There are only three mitzvot that a person fulfills with his entire body: Immersing in the mikveh, living in Eretz Yisrael, and dwelling in the sukkah. In the language of Kabbalah, the sukkah corresponds to the sefirah of Binah, symbolizing the mother. Just as an unborn child is surrounded and protected in its mother's womb, so too we enter the sukkah and are enveloped in holiness, shielded from the forces of impurity. Binah itself is the source of compassion and kindness. However, its nekudah (vowel sign) is a tzerei—two dots, right and left—representing the beginning of judgment (din - the left dot is associated with din). Our task is to draw these forces toward the side of kindness so that compassion will be revealed in the world. Rebbe Nachman teaches in Likutey Moharan I, Torah 48 that the power of tefillah (prayer) is immense. When a person prays with such vitality that his whole body moves, and he fills each word with enthusiasm, he merits a revelation of Divinity—his words become attached to the Infinite Light, to the very utterances through which the world was created. Through this, kindness is drawn down from the attribute of Binah. The laws of the sukkah teach that it must have two full walls and a third, even a handbreadth wide. This corresponds to the three parts of the arm—two large sections and a smaller one, the tefach—which, when folded, form an embrace. During Sukkot, we are granted extraordinary power to draw kindness into the world. Let us make the most of these holy days and pray with all our strength, that we may merit the ultimate redemption—when all of Am Yisrael will dwell in Eretz Yisrael, in complete and everlasting redemption. Amen. Chag Sameach |
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