Sukkos, teshuvah, and the inner wellspring

בסוכות נעשה הבדלה בין הצדיקים לרשעים.

On Sukkos a distinction (havdalah) is made between the tzaddikim and the resha'im (wicked).

The Sfas Emes teaches that Sukkos effects a separation between the righteous and the wicked.

כי בעשי"ת נפתחו שערי תשובה והצדיקים ובינונים ג"כ מתקרבים בתשובה.

For during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah the gates of teshuvah are opened, and the tzaddikim and the beinonim (intermediate people) too draw close through teshuvah.

During the Ten Days of Repentance the gates of teshuvah stand open, and both the righteous and the in-between people come near to Hashem through repentance.

וע"ז כ' בורא ניב שפתים שלום כו' לרחוק ולקרוב.

And about this it is written: "He creates the speech of the lips: peace, peace, to the far and to the near."

The pasuk in Yeshayahu proclaims peace "to the far and to the near" — meaning even those who were distant can now draw close.

ונעשין בנ"י אגודה אחד.

And Bnei Yisrael become a single bound bundle (agudah achas).

Through this teshuvah, Bnei Yisrael are united into one bound bundle.

כמ"ש במד' שהד' מינים שבלולב כוללין כל מדריגות שבבנ"י.

As is written in the Midrash, that the four species (arba minim) of the lulav include all the levels within Bnei Yisrael.

The Midrash teaches that the four species — from the fragrant esrog to the tasteless aravah — represent every type of Jew, bound together as one.

והשלום נגמר בין כולם.

And the peace is completed among them all.

On Sukkos, when all four species are bound together, peace among all of Bnei Yisrael is brought to completion.

אבל הרשעים כים נגרש כו' לכן מסיים הפסוק אין שלום אמר אלקי לרשעים.

But the wicked are "like the storm-tossed sea," etc.; therefore the pasuk concludes: "There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked."

The truly wicked, however, are like a churning sea that cannot rest, and so the same prophecy ends, "there is no peace for the resha'im."

והם אינם נכנסים בסוכת שלום.

And they do not enter into the "sukkah of peace" (sukkas shalom).

Such wicked ones remain outside the protective "sukkah of peace" that shelters Klal Yisrael.

והם רשעים גמורים שאפילו לבחי' ים שהוא שערי תשובה לעולם פתוחים כים כדאיתא במד'.

And these are complete resha'im, who do not enter even the aspect of the "sea," which represents the gates of teshuvah that are always open like the sea, as is brought in the Midrash.

These are utterly wicked people who will not even avail themselves of the "sea" — the gates of teshuvah, which (the Midrash says) are perpetually open like the sea.

מ"מ הם אבירי לב רחוקים מתשובה.

Nevertheless they are "stubborn of heart" (abirei lev), far from teshuvah.

Despite this ever-open opportunity, their hardened hearts keep them remote from repentance.

מימיו רפש וטיט הוא הסימן שנעשה בחג בניסוך המים.

"Its waters cast up mire and mud" — this is the sign that is enacted on the festival through the nisuch hamayim (water-libation).

The wicked "sea" yields only mire and mud; this contrast is marked on Sukkos by the water-libation, where pure water is poured on the Mizbeach.

כי הנה החילוק בין מים ליין שמים אין בו שינוי גוונים רק כמו שהוא בעצם.

For behold, the difference between water and wine is that water has no change of colors, but remains as it is in its essence.

Unlike wine, which takes on color, water is colorless and unchanging — it stays exactly as it essentially is.

והוא באמת המעיין של תשובה שהוא השורש.

And this is truly the wellspring (ma'ayan) of teshuvah, which is the root.

This unchanging water represents the wellspring of teshuvah — the essential inner root of a person that remains pure.

שאין החטא מקלקל ומשנה זאת הנקודה.

For sin does not damage or alter this inner point (nekudah).

No matter how a person sins, this innermost point — like clear water — is never corrupted or changed, and from it teshuvah can always spring.

וכל זה נעשה בחודש זה.

And all of this comes about in this month (Tishrei).

The awakening of this inner wellspring of teshuvah takes place during the month of Tishrei.

כאשר שמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל באר לחי רואי שמראי' שכל באי עולם עוברין לפניו כבני מרון בר"ה נעשה באר ומעיין.

As I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory, [on] "the well of the Living One who sees me" (Be'er Lachai Ro'i), that the showing — that all who come into the world pass before Him like sheep (bnei maron) on Rosh Hashanah — becomes a well and a wellspring.

The Chiddushei HaRim taught, on the name Be'er Lachai Ro'i, that on Rosh Hashanah, when all creatures pass before Hashem in judgment "like sheep," this very awareness opens within a person a "well" — a fresh wellspring of teshuvah.

ונראה עוד לבאר עפ"י מה ששמעתי ממנו ז"ל בפסוק ארדה נא ואראה כו' וירד ה' לראות.

And it further appears to explain based on what I heard from him, of blessed memory, on the pasuk "Let Me descend now and see," etc., "and Hashem descended to see."

The Sfas Emes adds another teaching he heard from his grandfather, on the verses describing Hashem "descending to see" (regarding Sdom and the Tower of Bavel).

ואמר כי כשהקב"ה מתקרב אל התחתונים יכולין לשוב בתשובה ונפתח להם שער בלבותם.

And he said that when the Holy One, Blessed is He, draws close to those below, they are able to return in teshuvah, and a gate opens for them in their hearts.

When Hashem "descends" and draws near to people, the very closeness empowers them to do teshuvah, opening a gateway within their hearts.

ואם אחר כל זה לא ישובו הם חייבים כלי' ע"כ דפח"ח.

And if after all this they still do not return, they are liable to destruction — thus far his words, the words of the living God.

But if, even after Hashem comes so close, a person still refuses to return, he becomes deserving of destruction (as with Sdom).

וכזה נעשה בעשי"ת.

And the like of this comes about during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah.

This same dynamic of Hashem drawing near operates during the Ten Days of Repentance.

כמ"ש ז"ל דרשו ה' בהמצאו שהוא מקרב עצמו לתחתונים ונפתח הנקודה הפנימית שבהם.

As Chazal said on "Seek Hashem when He is found" — that He brings Himself close to those below, and the inner point within them is opened.

Chazal apply "Seek Hashem when He is found" to these days, when Hashem draws near and the innermost point within each person is opened up.

והמבקשין לשוב יכולין להיות כברי' חדשה.

And those who seek to return can become like a new creation (briah chadashah).

Those who genuinely wish to repent can be wholly renewed, as if newly created.

והרשעים כים נגרש ואפילו בחי' המים שבהם רפש וטיט כנ"ל:

But the wicked are "like the storm-tossed sea," and even the aspect of "water" within them is mire and mud, as above.

The truly wicked, by contrast, are like the churning sea: even their inner "water" has been muddied into mire — they refuse to draw on the pure wellspring of teshuvah that remains available to all.

Summary: Sukkos completes the teshuvah of the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, binding all of Bnei Yisrael — represented by the four species — into one "bundle" of peace within the "sukkah of peace." The truly wicked, however, are "like the storm-tossed sea," refusing even the ever-open gates of teshuvah. The water-libation symbolizes the pure, unchanging inner "wellspring" of teshuvah — the inner point that sin can never corrupt. When Hashem "descends" and draws near during these days (as the Chiddushei HaRim taught on Be'er Lachai Ro'i and "Hashem descended to see"), He opens that inner point, so that those who seek to return become like a new creation, while the abirei lev let even their inner waters turn to mire.