English translation — ברכת כ"ק אדמו"ר שליט"א להאורחים שיחיו, בעת ביקורו בסוכה - ליל א' דחג הסוכות ה'תשמ"ה

First of all –

We begin with a blessing¹:

Good Yom Tov.

Regarding Sukkot, it is written in the Torah² "And you shall rejoice on your festival." And since the Torah of Truth declares that one should be in joy,

it is understood that the Above then provides a Jew with all the things that bring out joy in him,

all the more so that He completes all the matters that are lacking to him and could interfere with the completeness of joy.

From this it is understood,

that the very fact that a Jew knows that the Torah declares "And you shall rejoice on your festival,"

that it is "the time of our joy" –

this itself causes joy in a Jew,

knowing that then he receives all the matters that cause joy.

And this matter is especially on Sukkot:

All the festivals,

also Pesach and Shavuot,

are "appointed times for joy." But specifically on Sukkot we say "the time of our joy"³,

because then there is an additional and special joy greater than the joy of Pesach and Shavuot.

As we also see in the simple custom of Israel –

that the joy of Sukkot is greater than the joy of Pesach and Shavuot.

One of the reasons for this⁴:

Sukkot comes immediately after and in continuation of the sealing and final sealing for good in all the matters that Jews received on Yom Kippur.

[And also the four days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot do not interrupt between them,

but on the contrary –

Jews are then "occupied with mitzvot"⁵ and prepare themselves for Sukkot].

Therefore the joy of Sukkot is greater than all the festivals,

because it comes immediately after Jews know that they have received a sealing and final sealing for good for a good and sweet year in all their matters.

And there is further explanation in this⁶:

On Sukkot is the revelation of the joy and celebration of that which was hidden on Rosh Hashanah.

As it is written⁷ "Blow the shofar at the new moon, at the covered time for our festival day" –

as Chassidus explains⁸,

that the joy

(and all the revelations)

on Rosh Hashanah then stands in a manner of "at the covered time,"

covered and hidden within the nullification and awe of the people during the coronation of the King,

and the joy

(which stands "at the covered time" on Rosh Hashanah)

is revealed in completeness "for our festival day," Sukkot.

[And based on this, it is understood that the days of Rosh Hashanah "were not given for joy"⁹. For seemingly:

Rosh Hashanah is the day of coronation of the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He,

as our sages, of blessed memory, said¹⁰ "Make Me king over you" –

it should have been with great joy¹¹. Rather, the joy then stands concealed within the nullification to the King,

and it is revealed on Sukkot].

And the explanation of this –

simply:

It is simple to understand,

that at the time one crowns a king, one does not then dance before the king. Rather, the main thing is that the people then stand in a manner of acceptance of the yoke and nullification before the king, and they crown him as king. Only afterwards do they make a feast and banquet with great and revealed joy, where they rejoice over the coronation.

And so it is regarding the coronation of the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He:

The coronation itself is on Rosh Hashanah. Therefore then the main thing is the nullification of the people,

and the joy is concealed within the nullification. Afterwards comes Sukkot,

when we make the "banquet" for the coronation of the Holy One, blessed be He,

the joy of Rosh Hashanah is revealed.

Based on this it is also understood that the greatness of the joy of Sukkot

(coming after and in continuation of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur)

is even stronger on the first night and day of Sukkot

(tonight) –

because the first day of Sukkot always falls on the same day of the week as the first day of Rosh Hashanah,

when the King is crowned.

From this it is understood that on "our festival day" itself,

on the first night and day of Sukkot, the revelation of the joy that stood "at the covered time" on Rosh Hashanah during the coronation of the King is more revealed.

The matter of joy on Sukkot is also connected to the matter of the unity of Israel.

As is also understood according to the above,

that on Sukkot the joy of the coronation of the King is revealed

(which stood "at the covered time" on Rosh Hashanah):

At the time of the coronation of the King

(on Rosh Hashanah)

it is relevant that all the people of the nation stand in unity and all together agree and decide to accept the King as king over them,

because in order to crown the King,

the main thing for the King

(why He agrees to be King)

is that every single one of the people,

without exception,

accept Him as King¹².

As it is written¹³ "And He was King in Jeshurun when the heads of the people gathered, the tribes of Israel together":

The verse speaks about the coronation of the Holy One, blessed be He, on Rosh HaShanah by the Jewish people,¹⁴

"Jeshurun." That they crown the "King,"

the Most High,

specifically through all of them standing together in unity,

"when the heads of the people gathered, the tribes of Israel together,"

they accept Him upon themselves as King.

