English translation — מאמר וחג האסיף תשמ"ג

With the help of Heaven.

Night of the 13th of Tishrei

(the yahrtzeit of the Admo"r Mahara"sh, his soul in Eden),

the year 5743.

"And the Festival of the Harvest... when you gather in your labors from the field."

And the Baal HaHilula explains,

that the fact that the festivals are set during the times of the harvest

is intended

(primarily)

for spiritual harvest.

And this is why the Festival of Sukkos was set at the time of the gathering of the harvest,

to the point that it is called by the name "Chag HaAsif" (Festival of the Ingathering),

because the concept of the Festival of Sukkos is connected and comes after the work of gathering the harvest

("and you shall gather"

your grain, your wine, and your oil)

in spirituality.

And just as the gathering of the harvest in its simple, physical sense is before the onset of the festival,

for on Yom Tov it is forbidden [to do such work],

so too in spirituality,

that after the work of "when you gather the produce of the land"

(then)

"you shall celebrate the festival of the L-rd for seven days."

And one must understand the connection of the Festival of Sukkos,

whose name

(Sukkos)

is from "in Sukkos"

"you shall dwell for seven days,"

to "when you gather the produce of the land."

And one must also understand

(as is precise in several discourses)

what is said:

"In Sukkos you shall dwell for seven days; every citizen of Israel shall dwell in Sukkos,"

for at first glance,

the commandment "In Sukkos you shall dwell..." is for the entirety of Israel and for every individual Jew,

so what is added by saying "every citizen of Israel shall dwell in Sukkos"?

And one must also understand

why in the commandment "In Sukkos you shall dwell" it says "you shall dwell for seven days," whereas in the commandment "every citizen..." it says "shall dwell" without specification

(and does not say "for seven days").

Now, following "you shall celebrate the festival of the L-rd for seven days," the verse continues:

"And you shall take for yourselves on the first day, the fruit of a beautiful tree, branches of date palms, a branch of a thick-leaved tree, and willows of the brook..."

For this mitzvah is also connected to the Festival of the Ingathering,

for the time of this mitzvah is specifically on the first day,

on the first day of the festival that comes about because of "when you gather."

And although the mitzvah of taking the Four Species is not as connected to the essence of the festival as the mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah

[as is also understood from the fact that the obligation of the mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah applies throughout all seven days of the festival

("In Sukkos you shall dwell for seven days"),

from the time the festival becomes holy,

whereas the obligation of the mitzvah of taking the Four Species begins in the morning

(at dawn,

and ideally at sunrise)

and only on the first day],

nevertheless,

this mitzvah is also connected

(as above)

with the first day of the Festival of the Ingathering.

2)

And to understand this

(the connection of the sukkah and the taking of the Four Species to the gathering of the harvest)

we must preface what our sages, of blessed memory, said:18

"A fruit of a beautiful tree" — this is the Holy One, blessed be He; "branches of date palms" — this is the Holy One, blessed be He; "a branch of a leafy tree" — this is the Holy One, blessed be He; "and willows of the brook" — this is the Holy One, blessed be He.

(And they bring proofs from verses for this.)

And the Baal HaHilula19 explains,

that the fact that each of the four species indicates the Holy One, blessed be He, is from the aspect of the unity within them.

For the fruit20

of a beautiful tree is the esrog, which dwells on its tree from year to year,21

for during the year there are many changes from one extreme to the other, which is why it is called "shanah" (year), from the word "shinui" (change),22

because it contains all the changes of the climates of all six seasons mentioned in Scripture,23

and the esrog

(which dwells on its tree from year to year)

bears all the changes.

And moreover,

not only does it bear all the climates,

but it grows from them.

That is,

not only do the changes of climate not cause it any deficiency,

but it receives from them additional growth.24

For this is

(the true)

aspect of unity in the esrog,

that it unifies all the changes of the climates,

so that from all of them one thing is made

(the existence of the esrog).

And likewise with the lulav,

"branches of date palms"

("kafot" —

spelled deficiently)

and our sages, of blessed memory, expounded that it must be "kafot" (bound),

that the leaves must be in a manner that they are fit to be bound and tied together with the spine as one thing.25

For although there are other trees whose branches are close to the tree,

it is not in the manner of "kafot"

(unity)

as in the lulav.26

And so too with the hadasim,

"a branch of a leafy tree,"

specifically "avot" (intertwined),

three in one cluster.27

For although they are three separate leaves

[a multiplicity of division,

for even two are many,

since the minimum of "many" is two,28

and all the more so three],

nevertheless they are "avot"

(like a braid29),

in one cluster.

And so too with the aravah

(willows of the brook)

which is called in the Gemara "achvana,"30

because they grow in brotherhood.31

For although they are "arvei nachal" (willows of the brook),

"arvei" being plural,

they are in brotherhood and unity,

and such is their manner of growth

(that they grow in brotherhood).

