Sukkah of bittul, Shemini Atzeres of receiving

ואיתא כי סוכות הוא בחי' אהרן שענני הכבוד היו בזכותו.

And it is taught that Sukkos is the aspect of Aharon, for the Ananei HaKavod (Clouds of Glory) were in his merit.

The sukkah commemorates the Clouds of Glory, which surrounded Bnei Yisrael in the wilderness because of Aharon — so Sukkos is bound up with Aharon's character.

ואיתא משה שושבינא דמלכא אהרן שושבינא דמטרוניתא.

And it is taught: Moshe is the shushvina (groomsman) of the King, Aharon is the shushvina of the Matrona (Queen).

In the marriage between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael, Moshe attends to the "King" (drawing Torah down from Above), while Aharon attends to the "Queen" (raising Bnei Yisrael upward toward Hashem).

כי אהרן החזיר את בנ"י בתשובה והכניסם תחת כנפי השכינה.

For Aharon brought Bnei Yisrael back through teshuvah and gathered them beneath the wings of the Shechinah.

Aharon's role was to draw the people to teshuvah and bring them in under the shelter of the Divine Presence.

והוא בחי' הסוכה שיושבין בצלו.

And this is the aspect of the sukkah, in which we sit in His shade.

Sitting in the sukkah is exactly this Aharon-like act of taking shelter beneath the Shechinah.

ומשה רע"ה הוריד התורה מן השמים.

And Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, brought the Torah down from the heavens.

Moshe's role, by contrast, was to draw the Torah down from Above into this world.

וזהו בחינת עצרת תהי' לכם.

And this is the aspect of "let there be a solemn gathering (atzeres) for you."

Shemini Atzeres, the day of receiving Torah-bounty from Above, corresponds to Moshe's role of drawing down.

לקבל השפע היורדת מן השמים.

To receive the shefa (Divine flow) descending from the heavens.

Shemini Atzeres is the time of receiving the bounty that flows down from Above.

וסוכה הוא הביטול אליו ית'.

And the sukkah is bittul (self-nullification) before Him, Yisborach.

The sukkah, by contrast, expresses the upward movement of nullifying oneself before Hashem.

ובאמת בסוכות יש ג"כ בחי' הקבלה בכח הלולב דכתיב ולקחתם לכם.

And in truth, on Sukkos there is also an aspect of receiving, through the power of the lulav, as it is written: "And you shall take for yourselves" (Vayikra 23:40).

Sukkos is not purely upward — the lulav, which we "take," contains an element of drawing-in and receiving as well.

אבל זמן חג הסוכות הוא הביטול והתשובה אל השורש.

But the essential time of the Chag of Sukkos is bittul and teshuvah toward the shoresh (root).

The main thrust of Sukkos is the upward movement of self-nullification and return to one's Source.

ובשמיני זמן לעצמו שהוא בחי' לקבל מן השורש והוא בכח התורה כמ"ש לעיל וכ' התקן עצמך ללמוד תורה וזהו תיקון אהרן כמ"ש ומקרבן לתורה וכמו כן בימי הסוכות ואח"כ והיית אך שמח שכבר העביר כל החלודה ונעשין כברי' חדשה.

And the eighth day is a time unto itself, which is the aspect of receiving from the shoresh, and it is through the power of the Torah, as above; and it is written, "Prepare yourself to learn Torah" — and this is the tikkun of Aharon, as it is said, "and bringing them near to the Torah" (Avos 1:12); and so too during the days of Sukkos, and afterward "you shall be only joyful" (Devarim 16:15), for one has already removed all the chaludah (rust), and becomes like a new creation.

Shemini Atzeres is a distinct day of receiving from the Source through Torah. The work of Aharon — drawing people near to Torah — and the avodah of Sukkos prepare a person until all his "rust" (sin and dullness) is scoured away and he is reborn, at which point he can be "only joyful."

והיית הוא לשון הוי' בהויות היה.

"You shall be" (vehayisa) is an expression of "being" — "He was in His being-ness."

The Sefas Emes reads "vehayisa" not just as "you shall be happy" but as an expression of pure, refreshed existence — a renewed state of being.

אך להעביר את החלודה.

"Only" (ach) — to remove the chaludah (rust).

The limiting word "ach" (only) hints that the joy comes specifically after the rust of sin has been scoured off.

ואז עצרת תהי' לכם בחי' לקח טוב מורשה:

And then, "let there be a solemn gathering (atzeres) for you" — the aspect of "a good acquisition (lekach tov)," a heritage (morashah).

Once renewed and purified, one reaches Shemini Atzeres as the day of receiving Torah — the "good acquisition" that is the eternal inheritance of Bnei Yisrael.

Summary: Sukkos and Shemini Atzeres correspond to the two "groomsmen": Aharon, who raises Bnei Yisrael upward to teshuvah and bittul beneath the Shechinah (the sukkah), and Moshe, who draws the Torah down from Above (Shemini Atzeres, the day of receiving). Sukkos is essentially the upward movement of nullification toward the Source; the eighth day is its own time of receiving Torah from that Source. Through Aharon's work of drawing people to Torah, a person scours off all his "rust," is reborn as a new creation, and can then be "only joyful," receiving the "good acquisition" of Torah as his eternal heritage.