English translation — חה"ס א

A.

The Gemara says in Sukkah¹

: "It was taught: Rabbi Eliezer says, just as a person does not fulfill his obligation on the first festival day of Sukkos with his fellow's lulav, as it is written²

'And you shall take for yourselves on the first day, fruit of a beautiful tree, branches of date palms' — from your own, so too a person does not fulfill his obligation with his fellow's sukkah, as it is written³

'The festival of Sukkos you shall make for yourself seven days' — from your own.

And the Sages say: Although they said a person does not fulfill his obligation on the first festival day with his fellow's lulav, he does fulfill his obligation with his fellow's sukkah, as it is written⁴

'Every native in Israel shall dwell in sukkos' — this teaches that all of Israel are fit to dwell in one sukkah.

And the Rabbis — this 'for yourself' what do they expound in it?

It is needed to exclude a stolen one, but a borrowed one — it is written 'every native'.

The halacha is like the Sages,

so although one is not yotzei — on the first day of Sukkos — with borrowed Four Species "because we require 'for yourselves'"⁵,

it is however by sukkah different and one is yotzei with a borrowed sukkah⁶.

As one learns in plain meaning it is implied,

that the reason why the sages hold that one fulfills [the obligation] with a borrowed sukkah,

is because the

(learning from)

verse "All the native-born in Israel etc."

(teaches that all Israel are fit to sit in one sukkah)

reveals that "You shall make for yourself"

does not mean that it must be "yours"; the "for yourself" comes only "to exclude a stolen one".

Says however the Alter Rebbe in Shulchan Aruch⁷

: "Although the Torah said 'the festival of Sukkot you shall make for yourself' for yourself from your own, meaning that the sukkah should be yours and not your fellow's, nevertheless a person fulfills his obligation with a borrowed sukkah, because since he entered it with permission <b>it is considered his own</b>

(And 'for yourself' was said only to exclude a stolen one)

One sees explicitly,

that also by sukkah one learns from "for yourself" that it must be "your own" — and nevertheless one fulfills the obligation with a borrowed sukkah,

because a borrowed one "it is considered <b>as his own</b>"⁸.

One must understand: since the reason that one fulfills the obligation with a borrowed sukkah is

(<b>not</b> because the verse "all the native etc." <b>includes</b> "borrowed"⁹,

but)

because "a borrowed ...

— why should a borrowed one not be kosher also

By lulav, for the same reason,

that "borrowed ..

it is considered as his own"¹⁰

it is considered his"?

2.

At first glance one could answer,

that in the category of "his" itself there&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;

- is a place for distinctions

(as to how much it is "his").

By sukkah the verse "all the native etc." reveals that it is sufficient also a lesser level of "yours - from your own"

(in which also a borrowed one is included,

although it is not actually his)&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;

; but by lulav,

where there is no such teaching,

the meaning of "and you shall take for yourselves - from your own" is <b>literally</b>,

a complete manner of "your own",

which excludes a borrowed lulav.

But from the language of the Alter Rebbe in a later section¹³

it is implied,

that a borrowed sukkah is in the category of “<b>his own actual</b>”,

And this is his language: And although post-facto one fulfills [the obligation] with a stolen sukkah standing on the ground ..

Nevertheless

ab initio one should not sit in a sukkah standing on the ground of another because it is not called his own actual and the Torah said “you shall make for yourself from your own” and it is not similar to an actual loan that he lent it to him with his consent and it is <b>like his own actual</b>.

One sees from this that with a borrowed sukkah one does not fulfill [the obligation] because in sukkah it is sufficient even when it is not “his own” actual,

Rather¹⁴,

because a borrowed one is indeed like <b>his own actual</b>¹⁵

- the question returns to its place: Why is a borrowed one excluded from “for yourselves” by the four species?

One can say,

that the innovation of the study of "all the citizen etc." is not that regarding sukkah it is sufficient even when it is not entirely "yours",

rather - <b>on the contrary</b>],

that the concept of sukkah has in itself such a definition that due to it the borrowed [sukkah] becomes "<b>his</b>

<b>actually</b>"<b>*</b>¹⁵

; and one can explain simply: because he borrows it [the sukkah] that it should be <b>exactly</b> like <b>his permanent dwelling</b> all year,

which is indeed the entire definition of sukkah of the festival

(unlike with lulav¹⁶

- etc. that "his" is only a condition)

then the borrowing is in a manner of "his" actually,

"on this condition they lent it"¹⁷.

