Two kinds of peace on Sukkos

סוכות עמוד השלום ענני הכבוד בזכות אהרן.

Sukkos is the pillar of peace; the Ananei HaKavod (Clouds of Glory) came in the merit of Aharon.

The festival of Sukkos embodies shalom, and the protective Clouds that surrounded Bnei Yisrael in the midbar were given through Aharon, who was the great pursuer of peace.

ואיתא אוהב שלום ורודף שלום כו'.

And it is taught that Aharon was "one who loves peace and pursues peace."

Chazal (Avos 1:12) describe Aharon with two phrases — loving peace and chasing after it — and the Sefas Emes will show these are two distinct levels.

הם ב' מיני שלימות דכתיב שלום שלום לרחוק ולקרוב.

These are two kinds of completeness, as it is written: "Peace, peace, to the far and to the near" (Yeshayahu 57:19).

The doubled word "shalom" points to two forms of peace — one for the one who is already close, and one for the one who is still far away.

והם בחי' הסוכה והלולב.

And these correspond to the aspect of the sukkah and the lulav.

The two mitzvos of the festival mirror the two kinds of peace — the lulav representing one and the sukkah the other.

בלולב כתיב ולקחתם לכם שנעשין אגודה אחת בכח עצמותם.

Regarding the lulav it is written, "And you shall take for yourselves" — that the four species are made into a single bound bundle through their own inner strength.

The lulav is the peace of "the near": Bnei Yisrael bind themselves together by their own avodah from below, achieving unity through their own effort.

וסוכה הוא השלום מרחוק.

And the sukkah is the peace from afar.

The sukkah, which surrounds a person from outside and above, represents the peace extended even to one who is still distant.

זהו אוהב שלום מצד התחתונים.

This is "loving peace" — from the side of those below.

"Loving peace" is the peace generated by the avodah of people here below, like the binding of the lulav.

ורודף השלום הבאה מלמעלה בכח סוכת שלום הפורס עלינו מלמעלה.

And "pursuing peace" is the peace that comes from above, through the power of the sukkah of peace that is spread over us from on high.

"Pursuing peace" is the higher peace that descends from Hashem, like the sukkas shalom we ask Hashem to spread over us in the tefillah.

ובאמת איתא משה שושבינא דמלכא ואהרן שושבינא דמטרוניתא.

And indeed it is taught that Moshe is the attendant of the King, and Aharon is the attendant of the Queen.

In the language of the Zohar, Moshe Rabbeinu serves the King (the source above) while Aharon serves the Matronisa (the receiving aspect, Knesses Yisrael below).

אכן נראה דאהרן זכה גם מכחו של משה.

Yet it appears that Aharon also merited something from the power of Moshe.

Aharon was not limited to the lower role alone; he received a portion of Moshe's higher power as well.

שהרי הי' מוכן משה להיות כהן כמ"ש אהרן אחיך הלוי.

For Moshe was originally prepared to be the kohen, as it says, "Aharon your brother the Levite" (Shemos 4:14).

Chazal note that the phrase "the Levite" hints that Moshe was meant to be the kohen and Aharon merely a Levi.

ואח"כ ניתן הכהונה לאהרן.

And afterward the kehunah was given to Aharon.

Only later was the priesthood transferred to Aharon, so that what had belonged to Moshe now passed into Aharon's hands.

א"כ יש לאהרן ב' הבחי'.

If so, Aharon possesses both aspects.

Because the kehunah originated with Moshe, Aharon carries within himself both the lower role (attendant of the Queen) and the higher power received from Moshe.

ונראה שזה ענין הבעיא בגמ' אי כהנים שלוחי דידן או שלוחי דרחמנא.

And it appears that this is the basis of the question in the Gemara whether the kohanim are our agents or agents of the Merciful One.

The Gemara (Yoma 19a, Kiddushin 23b) debates whether kohanim act on behalf of Klal Yisrael (our agents) or directly on behalf of Hashem.

והסכמת התוס' וראשונים דשניהם אמת.

And the conclusion of Tosafos and the Rishonim is that both are true.

The Rishonim resolve that the kohanim are simultaneously agents of Bnei Yisrael and agents of Hashem.

והיינו מצד אהרן בעצמו שושבינא דמטרוניתא.

That is: from the side of Aharon himself, he is the attendant of the Queen.

In his own essence Aharon represents the people below, so in that respect the kohanim are "our agents."

אבל הכח שקיבל ממשה רע"ה מצד זה הוא ג"כ שלוחי דרחמנא.

But the power he received from Moshe Rabbeinu — from that side he is also an agent of the Merciful One.

Through the higher power inherited from Moshe Rabbeinu, the kohanim also serve directly as agents of Hashem.

ולכן אוהב שלום ורודף שלום:

And therefore he is one who "loves peace and pursues peace."

Because Aharon holds both aspects — the peace from below and the peace from above — he both loves peace and pursues it, uniting the near and the far.

Summary: Sukkos is the festival of shalom, and its two central mitzvos — the lulav and the sukkah — embody two kinds of peace: the peace earned from below through our own avodah, and the peace that descends from Hashem. Aharon, who both "loves peace and pursues peace," carries both, since beyond his own role as attendant of the Queen he also inherited the higher power of Moshe Rabbeinu — which is why the kohanim are at once our agents and agents of Hashem.