#1

By properly performing the mitzvah of sukkah one is privileged to have a pure heart. That pure heart is your ticket to pouring out your heart to Hashem (God), telling Him your every concern.

The words you speak to Hashem are akin to ruach hakodesh.

OB: Our hearts lack purity because we are greedy. I don’t mean we are totally self-centered. I mean we indulge ourselves more than is necessary because we are selfish—we eat because we want to eat; we sleep because we want to sleep, etc. We focus on the pleasure for pleasure’s sake instead of doing what we need to do because we are responsible for taking care of our bodies.

But the primary mitzvah of sukkah—eating, drinking and sleeping withing its four walls—is an opportunity to re-focus, to remind ourselves that there is more to strive for. The quasi-roof of the sukkah (skhakh) may only be made from [1] materials that grow from the ground and [2] are insusceptible to tumah (ritual impurity). Part of the message of these qualifications is that we can elevate even the earthy to a higher-level of consciousness if we don’t corrupt it with impure motives and goals.

The openness of skhakh is flimsy from a material perspective. But from a spiritual perspective it is an invitation to realize higher levels of God-awareness. There is no pre-determined or fixed limit to how much you can grow. The limit is higher than the sky.

Once your hearts is freed—purified—from the petty pleasures of the body, she can speak openly to Hashem about her true concerns, about her aspirations and ambitions for coming close to Hashem. These words are not coming from a place within you that is constrained by your intellect. It is coming from an even more Divine, holy, point of contact that you have with Hashem. And it is even more than that, but what that “more” is cannot be told to you. You have to Divine/divine it yourself.

#2

Properly performing the mitzvah of sukkah:

• Is a segulah (nostrum, preternatural charm) to have children.
• Saves a person from strife and argument.
• Sukkah dissipates falsehood and strengthens the truth.
• Reveals the genuine rebbe of the era. This means that every person sees the truth and understands who is the genuine tzaddik who can bring people back to Hashem. As a result of the true tzaddik’s fame, even the nations of the world come closer to Hashem, all with one mind.

OB: A sukkah is the Shekhinah’s nest. Wherever you see a sukkah, you are looking at a place that is, or could be, a resting place for the Shekhinah. Being the Divine “Mother,” the Shekhinah can bring fertility with her. As we‘ve seen from our Zohar-based posts about Shabbos, the hallmark of the Shekhinah‘s presence is peace. True shalom cannot exist if people lie or are deceitful to one another, even if their intentions are noble. Sooner or later, the truth will slip out and there is no guarantee that everyone in the relationship will be able to maintain his/her pacific attitude in light of the revelations.

Finally, as we learn from Rebbe Nachman‘s story The Lost Princess, the tzaddik is the one who dedicates his life, his soul, his all, to finding the Shekhinah and bringing her back home. By locating ourselves in the Shekhinah’s (temporary) abode, the sukkah, we make ourselves more capable of receiving the tzaddik’s da’at (awareness, mind-set). First, moving out of our homes and into a sukkah is the Shekhinah-seeking that the tzaddik engages in. Second, by actually “dwelling” with the Shekhinah and re-focusing to a higher, tzaddik-like mind-set, we find the tzaddik‘s teachings—or they find us!

As is well-known, there were 70 korbanot (offerings) made on Sukkot in the Holy Temple. These korbanot were brought on behalf of the 70 non-Jewish nations of the world. Just as an individual becomes spiritual, more Jewish, so too the nations of the world become more Jewish.

 agut yomtov! Chag sameach!

© Copyright 2014 148west.com/O. Bergman

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