3.

And one must add and sweeten in the inwardness of the matters: from the verse "All the native, etc." one learns that "all Israel are fit to sit in one sukkah" because of the elevation of the sukkah all Jews become united into one existence until that "all Israel are fit to sit in one sukkah" — and for this reason regarding sukkah a borrowed one is also "his own literally":

It is explained in Chassidus¹⁸

in the interpretation of the verse¹⁹

"At the covered time for our festival day",

that the matters which on Rosh HaShanah and Yom HaKippurim are in concealment — "at the covered time",

they come out in revelation "for our festival day",

on the festival of Sukkot.

Based on this one will also understand the difference

(regarding "for yourselves")

between sukkah and lulav

(whether one fulfills with a borrowed one)

after the introduction of the explanation of how the matters are "at the covered time" on Rosh HaShanah and Yom HaKippurim.

Already spoken once at length²⁰,

that in the content of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur there are three matters one above the other: a)

The <b>commandments</b> of the day,

On Rosh Hashanah — the commandment of shofar blowing,

And on Yom Kippur — the commandment of fasting and the commandment of repentance and confession; b)

That which they are from the Ten Days of <b>Repentance</b>,

That repentance is higher than commandments

(And therefore it can rectify that which one lacks in the service of fulfilling the commandments)

; c)

The essential content of the <b>days</b>,

Which is higher also than repentance: On Rosh Hashanah — the request of God and the service of "Make Me king over you"²¹,

Request and service to crown the Most High as king,

And on Yom Kippur — the matter of the <b>essence</b> of the day of Yom Kippur atones,

That <b>the</b> level of atonement is higher than the atonement through repentance.

In these three matters are expressed the various modes of connection and unification of Jews with the Most High:

One manner is,

that Jews are like,

as it were,

a separate existence,

only they connect themselves with G-dliness; that in this manner the connection and union must <b>be revealed</b> and expressed through and in <b>something</b> - through the fulfillment of the commandments,

that Jews take upon themselves the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and fulfill the decrees of the King.

In this itself there is a deeper manner - the inner connection of Jews with the Most High,

which is not dependent on the fulfillment of the commandments; and this expresses itself in the movement of repentance,

that even when a Jew has from himself,

G&lt;sup&gt;"&lt;/sup&gt;

d,

removed the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and transgressed the command of G-d,

he has great regret and remorse over this and wants to rectify it,

he repents.

But also the manner of connection,

although it is higher and deeper than the bond through fulfillment of the commandments,

it still has a relation to fulfillment of the commandments: the regret and remorse in the matter of repentance is indeed about that which he did not fulfill the <b>commandments</b> of the Most High and therefore he resolves from now and onward to obey the decrees of the King.

And since that also the bond expresses itself in

(the resolution to)

obey the Most High,

it means then,

that he is still an entity in itself that obeys and connects himself with the Most High.

The highest manner of connection is — Yisrael and the Holy One, blessed be He, <b>entirely one</b>,

Jews are essentially one, as it were, with the Holy One, blessed be He.

And <b>that</b> bond expresses itself in the request of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the service of "make Me king over you" — that which Jews are

Awakens and causes that the Most High should become a King over them:

The connection of Jews with the Most High through Torah and mitzvos,

or even through teshuvah,

is specifically after²²

when one accepts the Most High as King,

so that then the matter of obeying the King is relevant,

doing teshuvah for the disobedience etc.,

which binds them with the King.

But before the Above becomes, as it were, a king

(before the performance of the "You shall make Me king over you")

- what causes that they lack the concept of kingship, because of which Jews <b>ask</b> that the Above should become a king over them?

It is because they are essentially one thing with G-dliness,

and consequently they cannot be²³

heaven forbid without a king.

4.

