכו בנ"י להיות נמשך אחר השי"ת ויצאו מהנהגת הטבע.

And surely both are true, for the matter of "literal booths" is what Bnei Yisrael merited — to be drawn after Hashem Yisbarach and to leave the conduct of nature.

The Sefas Emes harmonizes both views: the "literal booths" represent Bnei Yisrael allowing themselves to be drawn after Hashem into the wilderness, stepping out of the natural order.

כמ"ש במדרש ולא נחם אלקים דרך ארץ ע"ש.

As is stated in the Midrash on "And Elokim did not lead them by way of the land" (Shemos 13:17) — see there.

Hashem deliberately led them by an unnatural route through the desert rather than the ordinary "way of the land."

וכפי מה שזוכין להבדל מן הטבע כמו כן זוכין להנהגה שלמעלה מהטבע והוא בחי' ענני הכבוד.

And according to how much one merits to be separated from nature, so too one merits a conduct that is above nature — and this is the aspect of the Ananei HaKavod.

The two views are really one: the measure in which Bnei Yisrael detach from nature (the "booths") is the measure in which they receive supernatural Divine protection (the "Clouds of Glory").

והרמז הבורח מן הכבוד הכבוד רודף אחריו.

And the hint in this is: one who flees from honor (kavod) — honor pursues him.

Because Bnei Yisrael "fled" the natural pursuit of honor and self by following Hashem into the desert, the Kavod — the Ananei HaKavod — came chasing after them.

ובחי' הסוכה שהוא רמז לדור המדבר הוא כענין מצוה ראשונה של אברהם אע"ה לך לך כו' אל הארץ אשר אראך.

And the aspect of the sukkah, which alludes to the generation of the wilderness, is like the matter of the first mitzvah of Avraham Avinu: "Go for yourself... to the land that I will show you" (Bereishis 12:1).

The sukkah, recalling the desert generation, parallels Avraham's first command — to leave the familiar and journey toward a land Hashem would only later reveal.

שע"י שעזב ארצו ומולדתו זכה לראות מה שא"י לראות בדרך הטבע.

For by leaving his land and his birthplace he merited to see what one cannot see by way of nature.

Avraham's willingness to abandon the natural securities of homeland earned him a vision and revelation impossible within nature's bounds.

וכן כ' בספרים כי סוכה הוא מלשון סוכה ברוח הקודש.

And so it is written in the sefarim that "sukkah" is from the language of "sochah b'ruach hakodesh" (one who perceives through ruach hakodesh).

The holy sefarim connect "sukkah" to the root meaning "to see" or "perceive" — the sukkah enables a vision through ruach hakodesh.

היינו ע"י שנבדלים מהטבע כענין צא מדירת קבע שעוה"ז לבנ"י הוא ארעי שעיקר דירתם הוא למעלה.

That is, by separating from nature — as in "leave the permanent dwelling" — for this world is to Bnei Yisrael only a temporary dwelling, since their essential dwelling is above.

Leaving one's "permanent home" for the temporary sukkah expresses the truth that this world is merely a way-station for Bnei Yisrael, whose true home is in the spiritual realm above.

ובימים אלו יכולין בנ"י לצאת מן הטבע.

And in these days Bnei Yisrael are able to leave nature.

The days of Sukkos grant Bnei Yisrael the power to step outside the natural order.

ועי"ז יכולין לראות אור הצפון כנ"ל:

And through this they are able to see the Or HaGanuz (the Hidden Light), as above.

By transcending nature in the sukkah, Bnei Yisrael can perceive the concealed primordial light — the supernal revelation reserved for those who detach from the physical world.

Summary: The Sefas Emes reconciles the two views of the Sukkos "booths" — literal huts versus the Clouds of Glory — as a single idea: to the degree that Bnei Yisrael detach from nature by allowing themselves to be drawn after Hashem (the "booths"), they merit supernatural Divine protection (the "Clouds of Glory"), for "one who flees honor, honor pursues him." The sukkah, recalling Avraham's first command to leave his homeland and the language of "perceiving through ruach hakodesh," teaches that this world is only a temporary dwelling while Bnei Yisrael's true home is above. In these days they can step beyond nature and behold the Or HaGanuz, the hidden light.