Now, the aspect of unity in these four species is in a manner that from multiplicity, unity is made.

And as with the esrog,

the climates of the six seasons of the year are different from each other

(to the point that they are opposites),

and nevertheless they are later unified and become one thing

(the existence of the esrog).

And so too with the lulav,

for from the very fact that they say it must be "kafot" (bound), it is understood that it has separate leaves that need to be bound together.32

And so too with the hadas, that it must have three separate leaves and that nevertheless they become unified with each other

(in one cluster).

And so too with the willows of the brook,

that they are a multiplicity of willows

("arvei" being plural33)

and nevertheless they are unified and grow in brotherhood.

3)

And this is the connection of the mitzvah of taking the Four Species with the holiday of Sukkos,

for the essence of the sukkah is peace,34

that is, that from multiplicity, unity is made.

From this it is also understood regarding the holiday of Sukkos,

that it is

(as above at the beginning of the maamar)

called by the name "in sukkot you shall dwell,"

whose essence is that from multiplicity, unity is made.

For this is the holiday of Sukkos, seven days,35

"seven days" being the matter of division,

for each day is different from its fellow.

To the point that they include the division of all the duration of time.

For the seven days of the week are the seven days of the cycle.36

For this is what we say each week, "today is day one,"

"today is day two," etc.,

for seemingly, from the creation of the world until now there have already been thousands and myriads of days, so why do we count day one, day two, day three, etc.?

And the explanation of this is known,37

that this is because they are the days of the cycle that revolve in a circuit.

And the essence of the holiday of Sukkos, seven days, is,

that all seven days become one thing,

the holiday of Sukkos.

4)

And the explanation of the matter

(the connection of taking the Four Species with the festival of Sukkot)

in a deeper way,

that the matter of unity in both of them is not only in a manner of unification of separate things,

but a true unity that is above division.

For in the mitzvah of taking the Four Species, in addition to the unity within each of the four species

(as it is by itself),

which is a unification of separate things,

nevertheless, all four species become one mitzvah,

one matter.

For although they are four different species,

and from one extreme to the other,

as it is brought in the Midrash

that the four species of the lulav correspond to four types among Israel,

from the type corresponding to the etrog, which has taste and smell

(Torah and good deeds)

until the type corresponding to the willow, which has neither taste nor smell,

nevertheless, they all become

(all four types)

one bundle to do Your will,

and this unity

(that they all become one bundle to do Your will)

is a true unity that is above division.

And likewise is the matter of the unity of the Sukkah,

that after it says "You shall dwell in booths for seven days,"

the matter of the unity of separate things

(that seven days are unified in one Sukkah),

it adds "all the native-born in Israel shall dwell in booths"

("shall dwell" without specification,

and it does not say "for seven days"),

a true unity that is above division.

5)

And based on this, the connection of the festival of Sukkot

("you shall celebrate the festival of Hashem for seven days,"

the mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah and the mitzvah of taking the Four Species)

to "when you gather in the produce of the land" will be understood,

for "when you gather in" is the matter of unity,

that initially they are separate things,

and the matter of "your gathering" is to gather them

(and unify them)

together.

And there are two matters in this

(paralleling the two levels of unity in the Sukkah and the Four Species).

For first is the gathering

(and unification)

of the multitude of details of each and every species

(grain,

wine and oil)

by itself,

and afterwards is the gathering

(the unification)

of all three species together,

that one gathers all of them into the house

(to one place).

6)

And behold, all these matters come after the service of the beginning of the month of Tishrei,

the letters of "reishit" (beginning).

For the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,

ten days,

are a level of division,

and on Yom Kippur they are included and unified in one day

(of Yom Kippur),

"once a year,"

and after Yom Kippur,

in the four days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot,

is the preparation for the fulfillment of the mitzvot of "You shall dwell in booths" and taking the Four Species,

including also the service of "when you gather in your works from the field,"

for this service is

(as mentioned above at the beginning of the maamar)

before and a preparation for the festival of Sukkot.

However, on Yom Kippur,

on which there is no eating or drinking, etc.,

it is in a manner of abstraction from worldly matters.

And especially in the Neilah prayer of Yom Kippur,

when then Israel and the King are alone together.

For this is the explanation of "Neilah,"

that all the gates are locked and they are found

(inside)

only Israel and the King.