Based on this it is also understandable that regarding commandments there are differences between one Jew and another in the manner of their fulfillment,

and likewise

(only with smaller differences)

is regarding repentance; but not so in the matter of "You shall make Me king over you" there are no differences between Jews

(as one sees it at the coronation of a human king,

that at the time of the coronation - which comes through the nullification of the people - a great minister and a simple person stand with the same nullification etc.; not like after the coronation and afterwards when the king decrees decrees,

that then there are differences among the citizens of the state in the manner of fulfillment of the decrees)

Fulfillment of the commandments,

since their quality of connection is in a manner that Jews,

as they feel themselves as a separate thing,

connect with the Most High,

therefore the fulfillment of the commandments and acceptance of the yoke [of the kingdom of heaven] by each one is according to his particular manner and level as an entity in &lt;sup&gt;P&lt;/sup&gt;

In the service of repentance,

which comes from a deeper connection that is not brought about through the actual fulfillment of the commandments,

there is not in this such a distinction between one Jew and another

(as one sees that this can be brought about only through a &lt;b&gt;thought &lt;/b&gt;of repentance&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;,

and in one moment and in an instant&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;).

Nevertheless, there are also in this differences,

because i&lt;sup&gt;t&lt;/sup&gt;

t is after all repentance for

(and according to the measure of the)

sins,

or repentance to his root and his source - in all of which one is not equal to the other.

In "make me king over you" - since this derives from the fact that Jews are essentially completely one with the Holy One, blessed be He,

so just as it is not possible to separate between Jews and the Most High,

so too one cannot divide between one Jew and another in the manner of connection and unification; in this all Jews are like one essence²⁶,

where there is no division.

H.

Although in particular one finds all three matters both by Rosh Hashanah and by Yom Kippur as above - in general, however,

and openly,

each one of them is connected with

One of the three festivals of the month of Tishrei: Rosh Hashanah,

Yom Kippur and the festival of Sukkot:

Rosh Hashanah stands <b>openly</b> that it is the “head” of the year – it is the time of <b>coronating</b> the King; and as the Rambam writes²⁷,

that the “primary matter” in “

(<b>the commandment of the day</b> is)

shofar” is that “we coronate the Creator upon us”²⁸.

On Yom Kippur it stands <b>openly</b> that when it is the day of teshuvah,

the day of "the end

(and)

forgiveness and pardon"²⁹

for transgressing the king's commandments.

Moreover: even the matter of "the essence of the day"³⁰,

which expresses the essential connection between Jews and the Most High which is above the connection through teshuvah - is all in the matter of "<b>atones</b>"³⁰,

and as its name: Yom <b>HaKippurim</b>.

The festival of Sukkot is the time when Jews are <b>openly</b> engaged in the fulfillment of the commandments: sukkah,

taking the four species etc.³¹

- one is "immersed in commandments"

(from right after Yom Kippur)³²,

and as its name: Chag <b>HaSukkot</b>.

6.

Since all matters that are

(on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur)

"in you" come down in revelation to the day of our festival on the festival of Sukkot,

it is understood,

that although the festival of Sukkot is its matter involvement in mitzvos,

but they become

in them expressed in a revealed manner all these three matters mentioned above — also Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur:

Just as on Rosh HaShanah

(and Yom Kippur)

there is the essential aspect of the day and the aspect of repentance,

as hinted in the language of Chazal³³

"Ten days <b>between </b>Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur",

i.

e.

Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are a part of the Ten Days of Repentance,

and together with this they are

(inherently)

higher than the aspect of repentance that is in the <b>Ten </b>Days and afterwards there is the third aspect — the commandment of the day;

Similarly we find in the verse regarding Sukkot: the verse³⁴

describes the festival — "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month this is the festival of Sukkot seven days to the Lord",

"The festival of Sukkot you shall make for yourself seven days"³,

and so too regarding the commandment of dwelling in the sukkah it says⁴

— "In sukkot you shall dwell seven days"

(not indicating that these are inherently special days —)

and from this one understands,

that the essential aspect of Sukkot is the commandment of <b>sukkah</b>.

Regarding the taking of the Four Species, the law is²

"And you shall take for yourselves <b>on the first day</b> the fruit of a beautiful tree etc." - that <b>on the first day</b> of the festival of Sukkot one should fulfill the commandment of taking the Four Species - and from this it is proven that the commandment of the Four Species is not the essence of the matter of the first day of <b>Sukkot</b>³⁵,

the festival.

