Sukkah of peace and trust after judgment

ומצות סוכה זוכין בנ"י אחר ימי הדין ור"ה שנק' יום מלחמה.

And the mitzvah of sukkah Bnei Yisrael merit after the Days of Judgment and Rosh Hashanah, which is called a "day of war."

The sukkah comes as a reward and refuge right after the Yamim Noraim, the period of din which is likened to a battle.

עפ"י מ"ש כי תצא מחנה כו' כי ה' אלקיך מתהלך בקרב מחנך להצילך.

Based on what is written: "When you go out as a camp [against your enemies]… for Hashem your God walks in the midst of your camp to save you" (Devarim 23:10,15).

The Torah's promise that Hashem accompanies the camp in time of war frames the transition from the "war" of Rosh Hashanah to the protection that follows.

ובמד' שם תרין אמוראין חד אמר להגין עליך להיות צל על ראשך וח"א לרוקן נכסי אומות לך.

And in the Midrash there, two Amora'im [disagree]: one says [Hashem walks in your camp] to shield you, to be a shade over your head; and the other says, to empty out the possessions of the nations for you.

The two opinions describe two benefits of Hashem's presence in the camp: protective "shade" overhead, and the bestowing of abundant blessing — the wealth of the nations.

ושניהם מתקיימים בחג הסוכות שהשי"ת פורס סוכת שלום עלינו.

And both are fulfilled on Chag HaSukkos, when Hashem spreads over us the sukkah of peace.

Sukkos realizes both opinions at once: the sukkah is the protective "shade over the head," the sukkas shalom Hashem spreads upon us.

ומקבלים כל השפע הבא. לעולם ע"י ע' פרים שמקריבין כמ"ש במ"א.

And we receive all the abundance (shefa) that comes to the world, through the seventy bulls that are offered, as explained elsewhere.

The second benefit — drawing down blessing — is fulfilled too: the seventy bulls offered on Sukkos channel the divine shefa that sustains the whole world.

והכלל כשיש מלחמה על איש ישראל הוא לטובתו.

And the general principle is: when there is a "war" against a Jew, it is for his own good.

The struggle and din a Jew faces are ultimately to his benefit, leading to the protection and blessing that follow.

כמ"ש אם תקים עלי מלחמה בזאת אני בוטח.

As it is written: "Though war should rise against me, in this I trust" (Tehillim 27:3).

Even amid the "war," the response is bitachon — confident trust in Hashem — as David expresses in the psalm of this season.

[מלחמה בר"ה. בטחון הוא בסוכות כמ"ש לקמן]:

[The "war" is on Rosh Hashanah; the bitachon (trust) is on Sukkos, as explained further on.]

The two halves of the verse map onto the season: Rosh Hashanah is the "war" of judgment, and Sukkos is the realization of "in this I trust" — the bitachon that flowers once one dwells securely under Hashem's protective sukkah.

Summary: The mitzvah of sukkah comes right after the "war" of the Days of Judgment, embodying the Torah's promise that Hashem walks in the camp "to save you." The two Midrashic views — that He shields you as a shade over your head, and that He bestows the wealth of the nations — are both fulfilled on Sukkos: Hashem spreads the protective sukkas shalom over us, while the seventy bulls draw down the shefa that sustains the world. A Jew's "war" is always for his good, and so Rosh Hashanah's struggle gives way to Sukkos's bitachon — "Though war should rise against me, in this I trust."