English translation — ברכת כ"ק אדמו"ר שליט"א להאורחים שיחיו בעת ביקורו בסוכה ליל ב' דחג הסוכות ה'תשד"מ

His Holiness the Rebbe, may he live for many good days, proclaimed "Gut Yom Tov" three times.

Just as we all find ourselves in one sukkah,

which is called "Sukkat Shalom"¹, in addition to the peace and love of Israel unto the unity of Israel that exists among Jews,

it is further enhanced by all of us being in one sukkah,

"Sukkat Shalom".

And this is the preparation for the "one sukkah" in which "all of Israel are fit to dwell"²,

until the sukkah made from the skin of the Leviathan³,

in the true and complete redemption through our righteous Mashiach.

The matter of the unity of Israel is further emphasized because we are already on the second night of Sukkot,

after having fulfilled this morning the commandment of "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a beautiful tree, branches of date palms, and a branch of a leafy tree, and willows of the brook"⁴,

the four species:

One takes four distinct species of vegetation,

from one extreme to the other⁵:

"fruit of a beautiful tree",

and together with this "willows of the brook",

simple leaves, twigs –

which the four species correspond to the four types of

(all)

Jews⁶ –

and from all four species –

four types of Jews –

one makes a single entity,

one commandment,

with one blessing.

That is, one must indeed have specifically four distinct species,

but together with this, one does not make from them four separate commandments and blessings,

rather one commandment and one blessing –

"and they all shall form a single bundle to do Your will with a perfect heart"⁷.

And since the Almighty demands that it be "and they all shall form a single bundle to do Your will with a perfect heart" –

it is certain that He gives strength for this,

as our Sages said:

"I do not ask [of them] except according to their strength"⁸.

So much so that He certainly gives strength to perform the service –

of the unity of Israel through the unity of the four species –

perfectly,

which means –

with joy and a good heart.

It is known that the Almighty desires that man's service in general be with joy and a good heart.

And all the more so during the days when we say "the time of our joy" in the prayers, etc., during the seven days of Sukkot,

and afterwards on Shemini Atzeret,

and in exile –

also a ninth day,

Simchat Torah.

And it is known the explanation of the Alter Rebbe regarding that which we say "the time of our joy" in the plural

(and not "the time of my joy"),

because it refers to the double joy of "Hashem will rejoice in His works"¹⁰ and "Israel will rejoice in its Maker"¹¹,

that the Almighty rejoices with Jews and Jews rejoice with the Almighty,

and these two joys become one thing

(in one word) –

"the time of our joy".

It is therefore certain that during "the time of our joy" man's service,

including the service of the unity of Israel through the unity of the four species

("and they all shall form a single bundle"),

must be with joy and a good heart,

with completeness and with vigor.

And particularly according to the known principle that each festival is a general matter,

and especially the festivals of the month of Tishrei,

as my father-in-law, the Rebbe, said,

that the days and festivals of the month of Tishrei are general days and festivals¹² from which one draws strength to perform the service throughout the entire year. Similarly, "the time of our joy" in the month of Tishrei is a general matter from which one draws strength to perform the service with joy and a good heart throughout the entire year.

Joy (in man's service)

itself can be in several ways. The Almighty desired that joy be not only in the soul,

but that it also permeate the physical body. Therefore there is an obligation that the joy of the festival be celebrated by eating a physical meal which brings joy

(also)

to the body of man¹³.

That is, in addition to the fact that the physical body must be joyful because it is a part of the soul and the soul is joyful,

the body itself should also be in joy –

because it is a Jewish body which eats a Jewish meal with Jewish wine and Jewish foods, etc.,

and the physical enjoyment of the body causes the physical body itself to be in joy. And especially when it comes to the festival meal,

which is an obligation,

so that there should be

(also)

joy of the body through physical enjoyment.

The emphasis on the joy of the body

(through physical enjoyment in a physical meal)

is even greater when there is the matter of hosting guests,

and also the guests eat from the physical meal –

as our Sages said¹⁴ regarding the great deed of hospitality,

that "hospitality is greater than receiving the Divine Presence".

