Sukkos: gathering holy sparks into one garment

איתא בזוה"ק בפסוק אך בעשור.

It is taught in the holy Zohar on the verse "But (ach) on the tenth [of this seventh month]" (Vayikra 23:27).

The Sefas Emes opens with a teaching of the Zohar on the verse describing Yom Kippur, the tenth of Tishrei.

פי' נשוי פשע כסוי חטאה.

The explanation of "[fortunate is one whose] transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (kesui chata'ah)" (Tehillim 32:1).

The Zohar's teaching turns on this verse, especially the phrase "whose sin is covered."

כי האדם צריך להכין לו לבוש לעוה"ב ע"י מעשים טובים.

For a person must prepare for himself a garment (levush) for the World to Come through good deeds.

Our mitzvos and good deeds weave the spiritual garment in which the soul will be clothed in olam haba.

ואם נעשה רשע לבסוף נוטל הצדיק מלבוש שנעשה ממעשים טובים שלו וזה כסוי חטאה ע"ש.

And if a person ends up wicked, the tzaddik takes the garment that was made from his good deeds — and this is "the covering of sin" — see there.

Should someone become wicked, the garment woven from his earlier good deeds is transferred to a tzaddik; this "covering" of the sinner's spiritual clothing is the sense of "kesui chata'ah."

ונראה שזה הענין נוהג בכללות בנ"י שזוכין לקבל הטוב הנמצא בכל האומות.

And it appears that this matter applies collectively to Bnei Yisrael, who merit to receive the good that is found among all the nations.

What the Zohar says of an individual sinner and tzaddik applies to the nation as a whole: Israel is destined to gather up all the goodness scattered among the gentile nations.

ועליהם נאמר יכין וצדיק ילבש.

And of them it is said: "[the wicked] prepares, but the tzaddik will wear it" (Iyov 27:17).

The wicked among the nations amass good, but ultimately the righteous — Israel — inherit and "wear" it.

וענין זה הוא מר"ה שנאמר תקעו כו' בכסה ליום חגינו.

And this matter begins from Rosh Hashanah, of which it is said: "Sound [the shofar]… at the covered time (ba-keseh) for the day of our festival" (Tehillim 81:4).

This process of gathering the good begins on Rosh Hashanah, the "covered" day — keseh sharing the root of kesui, "covering."

וג' ספרים נפתחים בר"ה.

And three books are opened on Rosh Hashanah (Rosh Hashanah 16b).

On Rosh Hashanah three ledgers are opened — of the wholly righteous, the wholly wicked, and the in-between.

והרשעים נחתמו למיתה וימנע מרשעים אורם.

And the wicked are sealed for death, and "from the wicked their light is withheld" (Iyov 38:15).

The truly wicked are sealed for death, and the holy light — the good they once held — is taken from them.

והצדיקים מקבלים הטוב.

And the tzaddikim receive the good.

That withdrawn good passes over to the righteous, who absorb it.

ולכן צריך הגנה ומה"ט עצמו הי' ענין הע' פרים ע"י שמתקרב מחלקם.

Therefore protection (haganah) is needed; and for this very reason there was the matter of the seventy bulls [of Sukkos], since part of their [the nations'] portion is being drawn near.

Because Israel is absorbing the nations' good, it needs spiritual protection; this is why the seventy bulls were offered on Sukkos, corresponding to the seventy nations whose sparks are being brought near to holiness.

ואיתא בתו"כ ואבדיל אתכם מן העמים בורר ומניח בורר ומניח כו' ע"ש.

And it is taught in the Toras Kohanim on "and I have separated you from the nations" (Vayikra 20:26): He sorts and sets aside, sorts and sets aside — see there.

Hashem's separating Israel from the nations is a process of "sorting" — selecting and setting aside the good repeatedly, like sifting wheat from chaff.

וכן הוא שבכל שנה בנ"י מוציאין איזה הארות שהי' מובלע תחת יד הרשעים עד לעתיד שיתברר הכל.

And so it is that every year Bnei Yisrael extract some illuminations (he'aros) that had been absorbed under the hand of the wicked — until the future, when all will be clarified.

Each year Israel redeems further sparks of holiness that had been trapped among the nations, a process that will reach completion only in the future birur.

והשרים שלמעלה מודים האמת ומכניעים עצמם לבנ"י כדאיתא בר"מ פ' אמור גם אויביו ישלים אתו ע"ש.

And the heavenly officers (sarim) admit the truth and subjugate themselves to Bnei Yisrael, as it is taught in the Ra'aya Mehemna, parshas Emor: "even his enemies He makes to be at peace with him" (Mishlei 16:7) — see there.

