Succos - 038 Separating From Erev Rav

Understanding The Depth Behind Hoshanah Rabbah

On Sukkos, we take four species[1], one of which is the aravos[2]. The aravos serve two purposes. They are part of the four species, and they are also used as “hoshanos”[3] [the additional pair of willow branches that we take on the day of Hoshanah Rabbah].

On the seventh day of Sukkos, Hoshanah Rabbah, in the Beis HaMikdash, we would circle the Mizbeiach (Altar) seven times and then bang the Hoshanos on the side of the Altar. There is an argument in the Gemara if the Hoshanos were shaken along with the other Four Species or not.

Sukkos is for 7 days. The 7^th day of Sukkos, though, is different than the other days of Sukkos entirely; it is a day that is all about the Aravos\Hoshanos. We would circle the Altar for 7 times on the 7^th day of Sukkos with the hoshanos, and it had special halachos.

The 7^th day of the week is Shabbos, which comes after the 6 days of the week. Shabbos is from the word shevisah, to rest, and it is also called yom hashvii, the seventh day. We have Shabbos and we have the three festivals; Shavuos is one day, while Pesach and Sukkos both have a seventh day. What is the difference between the 7^th of Pesach and the 7^th of Sukkos, though? The 7^th day of Pesach is a Yom Tov, whereas the 7^th day of Sukkos is Hoshanah Rabbah, which is not a Yom Tov; as we see that we may perform work on Hoshanah Rabbah. It has some halachos similar to Yom Tov[4], but it does not have the status of an actual “Yom Tov”.

Shabbos is called “shvii” (the seventh), and it is also called “zecher l’maaseh Beraishis”, a remembrance of the act of Creation. Where else do we find the concept of “shvii” in time? We find a concept of shvii on Pesach and Sukkos, which each have 7 days of Yom Tov. But there is a difference: On Pesach, the seventh day is a Yom Tov, whereas the seventh day of Sukkos is not a festival like Shabbos or Yom Tov.

The 7^th day of Sukkos, Hoshanah Rabbah, therefore, reveals an entirely novel concept to us.

Gentiles and Sukkos

The Gemara states that a non-Jew who keeps Shabbos is liable to the death penalty[5]. Shabbos is called the “inheritance of the Jewish people”, which the gentiles have no connection with, and therefore, they have no right to keep it. But what about Yom Tov (the festivals”) - do the gentiles have connection with any of our festivals?

With Pesach and Shavuos, we see clearly that gentiles have no connection to these festivals. Pesach is about the redemption from Egypt, in which the Jewish people were made into the nation of Hashem, which clearly has nothing to do with gentiles. Shavuos is about the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people; it also has nothing do with the gentiles. When it comes to the festival of Sukkos, however, we find that the gentiles do have some kind of connection with it.

1) First of all, the 70 korbonos brought on Sukkos are parallel to the 70 nations of the world, as the Gemara said. This was not merely to ward off the impurity of the nations. It shows us that they have some connection to Sukkos, because if they would have no connection to Sukkos, then there would be no need to have the 70 korbonos on Sukkos!

2) A second proof is that it is brought in the book of Zechariah[6] that gentiles in the future who brought korbonos will merit to rejoice in Yerushalayim. So we see that gentiles can have a connection with Sukkos.

3) Even more so, the Gemara[7] states that the gentiles will want reward in the future, and Hashem will give them an “easy mitzvah” – sukkah - which they won’t be able to keep. This hints to us that gentiles do have some connection with Sukkos. Hashem will allow the gentiles to enter the sukkah on Sukkos, so it must be that they do have some connection to it.

4) Our Sages state that each of the festivals are parallel to one of our Avos. Sukkos is parallel to Avraham Avinu, for Avraham had the Clouds of Glory, and the Sukkos are in remembrance to the Clouds of Glory. Sukkos is also parallel to Yaakov Avinu, who made Sukkos (huts) when he camped. Of Yaakov the possuk says, “U’lmikeneihu, asah sukkos”, that when he camped, he made sukkos\huts for his family. The Sages state that the gentiles in the future will serve the Jewish people, so we see that they will connect with us. The Gemara states that the Jewish people are called adam (man), while gentiles are not called adam; if they are not adam, what are they? They are called “miknehu” (possessions), for in the future, they will become the possessions\servants of the Jewish people. The concept of sukkah is connected with the possuk “U’lmikneihu, asah sukkos”, thus, once again we see that there is some connection between sukkah and gentiles.