From the fact that it is said that hospitality is greater than receiving the Divine Presence,

one can understand the greatness of the joy that one creates for the Almighty above through hospitality,

and likewise the greatness of the joy that one creates for His close ones

(the people of Israel)

below through hospitality,

as the simple understanding of the matter.

In order for the matter of hospitality to exist

(which is "greater than receiving the Divine Presence")

one needs at least two people –

the host

(or hosts)

and the guest

(or guests).

And since hospitality is "greater than receiving the Divine Presence",

and from this one understands the greatness of the joy that this creates for the Almighty and for Jews –

it is understandable the greatness of the reward that the host receives through this. And even more –

the greatness of the reward that the guests receive through this,

which is an even greater reward than what the host receives,

because they cause the host to receive his reward,

for without them there would not be

(and the host would not be able to fulfill)

the entire commandment of hospitality¹⁵.

From this one understands the greatness of the joy of "the time of our joy" that comes when one has a guest at the festival meal,

and this also contributes to the joy that is drawn

(from "the time of our joy")

upon the entire year.

What was stated above regarding the greatness of the matter of hospitality,

that it is "greater than receiving the Divine Presence",

applies and already existed on the first night and first day of Sukkot.

But a living thing in general, and a person in particular, must constantly grow and ascend higher and higher,

to become more Jewish,

holier and brighter. Consequently,

however great the matter of hospitality was on the first night,

one must ascend and reach even higher in it on the second night. The question arises:

What can be higher in hospitality than the matter that it is "greater than receiving the Divine Presence"?!

The explanation of this is:

A deeper perfection in hospitality is,

when the host makes the guest feel so comfortable that the guest does not feel like a temporary guest,

but rather like the host himself.

As we see with Avraham Avinu¹⁶ –

the first host –

that when guests came to him, he ran around and hosted and served them,

and they

(the guests)

sat in one place as if they were the masters of the house.

And since "Avraham was one"¹⁷,

he was the first Jew and he is called Avraham Avinu,

the Torah calls him one of the Patriarchs,

so much so that he was the first father –

then "the father merits [to bequeath] to his son, etc."¹⁸ all good things,

consequently Avraham Avinu also bequeaths to Jews throughout all generations the trait of hospitality in a manner that one makes the guest feel so comfortable that he is like the master of the house.

This very matter in hospitality

(that one makes the guest feel that he is not a guest but a master of the house),

becomes revealed and emphasized

(beginning from)

the second night when one has the guest

(in addition to the fact that he was a guest on the first night and day),

for when the guest is already in that place for a second night, he feels comfortable and like one who belongs in that place,

like the master of the house.

Heaven forfend that a master of the house is associated with the opposite of humility,

rather both the guest and the host feel that they are masters of the house in a world where the Almighty is the Master of the house,

and He commanded Jews to fulfill the commandments,

including the commandment of hospitality,

so much so that the host should make the guest feel so comfortable that he feels like he is the master of the house,

which begins on the second night.

And from this one understands the greatness of the joy that one creates above and below through the fact that the hospitality itself is in a manner that the guests feel like masters of the house,

even more than the joy that exists from ordinary hospitality. And this great joy

(of "the time of our joy")

is drawn upon the entire year.

And when the hosts make the guests feel so comfortable that they are all like masters of the house,

it is understood that they

(the hosts)

receive a greater reward for this,

and the guests bless them with even more blessings for having made the guests feel like masters of the house.

"And I will bless those who bless you"¹⁹ says the Almighty. Consequently, He blesses the guests with all matters,

children, life, and ample sustenance, and in all of them ample,

and with a good and sweet year, and a sealing and final sealing that is good and sweet,

and with joy and a good heart.

So much so that with the primary joy that every Jew desires and requests every day²⁰ –

"For Your salvation we hope all day",

"The shoot of David Your servant, speedily cause to flourish" –

that our righteous Mashiach will come and take out all of you and all of us and all Jews out of exile,

in a manner of "a great congregation shall return here"²¹,

one congregation, in the singular,

"with our young and our old, etc., with our sons and our daughters"²²,

and we will go to the Holy Land,

and to Jerusalem, the holy city,

"the city of the great King"²³,

and to the Temple Mount, to the third Holy Temple,

and we will have the sukkah made from the skin of the Leviathan,

and speedily, in our very own days.