The treasury of free gift

להו"ר.

For Hoshana Rabbah.

The Sefas Emes marks this piece as a teaching for Hoshana Rabbah, the final day of Sukkos.

איתא במד' כי הראה הקב"ה למשה אוצר מתן שכר לצדיקים והראה לו אוצר גדול מכולם וא"ל שהוא אוצר מתנת חנם מי שאין לו אני נותן לו מזה.

It is brought in the Midrash that Hashem showed Moshe Rabbeinu the treasuries of reward for the tzaddikim, and He showed him a treasury greater than all of them, and said to him that it is the treasury of "matnas chinam" (a free gift): "Whoever has nothing — from this I give to him."

When Moshe asked to see how Hashem rewards, he was shown many storehouses, but the greatest of all was the storehouse of free, unearned gift — from which Hashem grants to those who have no merits of their own to draw upon.

וכן ביום הזה שנושעים בו אפילו אותן שאין להם טעם וריח רק מה שיודעין שאין להם.

So too on this day (Hoshana Rabbah), on which even those who have no "taste and no fragrance" are saved — solely by virtue of their knowing that they have nothing.

On Hoshana Rabbah even people lacking Torah and good deeds — "neither taste nor fragrance," like a plain willow — are granted salvation, precisely because they recognize their own emptiness and turn to Hashem with that humility.

לכן נקרא הושענא רבה.

This is why it is called "Hoshana Rabbah" (the great salvation).

The day's name reflects the magnitude of this salvation — a "great" deliverance available even to those with nothing of their own.

ובאמת הכל צריכין לאוצר הזה כי השכר לפי המעשה יש לו קצבה.

And in truth, everyone needs this treasury, for reward according to one's deeds has a fixed limit.

This free gift is not only for the empty-handed; everyone requires it, because reward earned strictly by one's actions is bounded and finite.

וכשבאין למדריגה גדולה צריכין לזה האוצר של מתנת חנם.

And when one comes to a great level, one needs this treasury of the free gift.

To rise beyond the ceiling of merit-based reward and reach a truly great madreigah, one must draw specifically on the boundless storehouse of matnas chinam.

ואפשר שזה ערבה שבלולב.

And it is possible that this is the aravah (willow) that is in the lulav.

The Sefas Emes suggests that the willow bound together with the lulav represents this concept — the one of the four species that has neither taste nor fragrance, yet is included with the others.

אבל ערבה בפ"ע הוא למי שאין לו באמת כלום כנ"ל:

But the aravah taken on its own (as on Hoshana Rabbah) is for one who truly has nothing at all, as explained above.

The willow within the lulav, joined to the etrog and the rest, represents the great person who still needs free gift to rise higher; but the separate aravah of Hoshana Rabbah, taken alone, represents the one who has nothing whatsoever and is saved purely by Hashem's free gift.

Summary: The Sefas Emes teaches that the greatest of Hashem's treasuries shown to Moshe Rabbeinu is the storehouse of "matnas chinam," the free, unearned gift given to those who have nothing of their own. This is the secret of Hoshana Rabbah, when even those without "taste or fragrance" are saved through recognizing their own emptiness. Yet everyone needs this treasury, for merit-based reward is finite; to reach a great level one must draw on the limitless free gift. The willow in the lulav hints at this, while the separate aravah of Hoshana Rabbah represents the one who has nothing at all and is saved by Hashem's pure gift.