And since "on the day of our festival"

(Sukkot)

the joy of the coronation of the King on Rosh HaShanah is revealed –

it is understood that the joy on Sukkot is in a manner of the unity of all of Israel together,

"when the heads of the people gathered, the tribes of Israel together."

As we see it in the mitzvos of Sukkos:

In the mitzvah of the Four Species:

One of the allusions in the Four Species and their being bound together is¹⁵:

The Four Species,

esrog,

lulav,

myrtle branch

(hadassim),

willow of the brook

(aravos),

correspond to the four types into which all Jews are divided. "Just as this esrog has taste and has fragrance,

so too Israel, there are among them people who have Torah and have good deeds, etc.,

just as this lulav has taste but has no fragrance,

so too Israel, there are among them who have Torah but do not have good deeds, etc.,

just as the hadas has fragrance but has no taste,

so too Israel, there are among them who have good deeds but do not have Torah, etc.,

just as this willow has no taste and has no fragrance

(and one should add –

that no fruits grow from it),

so too Israel, there are among them people who have neither Torah nor good deeds."

And the Most High commands to take them all together,

which shows that all types of Jews,

from one who has Torah and good deeds,

to one who has neither Torah nor good deeds,

must stand in unity.

So too we see the matter of the unity of Israel in the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah –

which begins after the first night,

before the mitzvah of the Four Species which is only in the morning:

Notwithstanding that during the entire year we see openly the difference between various types among Jews:

A rich person lives in a wealthy house,

even a palace,

with walls and a ceiling that are plastered with precious stones, etc.,

unlike a poor person...

When Sukkos comes, all Jews go out from their houses,

the rich person goes out from his palace,

and the poor person from his house,

and all Jews sit in a little hut,

a sukkah,

which has simple walls and the roof is covered only with grass

(if there are precious stones there, it is an interruption),

and they sit there all during the seven days and in the manner of "you shall dwell as you reside"¹⁶.

Then

(when one sits in the sukkah)

it is clearly evident to all eyes how all Jews,

the extremely wealthy with the poor,

are in unity.

And this is regarding a rich and poor person in spiritual matters:

Both the greatest scholar,

who is rich,

and the Jew who for whatever reasons is not a scholar

(a poor person) –

sit in the same simple sukkah,

with simple walls and covered with grass.

And to such an extent that the Gemara says¹⁷ that "all of Israel are fit to sit in one sukkah."

That is, essentially the definition of a sukkah is that all Jews should sit in the same sukkah,

with the same four walls and the same roof.

And from the unity on Sukkos it is drawn down upon the entire year,

so that during the entire year

(even when one is not fulfilling the mitzvah of the Four Species and dwelling in the sukkah),

the unity among Jews is evident,

as all Jews are the same children of the same Most High,

"you are children to Hashem your God"¹⁸,

as explained in Tanya¹⁹ that "He is the Father of all of them,"

and this brings into actuality the matter of "and you shall love your fellow as yourself"²⁰,

that the relationship of every Jew with other Jews is in a manner that it is "as yourself,"

just as one gives oneself the best and finest, etc.,

so too one gives one's fellow²¹.

The matter of unity in a sukkah

(and consequently the power that is drawn from it upon the entire year)

is even stronger:

One of the most elevated matters in "and you shall love your fellow as yourself" is –

the mitzvah of hospitality,

as our Sages, of blessed memory, said²² "Hospitality is greater

(more²³)

than receiving the Divine Presence."

And the matter of hospitality

(although it is a mitzvah on every Yom Tov²⁴)

is with special emphasis on Sukkos:

It is known what is stated in the Zohar²⁵ that on each day of Sukkot, the seven Ushpizin come into every Jew's sukkah

(guests).

And my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, revealed²⁶,

that the Chassidic Ushpizin also come.

The vessel for this is the matter of hospitality in its literal sense²⁷.

This is particularly connected to the sukkah in which we are now found –

because it is a sukkah permeated with the mitzvah and spirit of hospitality.

And this matter is even more emphasized on the first night of Sukkot:

The Ushpiz

(as stated in the Zohar)

of this night is Abraham our Patriarch,

and the Chassidic Ushpiz is –

the Baal Shem Tov

[All the Ushpizin come each day,

but each day one comes first, and "with him"*²⁷ come all the rest].