And in order to complete the intent of a dwelling place in the lower worlds,

there must be a drawing down

(to draw down the matter of unity)

below,

into this physical world,

even into the physical matters of this world,

beginning with "when you gather in your works from the field,"

for although it is a spiritual service

(as mentioned above at the beginning of the maamar),

nevertheless, it is also connected with the gathering of the produce

("your grain, your wine, and your oil")

in its simple physical sense,

and likewise is it also in the mitzvah of "You shall dwell in booths,"

that the roofing of the Sukkah must be from "your threshing floor and your winepress," and specifically from the waste of the threshing floor and winepress,

and likewise is it also in the mitzvah of taking the Four Species,

that one cannot fulfill the mitzvah through intention,

through the service of the emotions

(although the four species are from the category of vegetation, and vegetation is the matter of the emotions),

and also not through the service of Malchut

(even though the matter of the waving is to draw down into Nukva d'Z'eir Anpin

(Malchut)

which stands at the chest of Z'eir Anpin),

but one specifically needs physical four species,

and that they touch the chest

specifically the physical chest.

9)

And this is “and the Festival of the Harvest… when you gather in your labors from the field,”

which is the gathering of all matters together.

And the beginning of this is that one gathers all the matters of Torah

(like all the divine services,

whose beginning is in their essence as it is in Torah,

since “He looked into the Torah and created the world”).

For behold, every matter in Torah has six hundred thousand explanations according to the plain meaning,

six hundred thousand explanations according to the allegorical meaning,

and likewise according to the homiletical meaning and according to the secret meaning.

And one must gather and include all the explanations of the part of the plain meaning,

and likewise all the explanations of the part of the allegorical meaning,

of the part of the homiletical meaning and of the part of the secret meaning,

and after this to gather and include all four parts together.

And this is “and you shall gather your grain, your wine, and your oil,”

grain

(bread)

is the revealed aspect of Torah,

wine

(wine)

is the secrets of Torah,

and oil

(oil)

is the secrets of secrets,

and the service of “and you shall gather your grain, your wine, and your oil” is twofold.

The gathering and inclusion of the multitude of matters of each category

(revealed,

secrets, and secrets of secrets)

itself,

and also the gathering and inclusion of all the categories together,

and to elevate them to a level above division,

until the aspect of “the place that includes everything”

and higher.

And although the main point of this matter

(the unification of all matters of Torah)

will be at the coming of Moshiach,

who will teach the entire people

the entire Torah,

also the secrets of Torah and the secrets of secrets,

and as it is written,

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,” and Rashi explains that in the future the secret of its reasons

(of Torah)

and the hidden mysteries will be revealed,

and all this will be then in a manner of sight,

nevertheless,

since “those who taste it merit life,”

behold, a foretaste of this in a manner of tasting at least can be and must be now.

And from this

(from the matter of “and you shall gather your grain, your wine, and your oil” as it is in Torah)

it is drawn down that there should be “and you shall gather your grain, your wine, and your oil” in all matters of man’s service in spirituality,

and even that this is drawn down also in “and you shall gather your grain, your wine, and your oil” literally,

in physical grain, wine, and oil.

And likewise is it also regarding the matter of the unity of dwelling in the sukkah

(after the service of gathering),

that in this there are

(as above)

two levels,

“In sukkot you shall dwell for seven days,” which is the matter of unity as it still pertains to seven days

(division)

and “all the native-born in Israel shall dwell in sukkot”

(simply,

above the matter of seven days),

that the main point of this matter will be in the future,

as is known

that the explanation of “native-born” (ezrach) is that which is destined to shine (lehazriach) in the future,

except that nevertheless there is an illumination of this also now.

As the explanation of the Baal HaHilula

(based on this),

that that which is destined to shine in the future within Israel and in their innerness,

behold also now “they shall dwell in sukkot,”

that this is revealed upon them

(now)

in the aspect of sukkah and encompassing light.

And likewise is it also regarding the matter of the four species

(for the taking of the four species is

(as above)

after the dwelling in the sukkah),

that each of the four species is “this is the Holy One, blessed be He,”

that this matter is also now,

except that now it is in concealment,

and the revelation of this will be in the future, when “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see,” etc.

And then there will also be “the gathering of your grain, your wine, and your oil” in a different manner,

that it will not need to be “and you shall gather”

(that Israel will need to gather)

but rather “and strangers shall stand and shepherd your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen,” etc.,

and also the dwelling in the sukkah will be in a more elevated manner,

“they shall dwell in the sukkah of the skin of the Leviathan,”

and also this matter of “this is the Holy One, blessed be He”

(that is in the four species)

will then be revealed,

as “as I am written, so I am read,”

except that a foretaste of this

(of all these matters)

exists also now,

and as above in the explanation of “all the native-born in Israel shall dwell in sukkot,”

and all the more so in the time of the end of the exile

(the footsteps of Moshiach)

that only a few moments remain,

and the Torah promised that Israel will ultimately repent at the end of their exile and immediately they are redeemed,

with joy and a good heart.