5) Furthermore, the Zohar says that the three guests who came to Avraham were told to wait under the “shade” of the tree, and this alludes to the “shade” of the sukkah, so again we see that gentiles have a connection with sukkah.

The question is, though: What do gentiles have to do with the sukkah?

When the guests came to Avraham Avinu, the Midrash says that they looked like “aravayim”, Arab nomads. The word aravayim is from the word “aravah”.

From all the four species, the aravah is considered the least important [as the Sages compare the esrog and lulav and hadasim to the righteous, and the aravos are compared to the wicked]. Yet, although the aravah is the least prominent, it is still part of the Four Species; it can connect to the other species and become lifted together with them.

If gentiles have a connection with sukkah, it must mean that they also have a connection with the Four Species. This we can see from Aravos. Aravos have no taste and no smell, as Chazal say; they are parallel to the wicked people of the world. Yet, we take the aravos with the Four Species in one agudah\bundle and we shake all of them together, so that the aravos can become rectified[8].

Thus, we see that the nations of the world (represented by the aravos) are able to connect themselves to the Jewish people.

Hoshanos\Aravos and “Erev Rav”

Sukkah is called “a remembrance of the redemption from Egypt”. When we left Egypt, the Torah says that “Erev Rav” (the Mixed Multitude) also came with us. The Erev Rav connects themselves to the Jewish people, who are called the agudah achas (one bundle). The aravos represent the Erev Rav souls who annex themselves onto the agudah (bundle) that is Yisrael.

The Yom HaShvii (seventh day) of Sukkos is called Hoshanah Rabbah – why is it called so? Why do we call it Hoshanah Rabbah specifically? The simple meaning of this is because we take many hoshanos on this day; we have a ribuy (plethora) of hoshanos, hence, it is called “Hoshanah Rabbah.”

However, the Shulchan Aruch states in the name of the Rokeiach that on Hoshanah Rabbah, we remove the knot binding together the four species; normally, the Four Species must be tied together, but on Hoshanah Rabbah, we remove the binding of the Four Species [which symbolizes a breach in our agudah achas – caused by the Erev Rav amidst us].

But what causes the disconnection from amongst ourselves in the first place? What causes the disparity amongst us that we need to bind ourselves together? The Erev Rav. The Sages state that Erev Rav married the women of the tribe of Shimeon; they mix with us, and this breaks up our unity.

There is the Erev Rav, and there is also a small group of Egyptian souls that converted, who are called “Erev Zeir” [whom Yosef circumcised]. The aravos of the first six days represent the Erev Zeir.[9] The aravos of Hoshanah Rabbah represent Erev Rav; for the word “rav” is the same concept as the word “rabbah” (they both mean “many”).

There are five groupings of Erev Rav[10], and we take five aravos on Hoshanah Rabbah. It is because on Hoshanah Rabbah, a new mixture enters us: the Erev Rav. The aravos of Hoshanah Rabbah represent the mixture of the Erev Rav, who connect themselves to the Jewish people.

Hoshanah Rabbah – The “Seal Within A Seal”

Thus, Hoshanah Rabbah is called the “seal within a seal” (chotam b’toch chotam). On Rosh HaShanah, our decree is written, and on Yom Kippur, we are sealed. On Hoshanah Rabbah, we are “sealed within a seal”, similar to the halachah that wine must be sealed within a seal [or else it becomes yayin nesech, wine which is suspected of being used by a gentile for idol worship].

Why isn’t one seal enough, though? Why it is necessary for us to have to be sealed again within the seal?

“The seal of Hashem is truth”. There are levels of truth – emes (truth), and emes l’amitah, a more refined level of truth. On Hoshanah Rabbah, we are within the seal [being that we were already sealed on Yom Kippur], but we are still not sealed from the Erev Rav, because the Erev Rav connects themselves to the Jewish people; they are amidst us, so it is not enough if we are merely sealed once. Erev Rav is within the bounds (techum) of the Jewish people; thus, one seal\chotam is not enough to be sealed from them.

Therefore, we need another “chotam” within the chotam”. (Chotam\techum have the same letters). That is why we need Hoshanah Rabbah to save us from the influences of the five kinds of Erev Rav.

Banging The Hoshanos On The Ground

This is the deeper meaning of why we bang the hoshanos on the ground. Why do we bang the hoshanos on the ground? The simple understanding is that when we bang them on the ground, it causes the Heavenly sustenance to descend from Heaven down to this lowly earth.