The heavenly ministers of the nations concede the truth and submit to Israel, so that even former enemies are reconciled, as the verse promises.

אם רעב שונאך כו' ישלמנו לך.

"If your enemy is hungry [give him bread]…" — "He will repay you (yeshalmenu)" (Mishlei 25:21-22).

The Sefas Emes reads yeshalmenu as both "repay" and "make whole," hinting that the enemy ultimately yields up his hidden good.

היינו כנ"ל שבנ"י מוציאין הנצוצות מהם.

That is, as above, that Bnei Yisrael extract the nitzotzos (holy sparks) from them.

The "repayment" is the holy sparks that Israel draws out of the nations.

ובאמת זה עצמו הי' גם ביציאת מצרים וינצלו את מצרים.

And in truth this very thing also occurred at the Exodus from Mitzrayim: "and they emptied out (va-yenatzlu) Mitzrayim" (Shemos 12:36).

The same dynamic happened at yetzias Mitzrayim, when Israel "emptied out" Egypt — read as drawing out its holy sparks (nitzotzos).

וזה השמלות שהי' חביב עליהם ביותר כמ"ש שם.

And these were the garments (semalos), which were most precious to them, as is said there.

Among the spoils, the garments were especially treasured — again the motif of the spiritual "garment" (levush) gathered from the nations.

ולכן כתיב ויסב אלקים כו' שהוא הגנה ע"י שהלך עמהם הערב רב כמ"ש פן ינחם העם כו'.

Therefore it is written "And God led the people around (va-yaseiv)" (Shemos 13:18) — which was protection, because the eirev rav (mixed multitude) went with them, as it is written "lest the people reconsider [when they see war]" (Shemos 13:17).

Because Israel had absorbed the eirev rav — additional sparks taken from a place of impurity — they needed the protection of the circuitous route, lest the newly acquired admixture cause them to falter.

והוא כנ"ל שע"י שנתוסף להם הארות שבאו ממקום טומאה צריך הגנה והסתר.

And this is as above: that because there were added to them illuminations that came from a place of impurity, they require protection and concealment (hester).

Whenever holiness is redeemed from a place of tumah, it must be guarded and hidden until it is fully purified — hence the need for protection.

אכן יש לפרש עוד כענין זה בכל אדם עצמו.

However, one may further explain a similar matter within every individual person.

The Sefas Emes now turns the national idea inward, applying it to each person's own teshuvah.

עפ"י דיוק הלשון כסוי חטאה דמשמע מגוף החטא דלפי' הזוהר הנ"ל הול"ל כסוי חוטאים.

Based on the precise wording "kesui chata'ah" (covering of sin), which implies [the covering comes] from the very substance of the sin — for according to the Zohar above it should have said "kesui chot'im" (covering of sinners).

The Zohar's reading would expect "covering of sinners," but the verse says "covering of sin" — implying the very sin itself becomes the covering, the garment.

ולכן י"ל עפ"י מ"ש בזוה"ק פ' חיי שרה כי הבעל תשובה מתקן הלבושים שלו בשעתא חדא ורגעא חדא מה שהצדיק בא בימים הרבה ע"ש.

Therefore one may say, based on what is written in the holy Zohar, parshas Chayei Sarah, that the ba'al teshuvah repairs his garments (levushim) in a single hour and a single moment, which the tzaddik reaches only over many days — see there.

The Zohar teaches that a ba'al teshuvah can mend his spiritual garments in one instant of return, attaining in a moment what a tzaddik builds over a lifetime.

ומכש"כ לפי מ"ש חז"ל כי השב מאהבה עונות וחטאים נעשין זכיות.

And all the more so according to what Chazal said, that for one who repents out of love (teshuvah me-ahavah), iniquities and sins become merits (Yoma 86b).

When teshuvah is driven by love of Hashem, the very sins are transformed into mitzvos.

נמצא מהחטא עצמו עושה לו כסוי ומלבוש ואשריו בודאי.

It turns out that from the sin itself he makes for himself a covering and a garment — and fortunate is he indeed.

This is the precise meaning of "kesui chata'ah": through teshuvah me-ahavah, the sin itself is converted into the very garment that clothes the soul.

וזהו ענין הסוכה.

And this is the matter of the sukkah.

The sukkah, which "covers" and surrounds a person, embodies this idea of a garment made even from what was once lowly.

וי"ל שע"ז רמזו חז"ל מפסולת גורן ויקב הכתוב מדבר.

And one may say that to this Chazal alluded: "the verse speaks of [sukkah made from] the waste of the threshing floor and the winepress" (Sukkah 12a).

