Succos - 001 Self-Nullification In The Succah

Succah: The Integration of the Limited (Man) With The Unlimited (The Creator)

It is said in the name of the Vilna Gaon[1] that Avraham Avinu kept the mitzvah of succah, for it is written, וה' ברך אברהם בכל, “And Hashem blessed Avraham in everything” – he was blessed with “bakol”, “everything”,which hints to the concept of succah, for regarding succah the Torah says the words “BaSuccos”, “Kol”, and “Lemaan”, and the first letters of each of these words stands for the word “bakol”.

There is also a statement of Chazal[2] that Avraham merited “bakol”, “in everything”, Yitzchok merited to have “mikol” (“from” everything), and Yaakov merited “kol”, “everything”. Thus, all of the forefathers merited the blessing that is called “kol”, everything. (The Maharsha[3] explains that the word “bakol” refers to the World To Come, which is entirely good. Here, we will use a different approach.)

A created being is limited, whereas Hashem is unlimited. Thus, a created being is partial, whereas Hashem is everything, Who cannot contain anything lacking, chas v’shalom. Thus, when the Sages state that the forefathers were blessed with “everything”, it means that Hashem shined upon them His own essence, so to speak – in the sense that they received this “everything” aspect from Hashem.

That is why also the sefarim hakedoshim[4] describe man as a being that is “kol”, “everything”. According to our approach, it means that man has the ability to connect himself to Ain Od Milvado, to the unlimited, for Hashem alone is called “kol”, for nothing else besides Him is called “kol”. The human aspect in a person is partial and thus limited, and does not contain this title of kol. But there is an ability in a person to connect himself to the point of Ain Od Milvado, which is called “kol” - so to speak, a person can connect himself to the atzmiyus (essence) of Hashem.

The fact that man is called kol, and the fact that the forefathers especially were blessed with this aspect of “kol”, is referring to the ability in a person to have hiskalelus (integration) with Hashem.

The Vilna Gaon’s words about the connection between Succos and “bakol” is thus a hint that the succah reveals Ain Od Milvado (There is nothing besides Hashem). From a simple perspective, the succah is about boundaries – it serves to provide shade [which is bounded] and it is walled. But the secret of the succah is that it is kol\everything, for succah is connected with Avraham Avinu, who was blessed with bakol\everything.

The succah is the point of integration between the limited and the unlimited. The essence of the succah is that it is the true level of unification achieved through the revelation of Ain Od Milvado – it combines and integrates together the limited with the unlimited. The depth behind the succah is that it is about self-nullification (bittul) to Hashem and integration (hiskalelus) with Him.

Certainly a person cannot attain this through his own comprehension, for “no thought can comprehend Him”[5] - one cannot have any [intellectual] grasp, at all, of Hashem. One’s daas (understanding) cannot understand how the limited can become integrated and unified with the limitless. Only through the succah, which is called the tzila d’mehemenusa, the “shade of faith” - only from the depth of emunah in the concept of Ain Od Milvado - can a person’s limited and unlimited aspects become integrated.

The spiritual illumination of the succah, in its essence, is “In the shadow of Your wings, take shelter”,[6] and “He sits in the concealed, above”[7], and “And the succah shall be as a protection and a covering”. The unlimited [the reality of the Creator] is hidden within the succah, and this is the spiritual illumination available in these days of Succos, to the one who dwells in the succah.

The Depth of “Leave Your Permanent Dwelling and Enter Into A Temporary Dwelling” – Realizing The Transience of The World

Let us return to discussing how the succah is a temporary dwelling and also a permanent dwelling.

The simple understanding of a “temporary dwelling” is that This World of action is only a transient reality, whereas Gan Eden is our permanent dwelling. As Chazal state, “Prepare yourself in the corridor, before you enter the palace.”

But even Gan Eden is temporary. For after Mashiach comes, there will be no more Gan Eden, and, G-d willing, Mashiach will be here before the end of the sixth century. Gan Eden will be a longer period than the average lifespan of man which lasts for 70 years, but it will not be forever. In fact, even the era of reward, the seventh century, will be temporary, for it will last for a total of 1,000 years. After that will be the eighth century, which will be of an entirely different dimension. In the end, by the tenth century, all created beings will reach a state of total bittul, self-nullification, and become integrated with Hashem.[8] So the reality of created beings is entirely temporary - it will not last forever. Only Hashem is permanent.

Thus, the depth of leaving our permanent dwelling and entering a temporary dwelling on Succos is not simply to leave the materialism of This World, from a physical house into a physical succah, but to leave our limits, our own limited wisdom and comprehension, and enter into a temporary dwelling, meaning, to enter into the perspective that all created beings are temporary. Then there can be an integration of the limitless and the limited, simultaneously.