In both of them, the matter of hospitality is seen with emphasis:

Regarding Abraham our Patriarch, it is simply related in the Written Torah that he was distinguished in hospitality²⁸, to the extent that he hosted even Arabs whom he saw in the desert²⁹,

and did not inquire who they were.

Similarly, the Baal Shem Tov helped Jews materially³⁰,

without looking at what kind of Jew it was,

and he aroused in Jews trust in Hashem,

that one should not be affected by the exile³¹,

and one should have trust and faith in the Most High,

the One who sustains and provides for all,

from His full, open, holy, and broad hand³².

All this gives even more strength,

that being now in the festival of Sukkot,

and in a sukkah,

permeated with the mitzvah of hospitality,

and moreover on the first night of Sukkot –

there should be the matter of the unity of Israel,

and from this it should be drawn forth for the entire year.

The matter of unity that we have on this night of Sukkot is even more emphasized according to the lesson in the Rambam³³ for tonight

(and tomorrow)³⁴:

At the beginning of the lesson, it discusses the mitzvah and service of the burning of the incense in the Holy Temple.

The content of the service of the incense is –

to unify,

as hinted in the name "Ketoret" which is from the term meaning to bind.

Furthermore, it has a special connection to the unity on Sukkot

(as discussed earlier³⁵):

The compounding of the incense was once a year,

"Three hundred and sixty-eight maneh were in it,

365 corresponding to the number of days of the solar year,

a maneh for each day...

and three extra maneh from which the Kohen Gadol would take his handful on Yom Kippur, etc."

(as we say each day in the passage of the compounding of the incense³⁶).

And according to the above,

that incense, its matter is –

to unify,

it is understood why the service of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur in the Holy of Holies was the burning of the incense –

because on Yom Kippur, the essence of the service of Yom Kippur is "once a year"³⁸,

and the Kohen Gadol is singular in soul –

the chosen one of the entire Jewish people,

and he performed the service of the burning of the incense –

whose essence is unity –

on Yom Kippur in the Holy of Holies,

the singular place.

And the intention therein was to draw down from this unity to each and every Jew

("one nation in the land"³⁹),

as the Kohen Gadol prayed in his prayer

(after his exit from the Holy of Holies and the burning of the incense there) –

"May it be Your will, etc., that Your people, the House of Israel, should not need sustenance from one another nor from any other people"⁴⁰ –

each Jew should be a single unit for himself,

not needing to come to others.

And from the unity on Yom Kippur through the burning of the incense by the Kohen Gadol in the Holy of Holies, it is then drawn into the festival of Sukkot –

as is known⁴¹ that the matter of the sukkah's roofing

(which comes from the Clouds of Glory⁴²)

is drawn from the cloud of incense of Yom Kippur in the Holy of Holies³⁷.

From this

(as emphasized in today's lesson of the Rambam)

it is even more understood how in the sukkah,

on the first night of Sukkot,

there stands the power for the unity of all of Israel together,

and from this it should be drawn forth for the entire year

(as above).

May it be His will that from this unification of all of Israel in one sukkah –

we should soon, literally, merit to all be together in the sukkah of the skin of the Leviathan⁴³,

in the true and complete redemption.

And particularly through this, that in addition to the mitzvah of sukkah,

one also fulfills in the sukkah the mitzvah of hospitality,

which is greater than receiving the Divine Presence,

which contributes

(even more)

to the unity of Jews.

And certainly each of the guests blesses the host. And every Jew blesses all other Jews,

which causes a very great pleasure to the Most High,

as is known from the teaching of the Alter Rebbe⁴⁴,

until this brings that the Most High should bless Jews in all their matters,

until the primary blessing –

the true and complete redemption through Mashiach our righteousness,

and every Jew and all Jews,

the one and only nation,

"with our young and with our elders, with our sons and with our daughters"⁴⁵,

go together with the one and only Torah,

to the one and only land –

our holy land,

"a land which the L-rd your G-d cares for; the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year"⁴⁶,

in the sukkah made of the skin of the Leviathan,

and out of joy and gladness of heart,

and speedily in our days, literally.

Good Yom Tov,

and may one hear good tidings throughout the entire year,

until the good tidings of Elijah the Prophet,

the herald of the redemption⁴⁷ –

that the redemption has come,

until one will receive the face of Mashiach our righteousness,

"and everlasting joy upon their heads"⁴⁸.