But there is also a deeper understanding, as following.

The tree of Avraham Avinu, which came before the sukkos of Yaakov, is the root of the concept of sukkah. Avraham Avinu converted the gentiles who came to him; however, he did not convert everyone. Chazal state that the guests would first take shade under the tree outside his tent. If the tree allowed the guest under its shade, it was a sign that the guest was proper, and then Avraham would allow him to become converted; but if the tree did not take the guest under its shade, it was a sign that the person was not worthy.

We find two roots of trees in Creation - the root of the tree of the Eitz HaChaim (the Tree of Life), and the root of the tree of the Eitz HaDaas (the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil). By Avraham’s guests, only those who were worthy were allowed by the tree to come under its leaves. Avraham’s tree is parallel to the Eitz HaChaim. The guests who weren’t worthy were rooted in the Eitz HaDaas (which is the root of the Erev Rav), thus, the “Eitz HaChaim” did not take them.

The tree of Avraham, which provided shade (for worthy guests), is reminiscent of a sukkah, which is called the “tzeila d’hemunasa” (to sit under “the shade of emunah”) – otherwise known as the Shechinah (Hashem’s Presence on this world); otherwise known as the “Eitz HaChaim”.

On Hoshanah Rabbah, we take five aravos and bang them on the ground, which is the earth – in other words, we take the “tree” and bang it on the earth, which alludes to the sin, for sin is associated with the element of earth and the curse of death.

Of a Torah scholar, it is written, “And his leaves will not wither.”[11] The Torah scholar resembles a perfect tree, whose leaves do not wither; this is parallel to the Eitz HaChaim. When we bang the hoshanos, the leaves fall off, and this is parallel to the leaves of the Eitz HaDaas, whose leaves can wither.

The Erev Rav parallels the leaves of the hoshanos that that must be banged, so that the leaves fall off; this shows that we want to knock off the Erev Rav from amidst us.

Thus, the aravos that we take on the seventh day of Sukkos, so that we can bang hoshanos with them, have a special role which the aravos of the first six days aren’t able to accomplish. The aravos of Hoshanah Rabbah which we bang contains the mystical power to separate the Erev Rav from us, who wish to latch onto us.

The Erev Rav is the root of all the nations of the world, which want to connect to us.  Whereas the other nations of the world are given some degree of connection with us, the Erev Rav may not ever be allowed into our nation.

On Pesach, we left Egypt, and that was when the Erev Rav first came to mix with us. At Shavuos, right after we received the Torah, they mixed with us again to cause the sin of the Golden Calf. On Sukkos once again they come back once again to connect with us, but on Hoshanah Rabbah, we are given the power to separate them from amidst us.

Thus, when the aravos are banged on the ground on Hoshanah Rabbah, we separate them from us by sending them down to the earth.

The Seal of Hoshanah Rabbah and The Seal of the Bris Kodesh

Hoshanah Rabbah is called a “chotam b’toch chotam”, a seal within a seal. The Bris Kodesh (or Bris Milah) is also called “chotam”, the sign that is stamped into our flesh, “And on the covenant which You have sealed in our flesh” [as we say in Birchas HaMazon].

Erev Rav mixed with Yisrael by marrying the women of Shimon, meaning, they attempt to connect with Yisrael through the Bris Kodesh [because marriage is called “bris”]. The fact that the Erev Rav connects to Yisrael through Bris Kodesh is what causes damage to our Bris Kodesh. On Hoshanah Rabbah, though, we have a “chotam b’toch chotam” – the seal within a seal - we seal ourselves from even the Erev Rav.

Hoshanah Rabbah: Rectifying The Gentile Nations of the World

Shabbos, besides for being called Shabbos, is also called shvii, the seventh day. The festivals which have seven days are Pesach and Sukkos. The 7^th day of Pesach is called shvii because it’s a Yom Tov, and also because it is called “Shabbos hi lachem”; it is forbidden from labor, just like Shabbos. It is a Yom Tov on the level of Shabbos. But the 7th day of Sukkos, Hoshanah Rabbah, which is also called Yom Tov, is not on the level of Shabbos, because it is permitted to work on Hoshanah Rabbah.