The sukkah is built specifically from agricultural "waste" — leftover stalks and vines — hinting that even the discarded and lowly can be elevated.

היינו ע"י התקבצות הנצוצות שהיו מעורבין תוך הפסולת כנ"ל.

That is, through the gathering of the nitzotzos (sparks) that were mixed within the waste, as above.

The sukkah's "waste" represents the holy sparks buried within lowly matter, now gathered and made into a holy covering.

הן באדם עצמו הן הקיבוץ מרשעים להלביש הצדיק כנ"ל.

Whether within the person himself, or the gathering from the wicked to clothe the tzaddik, as above.

The same gathering works on two planes — within the individual (sins turned to merits) and on the national level (the nations' good clothing the righteous).

וזה רמז ניסוך המים בחג כי היין מיוחד לבנ"י ומגע עכו"ם פוסל בו.

And this is the hint of the water-libation (nisuch ha-mayim) on the festival, for wine is unique to Bnei Yisrael, and the touch of a non-Jew disqualifies it.

Wine, which a gentile's touch renders invalid, represents holiness belonging exclusively to Israel.

אבל המים הוא כולל לכל האומות.

But water includes all the nations.

Water, by contrast, is universal — symbolizing the good of all the nations that Sukkos draws in.

וי"ל שזה רמז הג' בארות שחפר יצחק אבינו וקראם עשק ושטנה שאמרו לנו המים.

And one may say that this is the hint of the three wells that Yitzchak Avinu dug, which he named Eisek and Sitnah, [over which the Philistines] said "the water is ours" (Bereishis 26:20-22).

Yitzchak's three wells, contested by the Philistines, are a sign of the same struggle to extract holy "water" from the domain of the nations.

כי הרגישו הרשעים כי הוא מוציא בלעם מפיהם.

For the wicked sensed that he was extracting "their swallowed [holiness]" (bil'am) from their mouth.

The nations resisted because they instinctively felt Yitzchak was drawing out from them the holiness they had absorbed.

כמ"ש במד' שם עצמת ממנו כל עצומות שלך ממנו הוא.

As is stated in the Midrash there: "you have become mightier than us" — all your might (atzumos) is from us (i.e., from what you took from us).

The Philistines acknowledge that Yitzchak's strength comes from the holy sparks he extracted from their domain.

ועשק ושטנה הוא רמז בר"ה ויוהכ"פ.

And Eisek and Sitnah are a hint to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The two contested wells correspond to the contention and accusation of the Days of Awe — Eisek ("contention") to Rosh Hashanah, Sitnah ("accusation/satan") to Yom Kippur.

אבל בסוכות הרמז לרחובות כי הכל מודים ומכניעים עצמן לבני ישראל.

But Sukkos is the hint to Rechovos (the third, uncontested well), for all admit and subjugate themselves to Bnei Yisrael.

The third well, Rechovos ("wide spaces"), dug without dispute, corresponds to Sukkos, when the nations finally concede and submit, and there is "room" for all.

ואחר יוהכ"פ גם השרים שלהם מודים כי הכל בעבור בנ"י.

And after Yom Kippur, even their [heavenly] officers admit that everything is for the sake of Bnei Yisrael.

By Sukkos, after the judgment of the Days of Awe, even the heavenly ministers of the nations acknowledge that all is for Israel's sake.

ובענין הנ"ל פרשנו ג"כ בפסוק מאשפות ירים אביון להושיבי עם נדיבים.

And along these lines we also explained the verse "He raises the destitute from the ash-heaps, to seat him with nobles" (Tehillim 113:7-8).

The verse about lifting the poor from the refuse to sit among princes describes the same elevation of what was lowly.

על התקונים שנעשו בימי התשובה שנתקרבו הרחוקים עד שזוכין לישב בסוכה עם אושפיזין עלאין.

Concerning the tikkunim (repairs) accomplished in the days of teshuvah, whereby the distant ones are brought near, until they merit to sit in the sukkah with the ushpizin ila'in (the exalted heavenly guests).

The teshuvah of the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah draws near those who were far, so that they merit to sit in the sukkah hosting the lofty ushpizin — the Avos and other holy guests.

מושיבי עקרת הבית דרשו חז"ל אמרה כנס"י שמוני בניך כחולדה הדרה בעיקרי הבתים.

"He settles the barren woman of the house (akeres ha-bayis)" — Chazal expounded: Knesses Yisrael said, "Your children have placed me like a weasel that dwells in the foundations of houses (ikrei batim)."

Knesses Yisrael is the "akeres ha-bayis," dwelling like a weasel in the deep "foundations" — laboring in the hidden depths, among the lowly places, to gather sparks.

