Sukkah of peace and lulav of victory

סוכה היא עמוד השלום מדת אהרן כמ"ש ענני הכבוד בזכות אהרן.

The sukkah is the pillar of peace (shalom), the attribute of Aharon, as it is said that the Clouds of Glory came in the merit of Aharon.

The Sefas Emes identifies the sukkah with Aharon's quality of peace, since the Ananei HaKavod that the sukkah recalls were granted through his merit.

כי הנה משה רע"ה הוא הלוחם מלחמת בנ"י.

For behold, Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, is the one who fights the battle of Bnei Yisrael.

Moshe represents the active force of waging war on behalf of the Jewish people.

כמ"ש והי' כאשר ירים משה ידו וגבר ישראל.

As it is written, "And it was, when Moshe raised his hand, that Yisrael prevailed" (Shemos 17:11).

At the war with Amalek, Yisrael's victory depended on Moshe's raised hand — the dimension of conquest.

והיא מדת הניצוח וזה לא יוכל להיות תמיד כמ"ש וכאשר יניח ידו כו'.

And this is the attribute of victory (nitzachon), which cannot be sustained constantly, as it is written, "and when he let down his hand…" [Amalek prevailed].

Victory by force is inherently unstable; Moshe could not keep his hand raised forever, so this mode of triumph cannot endure perpetually.

ומדת אהרן הוא ההגנה שהגין עליהם הענן ולא יכול עמלק לשלוט בהם.

And the attribute of Aharon is protection: the Cloud shielded them, and Amalek could not dominate them.

Aharon's quality is not aggressive victory but encompassing protection — the Cloud that simply prevented the enemy from gaining any hold.

וכמ"ש ז"ל ויראו כו' כי גוע אהרן כו' שמע שנסתלקו ענני הכבוד וכסבור שניתן רשות להלחם בישראל.

As Chazal said on "and they saw… that Aharon had died" — [the Canaanite king] heard that the Clouds of Glory had departed and supposed that permission had been granted to wage war against Yisrael.

The enemy attacked only once Aharon died and the protective Clouds withdrew — proof that those Clouds were bound to Aharon's merit.

הרי כשהי' הענן עליהם נפל פחד על עמלק וכל הרשעים ונכנעו מאליהם.

Thus, when the Cloud was upon them, dread fell upon Amalek and all the wicked, and they submitted of their own accord.

The protective Cloud worked not by combat but by inspiring awe, so that enemies surrendered on their own.

והוא מדת ההוד.

And this is the attribute of hod (majesty/splendor).

Aharon's protective peace flows from the sefirah of hod, a radiance that subdues without striking.

ולכן נק' ענני הכבוד כמ"ש כבוד לאיש שבת מריב.

Therefore they are called the "Clouds of Glory (Kavod)," as it is written, "it is glory (kavod) for a man to cease from strife" (Mishlei 20:3).

The Clouds are named for "glory" because true glory lies in peace — ceasing from strife — which is exactly Aharon's path.

שנכנעו האומות מעצמם בראותם ענן ה' עליהם.

For the nations submitted on their own when they saw the cloud of Hashem upon them.

The mere sight of Hashem's presence resting upon Yisrael caused the nations to yield without a fight.

וכמ"ש וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה' נקרא עליך [כו'].

As it is written, "And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of Hashem is called upon you" (Devarim 28:10).

This pasuk expresses the same idea: the nations are awed into submission by seeing Hashem's Name upon Yisrael.

וכן הוא בסוכה שחל ש"ש על הסוכה.

And so it is with the sukkah, upon which the Name of Heaven rests.

The sukkah, like the Clouds, is a place where Hashem's Name dwells, carrying that same protective majesty.

ומעין זה בכל ש"ק פורס סוכת שלומו עלינו לכן נק' יום מנוחה.

And something of this exists every Shabbos Kodesh, [when Hashem] spreads "the sukkah of His peace" over us; therefore it is called a "day of rest" (yom menuchah).

Shabbos carries an echo of this sheltering peace — the "sukkas shalom" — which is why it is a day of rest, free from struggle.

ולולב ומיניו הוא בחי' משה רבינו.

And the lulav and its species are the dimension of Moshe Rabbeinu.

While the sukkah embodies Aharon's peace, the four species correspond to Moshe's dimension of triumph.

לכן נקראו מאני קרבא וסימן שנוצחין בדין.

Therefore they are called "weapons of war" (manei karva), a sign that we are victorious in judgment.

The four species are likened to weapons because, like Moshe's raised hand, they signal Yisrael's victory in the judgment of the season.

ושני האחים האלה הם עמודים שכל בנ"י עומדין עליהם:

And these two brothers are the pillars upon which all of Bnei Yisrael stand.

Moshe and Aharon — victory and peace, lulav and sukkah — are the twin supports that uphold the entire Jewish people.

Summary: The mitzvos of Sukkos embody the two brothers who sustain Klal Yisrael. Moshe is the dimension of nitzachon, active victory — represented by the lulav and its species, the "weapons of war" that signal triumph in judgment — but such force cannot be sustained constantly. Aharon is the dimension of hod and protective peace — the Ananei HaKavod and the sukkah itself, before which enemies submit of their own accord through awe of Hashem's Name. Shabbos too carries this "sukkah of peace," and together these two pillars uphold all of Bnei Yisrael.