What, indeed, is the difference? If a gentile keeps Shabbos, the Gemara says that he is liable to death. This shows us that a gentile has no connection with Shabbos. On Sukkos, however, there is a “seventh day” which is not Shabbos – Hoshanah Rabbah - which enables a gentile to connect to Yisrael. They can connect to us either for good purposes or for evil purposes.

Hoshanah Rabbah is thus the point in time that enable the gentiles of the world to come into the Jewish people and connect with us, whereupon they can be uplifted and rectified. The evil side of this, however, is the Erev Rav coming in. The holy side of this is the converts which Adam and Sarah converted.

So Hoshanah Rabbah contains both evil and good kinds of connection. The good part of it is the fact that gentiles have the opportunity to connect with the Jewish people and become rectified, but the evil side is that Erev Rav is coming in, who cannot be rectified and who must not be allowed entry.

Thus, on Hoshanah Rabbah, we need to separate from the Erev Rav coming in to us through the many hoshanos that we bang. At the same time, it is the time which enables converts to come into the Jewish people; as we see that the souls of the converts can come under Avraham Avinu’s tree, the “Eitz HaChaim”, and become rectified.

Herein lays the light of the redemption: Moshiach comes from converts, from Dovid, who is from Rus, a convert.

Sukkos – The Connecting Point Between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur

In the seventh month we are in, Tishrei, we have Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos.

The world is judged four times a year – Pesach, Shavuos, Rosh HaShanah, and Sukkos. That is one revelation of Tishrei: Rosh HaShanah is the root day of judgment, and the three festivals are branches of the judgment of Rosh HaShanah.

Yom Kippur is about atonement, and it extends into Rosh Chodesh, which is called moed, and the Sages said that Rosh Chodesh is a time of kaparah, atonement, because on Rosh Chodesh the moon is lessened.

So we have two roots of judgment: Rosh HaShanah, the root judgment of the three festivals (which each have specific judgments), and Yom Kippur, which is the root of Rosh Chodesh.

Yom Kippur and Rosh Chodesh are both about atonement. On a more subtle note, however, there is kaparah also on Rosh Hashanah, as the shofar is blown to cover up sin from the Satan.

Even more so, however, it is Sukkos which connects Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. What is the connection? Rosh Hashanah is the time of judgment; therefore, Sukkos is related to Rosh HaShanah. Sukkos is the time of judgment over water. Sukkos is also a continuation of Yom Kippur, so it is a time of atonement: Yom Kippur was when we were atoned from the sin of the Golden Calf, which was caused by the Erev Rav. On Hoshanah Rabbah, we are atoned from the Erev Rav - through banging the hoshanos.

Thus, Sukkos contains two different aspects: it is part of the three festivals and therefore it is a judgment, which makes it similar to Rosh HaShanah, but it is also a time of an atonement, similar to Yom Kippur; it is an atonement from Erev Rav, and it is the time to ward off the effects of the Erev Rav.

This is the depth behind the time of simcha (joy) that is Sukkos. There are ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which are about getting sealed for the judgment. Sukkos combines Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur together because Sukkos is a time of both judgment and atonement, which enables us to have simcha.

Thus, we have seen here another facet of understanding in the concept of the “chotam b’toch chotam” that is on Hoshanah Rabbah.

Hoshanah Rabbah – Combining The Seal of Rosh HaShanah With The Seal of Yom Kippur

Another facet of understanding to the concept of “chotam b’toch chotam” is as follows: there is another chatimah taking place, even after we have been sealed on Yom Kippur.

On Rosh Hashanah, there is a chatimah (seal) on the tzaddikim (for a good year) and the wicked (for a bad year), and on Yom Kippur there is a chatimah on the beinonim (the average people). On Hoshanah Rabbah, though, there is a “chotam b’toch chotam” - meaning, the chatimah of Rosh Hashanah is combined with the chatimah of Yom Kippur.

On Rosh HaShanah, we sing, “If we are like children, have mercy on us like a father on his children, if we are like servants, have mercy on us like a master on his servant”. Either we are like a ben (child) to Hashem or we are like an “eved” (servant) to Hashem, but either way, we asked to be sealed. On Yom Kippur, we have either been sealed as a “ben” or as an “eved”.

When it comes Hoshanah Rabbah, there is a “chotam b’toch chotam” – meaning, the levels of “ben” and “eved” are combined, through the inner seal that takes place on Hoshanah Rabbah.

A Seal Within A Seal: The Point Of No Sin

There is yet another facet of understanding to this concept of “chotam b’toch chotam” , as follows.