When one views himself as a permanent reality, he will not be able to integrate with Hashem. One may be aware that Hashem is the reality, but he also thinks that he, too, is a reality. Since that is the case, his own reality will not be able to nullify itself to Hashem. His perspective is really close to heresy. For there cannot be two realities; there is only one reality. Just as we do not understand Hashem, so is it impossible for us to understand how us limited human beings will integrate with Hashem.

Therefore, from the deep perspective, our entire reality on this world is something that is really inconceivable to us! There is only emunah (the belief in the reality of the Creator)!

When one thinks he is an independent reality from Hashem, he feels as if he is permanent. It will not suffice even if he knows that this feeling is incorrect, because the fact that he feels his own reality, independent from Hashem’s, is still separating him. He won’t be able to integrate himself into the greater reality, because he is living in his own, false reality – even if he is intellectually aware that he does not have an independent reality and that everything on this world is temporary.

Rising From Yeish to Ayin, then Returning To Yeish

Going deeper with this, there is really no such thing as anything temporary on this world, because it is all permanent – it is all the permanence of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, which is His reality, of “Ain Od Milvado” (There is nothing besides Him). When one has the deep perspective that the entire Creation is the really the reality of Ain Od Milvado, and that all of the Creation is essentially HaKadosh Baruch Hu, he is aware of the deep perspective that nothing on this world is temporary - it is rather all the permanent reality of Hashem.

A person begins his worldview from the perspective of Yeish, the material, viewing this world from a materialistic lens, where he considers his own reality as independent from the Creator’s. When one gains the spiritual viewpoint, which is called Ayin, “nothingness”, he becomes aware of the nothingness of This World. He sees that none of this world is reality, and that only Hashem is Reality. After that, he must then the return to the view of Yeish, seeing the material reality in front of him as an entirely new Yeish than before, now that he has integrated Ayin into his view.

In the first level of Yeish, is when one views himself as a permanent, independent reality. One is commanded on Succos to leave this view of permanence and enter into a temporary dwelling, meaning, he must view the nothingness and transience of this world, and feel his reality becoming nullified to the greater reality, Ain Od Milvado. This is the view of Ayin. After that, he can enter into true view of Yeish, the state of integrating with Hashem, where he is above the transience of this world, and hence he does not see anything temporary – he only sees permanence: the permanent reality of Hashem, and nothing else.

Entering The Succah On A Deeper Level: Nullifying The Soul

It is said in the name of the Gra that there are only two mitzvos which a person enters entirely: Eretz Yisrael, and the succah. When a person enters entirely into these mitzvos, this does not simply mean that he is found entirely in the mitzvah. Rather, it is something deeper: that his entirety becomes non-existent, it isn’t here! It does not mean simply that “I am inside the act of this mitzvah” - rather it means that in this act of mitzvah, there is no “I”, for “I” am nullified to the G-dliness that is present in this mitzvah act. So to speak, the reality of the “Ain Milvado” integrates the “I” into Hashem Yisborach.

Certainly, we cannot comprehend this concept of integrating with Hashem (hiskalelus). There is nothing that can logically explain it. If we could explain it, that means we could have a grasp of it, but we cannot have any grasp of the Creator. So even when we speak of the Creator here, we are not speaking of the Creator Himself, but of how to integrate our existence into the Creator.

This is the secret of the tzila d’mehemenusa, the “shade of emunah” which is the succah – through complete emunah, one believes that he is becoming entirely integrated with Hashem, and according to the strength of one’s emunah, love, and heart in this, a person will become integrated in Hashem, and have less of an I.

This is the depth of the 70 bull sacrifices which were offered on Succos, which corresponds to the 70 nations. When one enters the succah, he should be offering himself as a korbon, to Hashem. The Ramban writes that one who brings a korbon needs to think that it is he who should been offered as a korbon, and instead, Hashem in His kindness allows him to offer an animal in his stead.

Thus, the 70 bull-offerings brought on Succos, from the perspective of the soul, to the degree that one integrates himself into the succah, to the degree that one “enters” the succah – that is how much he sacrifices his “I”, and he nullifies all 70 forces of his soul. (The 70 nations of the world are the external shell of the 70 forces of the soul.)

Simchas Torah: The Joy of Union With G-d – After Nullifying The Entire Soul

When one nullifies his entire “I”, integrating all the 70 forces of his soul under the succah - meaning, he is miskalel (integrating his existence) into Hashem’s he can then arrive at Simchas Torah, the day where there is a total union (yichud) between him and Hashem. That is also why Simchas Torah is only one day, to show that it is a day when the oneness of Hashem is revealed. This oneness can only be manifest on Simchas Torah to a person after he has nullified and integrated all the 70 forces of his soul, throughout the 7 days of Succos.

When one reaches Simchas Torah after shedding his entire “I”, there is no greater simchah than this - because it enables him for the revelation of Ain Od Milvado, in the actual sense.