Sukkah and lulav as gatherings of unity

איתא בזוה"ק ויעקב נסע סוכתה כי אחר ר"ה ויוהכ"פ סט"א רודפת אחר בנ"י והסוכות הוא הגנה.

It is brought in the Zohar on "And Yaakov journeyed to Sukkos," that after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the sitra achra (the "other side") pursues Bnei Yisrael, and the sukkah is a protection.

The Zohar reads Yaakov's journey "to Sukkos" (Bereishis 33:17) as a paradigm: in the wake of the awesome days of judgment, the forces of impurity chase after Bnei Yisrael, and the mitzvah of sukkah serves as a shield and shelter.

דאיתא במד' כנוסו וכינוס בניו הצילו מיד עשו.

For it is brought in the Midrash that "his gathering and the gathering of his children saved him from the hand of Esav."

The Midrash teaches that two kinds of "gathering" protected Yaakov from his brother Esav — and the Sefas Emes will identify each with a mitzvah of Sukkos.

וכנוסו הוא סוכה שמאסף כל נפשות בנ"י.

And "his gathering" is the sukkah, which gathers in all the souls of Bnei Yisrael.

Yaakov's own "gathering" corresponds to the sukkah, which unites all the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael into one.

שע"ז רמזו כל בנ"י ראוין לישב בסוכה אחת וע"ש זו נק' חג האסיף.

And to this they alluded: "all of Bnei Yisrael are fit to dwell in a single sukkah," and for this reason it is called Chag HaAsif (the Festival of Ingathering).

Chazal's statement that all Yisrael could fit in one sukkah expresses this unity, and the festival's name, "Ingathering," reflects how the sukkah gathers the whole nation together.

וכינוס בניו הוא הד' מינים שבלולב שכולל כל הפרטים.

And "the gathering of his children" is the four species (arba minim) of the lulav, which include all the particulars.

The second "gathering" corresponds to the arba minim, which bind together four distinct types — representing all the varied individuals of the nation — into one bundle.

ולולב הוא בחי' יוסף הצדיק שמאסף כל השבטים.

And the lulav is the aspect of Yosef HaTzaddik, who gathers in all the shevatim (tribes).

The upright lulav represents Yosef HaTzaddik, the one who gathered and sustained all his brothers — the source of unity among the tribes.

דכתיב מאלמים אלומים כו' תסובינה אלומותיכם כו'.

As it is written: "binding sheaves… and your sheaves gathered round…"

Yosef's dream of the sheaves (Bereishis 37:7), in which his brothers' bundles encircle and bow to his, expresses how Yosef is the gathering point around whom all the tribes assemble.

כי לכל שבט ודגל יש התאספות בפ"ע כמו כל מין מהד' מינים.

For each tribe and banner has its own gathering, like each of the four species.

Every shevet, like each of the four minim, has its own distinct character and its own internal unity — the diversity within Klal Yisrael.

אבל כולן מתאספין ומתבטלין להלולב שהוא בחי' יוסף הצדיק.

But all of them gather and become nullified to the lulav, which is the aspect of Yosef HaTzaddik.

Yet all of these distinct groups join together in bittul (self-nullification) to the lulav — Yosef — who unites them by raising them beyond their separate identities.

והוא מעלה אותם עד שורש האחדות.

And he raises them up to the root of unity.

Yosef HaTzaddik lifts all the tribes to their common source, the root of achdus (oneness) from which all of Yisrael flows.

לכן בש"ק אין צריכין לולב שבו מתגלה בחי' יוסף הצדיק בעצם היום.

Therefore on Shabbos Kodesh one does not need the lulav, for on it the aspect of Yosef HaTzaddik is revealed through the very day itself.

On Shabbos the lulav is set aside, because the unifying power of Yosef HaTzaddik — the root of achdus — shines forth from the essence of Shabbos itself, with no need for the physical mitzvah to draw it down.

[וע"ש במד' וישב בזעקך יצילך כו' והחוסה בי כו' מי שראה כת כלבים וישב ביניהם.

[And see there in the Midrash: "When you cry out, let your gatherings save you… and he who takes refuge in Me…" — like one who saw a pack of dogs and sat down among them.]

The Sefas Emes adds a bracketed reference to a Midrash on Yeshayahu (57:13): one who takes refuge in Hashem is saved — like a person who, surrounded by a pack of dogs, sits calmly among them and is unharmed, an image of trust amid the pursuing forces of the sitra achra.

וכ"ז מתקיים בסוכות שמקריבין ע' פרים נגד כל האומות]:

And all this is fulfilled on Sukkos, when seventy bulls are offered, corresponding to all the seventy nations.

This protective theme is realized on Sukkos through the seventy bulls of the festival, brought on behalf of the seventy nations — Bnei Yisrael, gathered and sheltered, sit in peace even amid the surrounding nations, like one safe among the dogs.

Summary: After the judgment of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the sitra achra pursues Bnei Yisrael, and Sukkos provides protection through two "gatherings" that once saved Yaakov from Esav: the sukkah, which unites all the souls of Yisrael into one (Chag HaAsif), and the four species, which bind the diverse tribes together in bittul to the lulav — Yosef HaTzaddik, who raises them all to the root of unity. On Shabbos no lulav is needed, for that unifying light shines from the day itself.