The Gemara says that Adam delayed his Bris Milah; he was born circumcised. The fact that he delayed his Bris Milah is linked to the sin. In other words, he only had one chotam on his flesh. A “chotam b’toch chotam” on his flesh would imply that when there is no possibility for evil.

There is orlah (foreskin) on the Bris Kodesh, which we remove, and there is also orlah on trees, which forbids the fruit of the first three years to be eaten. Connect this with the fact that there was a tree outside Avraham’s tent, which was like the Eitz HaChaim, which only allowed proper guests. On Hoshanah Rabbah, when there is a “chotam b’toch chotam”, it represents the level in which it is not possible for there to be any damage to the Bris.

Thus, the “tree” which we see under in Sukkos – the sukkah - is not affected by orlah. An esrog is the only fruit which has the same taste as the bark, therefore it has no orlah. This refers to a tree which has no orlah, the tree of Avraham Avinu, the Eitz HaChaim, the sukkah.

The “tzeil” (shadow) of the Eitz HaDaas is the tzeil that symbolizes death, whereas the “tzeil” of the Eitz HaChaim is like the “tzeil” of sukkah. The esrog is a fruit which has no orlah - like the Eitz HaChaim.

The Aravos of Sukkos: Rectifying The Nations

Of the Four Species, it is the esrog which is a fruit. The lulav is not a fruit, but it bears fruit. The hadasim have a scent, while the aravos have no taste and no fruit. The Sages revealed that aravos represent the wicked, who have no Torah and no mitzvos, and that they are rectified through taking them together with the other species, which symbolizes that that they can have become connected to the Jewish people and become rectified.

On Sukkos, we are judged on the water. Water has no taste – which really means that it is above taste. We make a blessing of shehakol on water, which says that everything belongs to Hashem. Water symbolizes “everything”, that “everything” belongs to Hashem. Thus, when we are judged on Sukkos for the water, we are being judged for the klal, for the collective unit of things.

A gentile asked one of the Sages, “When is the entire world happy?” The Sage answered, “When it rains.” When it rains, the whole world is happy. On Sukkos we are judged on the water, and on Sukkos we have happiness; it is universal happiness, because the entire world needs water. Sukkos is a joy about water - and the aravos grow near the water. So the judgment on water is not just about Klal Yisrael; it is about the klal (collective unit) of the entire world.

Every day we make a blessing that we are not a gentile. A woman makes the blessing, “That You made me according to His will”. This alludes to the concept behind the shehakol blessing we make on water, that everything is according to Hashem’s will.

Sukkos is the judgment on water. Rosh HaShanah is judgment over all the people in the world, Yom Kippur is an atonement only for the Jewish people, and Sukkos comes to connect Rosh HaShanah with Yom Kippur together, so that there can be an atonement for the rest of the world as well; thus, Sukkos is the concept of how converts can enter the Jewish people, that it is possible for the nations of the world to become elevated.  

‘Erev Rav’ Is Rectified Only Through Being Destroyed

But there is Erev Rav too coming along with them, who also wish to connect with the Jewish people. We are not allowed to let them come in. Therefore, on Hoshanah Rabbah, we bang the hoshanos, to nullify the Erev Rav, the root of the nations. The only way to rectify them is to destroy them, so we send them back to the “earth”, by banging them on the ground.

This is contrast with the rest of the nations of the world, whom we can accept, and these are rooted in the converts that Avraham took in. This is the depth of why the rest of the nations of the world can be atoned for on Sukkos.

On the last day of Sukkos, we bring 7 korbonos, parallel to the 7 root nations of the world, which each became 10 nations; that is how the 70 nations were formed. These 7 root nations can be allowed to convert. Thus, the 7^th day of Sukkos, Hoshanah Rabbah, represents the idea of converting the 70 nations of the world and elevating them to holiness. This is another depth behind the “chotam b’toch chotam” on Hoshanah Rabbah.

In contrast to Yom Kippur which atones only for Klal Yisrael and not the gentiles, Sukkos connects the gentiles to Klal Yisrael, so that they can be atoned for. The gentiles will go to the Beis HaMikdash in the future, as the possuk in Zecharya says, so we see that the nations will become rectified.

This is revealed through the concept of Hoshanah Rabbah, through the “chotam b’toch chotam”, which represents the point that is above all cheit (sin) - the point in time before there was even a possibility of sin: the point of before Creation. This is the original, pure light which can rectify the nations of the world in the future. Thus Hoshanah Rabbah represents that idea of rectifying the entire world.