Afterwards - after the commandment of taking the Four Species³⁶

- the verse continues "And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days" - the commandment of joy of the festival³⁷

And according to the above

(section 5)

it is understand- able,

that the essential unity of Jews with the Most High in the manner of "entirely one"

(which is expressed in "make Me king over you" of Rosh Hashanah)

is revealed in the essential matter of Sukkah; the connection through teshuvah

(which is the main matter of Yom Kippur)

is expressed in a revealed manner in the mitzvah of lulav; and the connection between Jews and the Most High through fulfillment of the mitzvot is &lt;b&gt;revealed &lt;/b&gt;in the mitzvah of joy of Sukkot.

7.

The explanation of this:

As discussed earlier,

that in the matter of "make me king over you" there are no differences between one Jew and another — and the matter comes to revelation in Sukkot in the mitzvah of sukkah,

since "all Jews are fit to dwell in one sukkah" — all Jews,

without any differences,

are suited to dwell — you shall dwell together in one and the same sukkah.

Regarding the lulav it is stated in the midrash³⁸

on the verse "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day" — "Of whom does the verse speak? Of Israel and of the nations of the world, that the Holy One, blessed be He, judges them on Yom Kippur etc., and we do not know who was victorious etc. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Take your lulavim in your hands so that all should know that you were victorious in the judgment" — d.

h.

That the atonement of Yom Kippur becomes evident and revealed in Sukkot in the mitzvah of taking the four species.

And the mitzvah of Simchat HaChag which is a matter of simcha shel mitzvah,

this is the revelation of the connection of Jews to the Above through the fulfillment of the mitzvot,

which calls forth the movement of joy among Jews - they rejoice with the mitzvot of Hashem.

Ch.

According to the above-said will be understandable the difference in this aforementioned law between Sukkah and Lulav:

Since the sukkah is the "revelation" of "you have coronated Me over you,"

that Jews are one thing with the Most High,

it is understood,

as above,

that in this there cannot be any differences between one Jew and another; i.e.

i.e.

that which "all of Israel

are fit to dwell in one sukkah" means,

that from the aspect of the elevation of the sukkah, Jews stand in an essential unity,

which is not like two that unite,

but rather like all Jews are from the outset "entirely one,"

one essence -

Therefore the law in this is,

that a borrowed sukkah “is considered as his own,”

and even more it is “as his own &lt;b&gt;literally&lt;/b&gt;” — because as soon as a sukkah unites all Jews into one reality,

one cannot separate one Jew from the other and say that the sukkah is not “his own” but the other’s — rather it is his as much as the other’s.

he thereby itself &lt;b&gt;opposes &lt;/b&gt;and contradicts the unity of the sukkah — with that which he &lt;b&gt;takes it away &lt;/b&gt;from the other,

he creates a division in the unity of the sukkah between him and the robbed one&lt;sup&gt;39&lt;/sup&gt;

— it can no longer be called “his own”].

9.

This is however only by Sukkah.

But not so the four species,

although that also they express the unity of Jews — one gathers all four types of Jews together

(as known⁴⁰)

— is nevertheless the unity in a manner that they all remain <b>separate</b> types also after one gathers them all together:

Since the mitzvah of the four species reveals the atonement of Yom Kippur — it is just as in the matter of atonement there are differences between one Jew and another

(because although the essential point of atonement and repentance is above division, nevertheless the actual atonement is carried out for each one according to his matter),

so too the unity of the four species is in a manner that each one remains in its type.

And therefore regarding the four species one cannot say that the species are borrowed are "his fellow's" - because in this he remains a separate existence from the other,

Based on this it is understood what regarding sukkah it says "&lt;b&gt;your&lt;/b&gt;"

(in singular),

but regarding the four species we learn the law "your own" from "and you shall take &lt;b&gt;for yourselves&lt;/b&gt;"

(plural)

: by sukkah all Jews are like one existence,

"like one body"&lt;sup&gt;41&lt;/sup&gt;

- and to one body one speaks in singular; but regarding the four species,

where each one remains a separate existence

(one only aggregates them together),

they are a plural - "for yourselves".

Nevertheless, in this

(four species)

there is still the aspect of unity — one binds and connects all four species together⁴².

Afterwards

comes the third aspect of the festival of Sukkot,

the commandment of joy,

which expresses the connection to the Most High through commandments; and therefore there are in this actual differences between the types of Jews — "Chasidim⁴³

and men of deed would dance" and "all the people, the men and the women, all come to see and to hear"⁴⁴.

(From the talk of the second day of Chol HaMoed Sukkos 5724)