Yissurim and renewal lead to the path of life

ובמדרש תודיעני אורח חיים כו' יסורים אתה צריך כמ"ש דרך חיים תוכחת מוסר כו'.

And in the Midrash on "You will make known to me the path of life" (Tehillim 16:11): you require yissurim (afflictions), as it is written, "the way of life is the reproof of mussar (instruction)," etc. (Mishlei 6:23).

The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash teaching that the "path of life" is reached through yissurim and rebuke, which guide a person onto the true road.

דהנה כתיב ואוהבו שחרו מוסר.

For behold it is written: "and one who loves him seeks him out with mussar" (Mishlei 13:24).

The verse teaches that genuine love expresses itself through correction — a loving father disciplines his child early.

לכן הקדים השי"ת לבנ"י בתחילת השנה הימים הנוראים ועניתם את נפשותיכם כדי לזכות לזה האורח חיים.

Therefore Hashem placed for Bnei Yisrael, at the beginning of the year, the Yamim Nora'im (Days of Awe) and "you shall afflict your souls" (Vayikra 16:31), in order that they merit this "path of life."

Out of love, Hashem set the awesome days of judgment and the affliction of Yom Kippur at the very start of the year, so that Bnei Yisrael would be brought onto the path of life.

וכתיב אשר יאהב ה' יוכיח.

And it is written: "for whom Hashem loves He rebukes" (Mishlei 3:12).

The verse confirms that Hashem's rebuke is itself an expression of His love.

וזה בר"ה ויוהכ"פ.

And this is on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The "rebuke of love" is enacted through the judgment and teshuvah of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

ואח"כ כאב את בן ירצה הוא ימי רצון.

And afterward, "like a father who favors a son" — these are the days of ratzon (favor).

Once the rebuke of the Days of Awe has done its work, there follow the days of divine favor, when Hashem relates to Bnei Yisrael as a father delighting in his son.

שבחג הזה נתקיים רוצה ה' את יריאיו המיחלים לחסדו.

For on this Chag (festival of Sukkos) is fulfilled "Hashem favors those who fear Him, who hope for His chesed (kindness)" (Tehillim 147:11).

Sukkos is precisely those "days of favor," when Hashem shows His delight in those who fear Him and trust in His kindness.

וכמו דאיתא ג' מתנות נתן השי"ת לבנ"י וכולם ע"י יסורים כו' א"י תורה ועולם הבא.

And as it is brought: three gifts Hashem gave to Bnei Yisrael, and all of them come through yissurim, etc. — Eretz Yisrael, Torah, and the World to Come.

Chazal teach that Hashem's three greatest gifts — the Land, the Torah, and Olam Haba — are each acquired through yissurim, again showing that affliction is a path to elevation, not punishment alone.

וגם הארת הסוכה הוא מעין סוכת שלום שבש"ק שהיא מעין עוה"ב.

And also the illumination of the Sukkah is a semblance of the "Sukkah of peace" of the holy Shabbos, which is a semblance of the World to Come.

The light of the Sukkah is a taste of the "shelter of peace" we invoke on Shabbos, which is itself a foretaste of Olam Haba.

דכתיב סוד ה' ליריאיו ובריתו להודיעם.

For it is written: "the secret of Hashem is to those who fear Him, and His covenant, to make it known to them" (Tehillim 25:14).

The verse links yiras Shomayim to receiving Hashem's hidden secret and covenant — an inner knowing granted to those who fear Him.

שנתן השי"ת לנו מצות שעל ידיהם יהי' לנו ידיעה ודביקות בסוד הנעלם מעין כל חי.

For Hashem gave us mitzvos through which we attain knowledge and deveikus (cleaving) to the hidden secret, the wellspring of all life.

The mitzvos are the means by which we gain an inner awareness of, and attachment to, the concealed divine source from which all life flows.

כמ"ש בשבת מתנה טובה יש לי לך והודיעם.

As is said regarding Shabbos: "I have a good gift, [Shabbos is its name]... so make it known to them."

Shabbos is described by Chazal as a precious gift that Hashem asks Moshe to make known to Bnei Yisrael — again the theme of mitzvos that grant inner knowledge.

כמו כן כתיב בלולב וסוכה למען ידעו כו'.

Likewise it is written concerning the lulav and the Sukkah: "so that they will know," etc. (Vayikra 23:43).

The very same wording of "knowing" appears regarding the mitzvos of Sukkos, showing that they too serve to instill inner knowledge of Hashem.

וזה קאי גם על הלולב ומיניו שהקדים בפרשה ע"ש.

And this applies also to the lulav and its species, which the verse mentions earlier in the parsha — see there.

The promise that "they will know" extends as well to the lulav and the four species commanded earlier in the passage.

ובמד' ועם נברא יהלל כו'.

And in the Midrash on "and a people yet to be created shall praise [Hashem]" (Tehillim 102:19), etc.

The Sefas Emes turns to the Midrash on the verse describing "a created people" who will praise Hashem.

ולמה נקראו ישראל עם נברא להיות כי יודעים שהמה נבראים ומקבלים מלכותו ית' עליהם בר"ה ויוה"כ.

And why are Yisrael called "a created people"? Because they know that they are created beings and accept His malchus (kingship), blessed be He, upon themselves on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Bnei Yisrael earn the title "a created people" because they live with the awareness that they are Hashem's creations, and they actively crown Him as King during the Days of Awe.

לכן מתחדשין באמת בכל שנה ושנה.

Therefore they are truly renewed each and every year.

Because they recognize themselves as created and re-accept Hashem's kingship, Bnei Yisrael are genuinely made new with the coming of each year.

לא כן הרשעים שאין עולה על רוחם שהם נבראים.

Not so the wicked, to whom it never even occurs that they are created beings.

The resha'im, by contrast, never reflect on the fact that they are Hashem's creatures, and so they cannot be renewed.

ועליהם נאמר לא המתים יהללו כו':

And concerning them it is said: "the dead do not praise [Hashem]," etc. (Tehillim 115:17).

Since the wicked lack this awareness and renewal, they are likened to "the dead" who cannot praise Hashem — the opposite of the "created people" who do.

Summary: The "path of life" comes through yissurim and rebuke, which are themselves expressions of Hashem's love — and so He set the Yamim Nora'im at the start of the year, followed by the days of favor on Sukkos. The Sukkah, like Shabbos, is a foretaste of Olam Haba, and the mitzvos grant inner knowledge and deveikus to the hidden source of all life. Bnei Yisrael are called "a created people" because they recognize they are created and re-accept Hashem's kingship, and so are truly renewed each year — unlike the wicked, who never consider their createdness and are likened to "the dead [who] do not praise."