But the Erev Rav cannot be rectified. They can only be rectified when we destroy them. And so, we bang the hashanos on the ground on Hoshanah Rabbah, to nullify the effect of the Erev Rav, to symbolize how their rectification will only lay in their destruction.

Sukkos thus reflects the concept of returning all of the nations [except Erev Rav] of the world to the perfected level of Creation before the cheit – and that is the pure point which rectifies them.

The Depth of Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah

In the future, the gentiles will be rectified, as the verse in Zecharyah says. However, Klal Yisrael will still be more important than the gentiles, even when the gentiles are pure again.

This is the secret behind Shemini Atzeres. The Midrash states that on Shemini Atzeres, Hashem tells us to remain with Him for one more day. The deeper meaning of this is because on the 7^th day of Sukkos, we have unified the gentiles with Yisrael, and when the 7 days are over, now comes the next level: Shemini Atzeres, which contains Simchas Torah.

There are two kinds of simcha (joy) found in the month of Tishrei. On Yom Kippur, we received the second pair of Luchos, which can be considered to be a degree of Simchas Torah to us. And we also have the actual Simchas Torah that is on Shemeni Atzeres. So there are two kinds of Simchas Torah that we have.

What is the difference between the two kinds of Simchas Torah? The Simchas Torah that we have on Yom Kippur was that the second Luchos rectified the sin of the Golden Calf. But the Simchas Torah of Shemini Atzeres comes after Hoshanah Rabbah, after we have been sealed in the “chotam b’toch chotam”, which is the level that is beyond any possibility of sin.

The Sages said, “Praiseworthy is the one who never sinned” – this refers to the inner light, the original light that was around before Creation, the point in the soul in which there is no possibility of sin. The revelation of this point is on Shemini Atzeres, after we have the “chotam b’toch chotam” of Hoshanah Rabbah; it calls for a new kind of Simchas Torah, which we have on Shemini Atzeres.

The simchah that we have on Simchas Torah is called a “simcha l’gomrah shel Torah”, a joy upon completing the Torah.  When we make a blessing in the morning to learn the Torah, we ask Hashem, “V’haarev na”, that Hashem should make the words of Torah sweet to us. The sweetness of Torah learning, which is called “areivus”, is especially what can counter the Erev Rav, the evil souls in Creation who wish to take us away from the Torah.

On Simchas Torah\Shemini Atzeres, it is revealed the light in which there is no sin, thus, it is the time where we make a simcha over the completion of the Torah. After Hoshanah Rabbah, we can come to the level of Simchas Torah.

The Shemini Atzeres we have in today’s times is a lower kind of “shemini”, for on the eighth day there is a bris, which removes orlah. But the perfect level of Sukkos [which will be in the future] is to have a kind of Shemini Atzeres in which the concept of shemini is not about removing orlah - rather, it will be a level of “shemini” which reveals the “gomrah shel Torah”.

The “shemini” of the future will be about this. Concerning the future, it is written [in the Shabbos Zemiros] that sasson and simcha (joy and happiness) will remove all yagon and anacha (worry and groans). The word for being “joyous”, sameich, has the same letters as the word chamesh, which means “five”, because it will counter the “five” kinds of Erev Rav[12].

This will not just be sasson, a deep joy; it will be the original heavenly light, the light of shmini - which was around before Creation. The Sages revealed that Shabbos is really the eighth day, because there was a Shabbos that came before the world. This is not a Shabbos in the sense of resting from labor. The Shabbos that came before the world is like Hoshanah Rabbah, where there is no shevisah (rest) from melachah (labor). The root of this is before creation, in which there was no melachah yet.  That power is what will rectify the entire world in the future.

Klal Yisrael is essentially that power that preceded the world. It is Klal Yisrael in the future will rectify all the other nations. Thus, we see that even though all the nations will be perfected in the future, the nation of Yisrael will still be above them.

The Shemini Atzeres of the future will reveal that even in the future, when there will be no possibility of sin, the nation of Yisrael is still above the nations. For on Shemini Atzeres, Hashem requests that Yisrael stay with Him for one more day after Sukkos ends, alone with Him. And when that perfected level of Shemini Atzeres comes in the future, it will be revealed the perfect level of “Hashem, the Torah, and Yisrael, are one.” That will be the perfected level of simchah on Sukkos which is followed by Shemini Atzeres.