היינו שע"י בנ"י הקדושה מוציאה ומאספת כל הנצוצים שנתערבו בכל המקומות להחזירן לשורשן כנ"ל.

That is, that through Bnei Yisrael holiness draws out and gathers all the sparks that were mixed into all places, to return them to their root, as above.

Israel's mission is to penetrate every place, even the lowest "foundations," to collect the scattered holy sparks and restore them to their source.

ועמ"ש בזה גם בחג הפסח שבמצרים הי' ג"כ זה הענין.

And see what we wrote on this regarding Pesach as well, that in Mitzrayim this same matter occurred.

He cross-references his teaching that the Exodus accomplished the same gathering of sparks.

ולכן כתיב למען ידעו כו' כי בסוכות הושבתי.

Therefore it is written: "so that [your generations] will know… that I caused [Bnei Yisrael] to dwell in sukkos" (Vayikra 23:43).

The very mitzvah of sukkah memorializes this dwelling — the protective surrounding that accompanied the gathering of holiness at the Exodus.

והנה חג הזה נקרא חג האסיף והוא בחי' יוסף הצדיק.

Now this festival is called Chag ha-Asif (the Festival of Ingathering), and it is the aspect of Yosef ha-Tzaddik.

Sukkos, the festival of "ingathering," corresponds to Yosef — whose very name (yosef, "to add/gather") expresses gathering — the tzaddik who collects and unifies.

וכתיב בי' מאלמים אלומים בתוך השדה כמ"ש באספך את מעשיך מן השדה.

And it is written concerning him [Yosef]: "we were binding sheaves (me'almim alumim) in the midst of the field" (Bereishis 37:7), corresponding to "when you gather in your produce from the field" (Shemos 23:16).

Yosef's dream of binding sheaves echoes the harvest "gathering from the field" of Sukkos — both images of ingathering and unifying.

כי הנה כל הי"ב שבטים ביררו התערובות טו"ר בעולם.

For all the twelve tribes clarified the mixture of good and evil (tov va-ra) in the world.

The twelve Shevatim were each engaged in the birur — sorting good from evil throughout creation.

והמה כענין ששת ימי המעשה ששה ימים וששה לילות כמ"ש ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר.

And they are like the six days of work — six days and six nights — as it is written "and it was evening and it was morning."

The labor of the tribes corresponds to the six weekdays, each with its evening and morning, its mixture of darkness and light to be sorted.

ויוסף הוא בחי' השבת שהוא אחדות אחת.

And Yosef is the aspect of Shabbos, which is a single unity (achdus achas).

Yosef, who gathers and unifies all, corresponds to Shabbos — the day of oneness that crowns and unites the weekdays.

זכור ושמור בדיבור אחד נאמרו.

"Remember" and "guard" were spoken in a single utterance (Shevuos 20b).

Shabbos uniquely fuses opposites — "remember" and "guard" said as one word — reflecting its essence of unity.

מדת לילה ויום אחד הוא ביום השבת.

The measure of night and day is one on the day of Shabbos.

On Shabbos, night and day are unified rather than divided — the realm of complete oneness, like Yosef who gathers all.

וכתיב קמה אלומתי הוא בחי' הלולב צדיק כתמר יפרח וגבוה מכולם.

And it is written "my sheaf arose [and stood upright]" (Bereishis 37:7) — this is the aspect of the lulav, "the tzaddik will flourish like a date-palm" (Tehillim 92:13), and it is taller than all of them.

Yosef's upright sheaf is the lulav, the palm branch that stands tallest among the Four Species — the tzaddik who rises above and dominates the rest.

תסובנה אלומותיכם כו' כי הכל נעשין אגודה אחת לסבב הלולב שהוא הצדיק:

"Your sheaves gathered around [and bowed]" — for they all become one bundle (agudah achas) surrounding the lulav, which is the tzaddik.

Just as the brothers' sheaves bowed around Yosef's, the Four Species are bound into one agudah around the lulav — all gathered into a single unity centered on the tzaddik, the climax of Sukkos's ingathering.

Summary: Our good deeds weave a spiritual garment, and Sukkos is the season when Bnei Yisrael gather up the holy sparks scattered among the nations — the meaning of "kesui chata'ah," the seventy bulls, and the universal water-libation. The same gathering works within each person: through teshuvah me-ahavah even sins become merits, so that the sin itself becomes one's garment — symbolized by the sukkah built from "waste." From the contention of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Eisek and Sitnah) we reach the peace of Sukkos (Rechovos), when all concede to Israel. This ingathering is the work of the twelve tribes (the weekdays) crowned by Yosef ha-Tzaddik (Shabbos), the lulav around which all the species are bound into a single unity.