Kabbalah Library

270. “You shall dwell in huts [Sukkot] for seven days,” lacking Vav in the word Sukkot [in Hebrew], since Sukkot implies only Hesed, to which all six clouds are connected. Hence, they are seven days, as it is written, “And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day.” It is also written, “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud.” This is Aaron’s cloud, Hesed, which is called “day,” as it is written, “By day the Lord commands his Hesed [mercy].” One cloud, Hesed, takes with it five other clouds: Gevura, Tifferet, NHY, and they are six. Another cloud, of which it is written, “and a pillar of fire by night,” Malchut, shines for Israel from the illumination of these six clouds.

271. “You shall dwell in Sukkot for seven days.” This commandment is to sit in a Sukkah [sin. of Sukkot], to show that Israel are sitting in faith in the shadow of the Sukkah without fear of slanders, since the slanderer has already parted from them on Yom HaKippurim through the goat to Azazel. Anyone who sits in a Sukkah in faith, as it is written, “All who are native Israelites shall dwell in huts [Sukkot].” Those who are in faith and from the descendants and root of Israel will dwell in huts.

272. The following commandment is to make an offering on each of the seven days of Sukkot. The offering is so that everyone will have a share in his children’s joy, since seventy bulls correspond to the seventy nations of the world. Because everyone is gripped to the tree, ZA, since the branches below are extended from the root of the tree, everyone is blessed thanks to the tree. Although there is no benefit from them, they, too, are all blessed. The joy of Israel is in their father above, at the root of the tree, and they give a portion of the blessings to all the rest of the nations that have a grip, and which are gripping Israel.

273. All those offerings, the seventy bulls, are in order to give food to the appointees of the rest of the nations, for because the Creator loves His children, He wants all the ministers to love them, as it is written, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, even his enemies will make peace with ‎him,” that even all the upper slanderers return to loving Israel. ‎when the forces above return to loving Israel, it is all the more so with all of those who are ‎below.

274. It is not to the seventy ministers that they would sacrifice the offering. Rather, everything is offered and ‎sacrificed to the Creator, and He dispenses food to all the masses of the other sides, to the ministers ‎of the seventy nations, so they will enjoy His children’s gift and will love them again, ‎so they will know above and below that there is no nation like the nation of Israel, that they ‎are the lot and the domain of the Creator. And the Creator’s glory rises appropriately above ‎and below, and all the higher masses open and say, “And who like Your people, like ‎Israel, is one nation in the earth.”

275. “Thus says the Lord, ‘I remember the Hesed [kindness] of your youth, the love of your betrothal, how you followed me in the desert, in a land not sown.’” This is written about the assembly of Israel, Malchut, while she walked with Israel in the desert. “I remember the Hesed [mercy]” is Aaron’s cloud, Hesed, which journeyed in five other clouds, Gevura, Tifferet, NHY, which connected on you and shone on you. “The love of your betrothal,” that those clouds perfected you, decorated you, and established you as a bride wearing her vessels, since “you followed me in the desert, in a land not sown,” since she followed the people of Israel in the desert.

276. When a person sits in that section, in the Sukkah, which is the shadow of faith, the Shechina spreads her wings over him from above, and Abraham, who is Hesed, and five righteous ones, Gevura, Tifferet, NHY, make their abode with him. Abraham, the five righteous, and King David, who is Malchut, make their abode with him, as it is written, “You shall dwell in Sukkot for seven days,” implying HGT NHYM, and not “on the seven days,” as it is written, “Since for six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,” and not “in six days,” which is also since they indicate the six upper days HGT NHY, which made the heaven and the earth. One should be happy each and every day, with a happy face before those guests, HGT NHYM, who are present with him.

277. It is written, “You shall dwell in Sukkot for seven days,” and then it is written, “dwelled.” Why is it “dwell” at first, and then “dwelled”? The first one is for the guests, HGT NHYM. This is why it is written “dwell,” indicating presence. The second is for the people of the world, which is why it is written, “dwelled,” indicating concealment. The first one is for guests, like a person who walks into a Sukkah, he is glad and stands at the entrance of the Sukkah from within and says, “Let us summon the guests,” and he sets the table and stands on his feet, and makes the blessing for sitting in a Sukkah. On Sukkot, he says “You will dwell for seven days.” “Dwell,” high guests; “dwell,” guests of faith. He raises his hands and he is happy, and says, “Happy are we, happy are the people of Israel, as it is written, “But the Lord’s portion is his people,” and he would sit.

278. The word “dwelled,” in wording of concealment, is for the people of the world, since one who has a part in the holy nation and earth, sits in the shadow of faith to welcome the guests, to rejoice in this world and in the next world, and we must delight the poor, since the portion of those guests that He has invited to His meal belongs to the poor. That one who sits in this shadow of faith and invites these upper guests, the guests of faith, but does not give them a portion of the meal, a part for the poor, all the guests turn away from him and say, “Do not eat the bread of an evil-eyed man.” It follows that the table he has set is that of an evil eyed person, and is not the Creator’s. It is written about him, “And I will spread dung on your faces,” the dung of your festivals, your festivals and not mine. Woe unto that person, when these guests of faith stand over his table.

279. All his days, Abraham was standing at a crossroads to invite guests and set a table for them. Now, on Sukkot, if he is invited along with all the righteous and King David, and they are not given their portion, Abraham stands over the table and calls out, “Turn away from the tents of these wicked people,” and everyone departs after him. Isaac said, “The belly of the wicked shall be wanting.” Jacob said, “The slice you have eaten, you shall vomit up.” And all the rest of the righteous, Moses and Aaron, say, “For all the tables are filled with vomit and feces, without any room left.”

280. King David completes his judgments and said, “And about ten days later, the Lord struck Naval, and he died,” since David asked Naval to accept him as a guest, but he did not want to. Likewise, one who sits in a Sukkah and invites King David but does not give him his share, hence, King David calls upon him that verse about Naval. During those ten days when King David, Malchut, judges the world in the Ten Penitentiary Days, that person is sentenced for it, for he has done him more harm than Naval, since he invited him over but did not give him his share, while Naval, at least, did not invite him.

281. The Torah does not compel one to give, but only as much as one can, as it is written, “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.” Also, one should not say, “I will eat and be full first, and whatever is left, I will give to the poor.” Rather, first, everything belongs to the guests. If he delights the guest and satiates them, the Creator is happy with him, and Abraham calls out about him, “Then shall you delight in the Lord,” and Isaac calls out about him, “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed.” King David, Malchut, tells him this verse because all of the weapons of the king and the wars of the king were given to David. But Isaac says, “His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.”

282/1. Jacob said, “Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,” for it will shine the letters of Jacob. The rest of the righteous say, “The Lord will guide you always, and satisfy your soul in drought.” King David said, “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,” since he was appointed over all the weapons in the world. Happy is the man who was rewarded with all this; happy are the righteous in this world and in the next world. It is written about them, “And Your people are all righteous, they will forever inherit the earth.”

282/2. It is a commandment to take a Lulav [palm branch] on that day, in those species of it. Like the Creator takes Israel in those days and delights in them, Israel take the Creator into their portion and delight in Him. This Lulav and the species in it, the shape of a man, the seven Sefirot HGT NHYM, since three myrtles correspond to HGT, two willows correspond to Netzah and Hod, Lulav to Yesod, and the citron to Malchut.