After fasting night and day while praying to Hashem to grant us forgiveness for our sins, we are ordered to perform a Mitzva on the opposite side of the spectrum. We must build a shelter and reside in it for 7 days, while enjoying ourselves with food and drinks, as we are in complete communion with Hashem. Despite that Sukkoth may seem to offset our angelic behavior of Yom Kippur, as we prayed around the clock without eating or drinking. Hence, the “reward” seems to be to behave like mortals and to enjoy worldly matters. This cannot be further from the truth, as Sukkoth is a mystical Holiday which supersedes Yom Kippur. The burning question is; Yom Kippur in spent in complete spirituality, what can then surpass it? It is true that on Yom Kippur we resemble angels as the day is spent with piety and holiness. Thus, as The Zohar teaches, that there are in total four worlds one above the other, with our world being the lowest. Angels rise only up to the third world and only Hashem alone resides in the fourth world. On Yom Kippur we have the possibility to rise to the third world just as angels, though on Sukkoth we can soar into the fourth world where only Hashem resides. The accepted rationale is that spirituality produces holiness and elevation while worldly matters pursuance produces selfindulgence and surely no rise of any kind in spirituality. In truth it is the mirror effect that leads us to think that way. The highest level of sanctity is to elevate the worldly matters and mundane tasks to Hashem. This is the highest level of spiritual accomplishment and a tremendous holiness descends the Heavens and lays upon that person. The simple fact one instills a spiritual intent in his mundane tasks, is soaring into the Heavens and reaches levels that prayers cannot reach. This is counterintuitive and difficult to digest. So, let us prove the point: The Zohar expounds; the Sukkah, in Hebrew is written; ה וכּס and it is composed by two inner letters which numerical value is 26 [ו”כ [and two outer letters which numerical value is 65 [ה”ס .[ It is common knowledge that 26 equals the Tetragrammaton [YHVH, ה”יהו ,]the name of Hashem. And 65 equals the Holy name Adon”ai [י”אדנ [Which represents the Holy Spirit. Hashem is in complete unison with His Holy Spirit in the Sukkah, and in that honor the clouds of Glory surrounds the Sukkah, forbidding the entrance to any evil force. Together these 2 names are equal to 91, which is the numerical value of Amen [ן מ א [as well as the name of Hashem responsible for the Parnassa. Praying in the Sukkah amounts to pray before Hashem with no intermediary, and the answer is guaranteed. The Zohar explains that on Yom Kippur, since our repentance was not complete there is a balance to pay. Thus, by entering the Sukkah the evil angels are barred from following us and hence cannot exact the judgements. Therefore, there are many laws about the building of the Sukkah, and one in particular; the roof cannot be made from anything susceptible to become impure. The roof is called Skach [ך ְכ ס ,[which numerical value is 100, the identical numerical value as the evil angel [מ”ס [to indicate that he is barred from entering the Sukkah. The power of elevating the mundane is such that it could change nature physical course as illustrated in the next story: It was the first day of Sukkoth, in the city of Lizensk – in the Beis Midrash of the famous Tzaddik Rabbi Elimelech. A holiday atmosphere was felt in the Beis Midrash when suddenly Rabbi Elimelech who was conducting the prayers, stopped and looked concerned. It was obvious something was bothering the Rebbe. Immediately after the prayer, Rabbi Elimelech hurried to his brother, Rabbi Zusha, who came to spend the holiday with him and told him: “Come and help me find the Esrog that fills the entire synagogue with the scent of Paradise.” The two went from bench to bench, until they reached one of the back corners, where a simplelooking man stood, still engrossed in his prayer. ” This is it! “Rabbi Elimelech exclaimed happily.” Please dear friend, please tell me who are you and how did you obtain this wonderful Esrog? The man, surprised by the unexpected question, replied slowly, and said: “With all due respect, it is a long story. The Rebbe insisted that he recounts every detail of it. The stranger began, “my name is Uri and I come from the city of Sterlisk.” “I have always had a special connection to the Mitzva the Esrog. Even though I am only a Rabbi, teaching children, in my city and have very little means, so my wife works as a cook. Half of my wages is spent on household necessities and the other half is saved to purchase a beautiful Esrog in Lemberg. Not to waste money on the trip, I walk! “This year, too, I was on my way to Lemberg with 50 gold coins in my purse. On the way I stopped at an inn to have a drink and to pray Mincha. As I was engrossed in the Shemonei Esrei, I heard a terrible shout followed by the sighs and groans of someone who was probably in big trouble. I hurried to finish to offer my help. What I saw was a broken Jew who seemed at the end of the rope. He was a coachman that horse has just died and had no longer any mean to support his family. He uttered words that sent a chill down my spine and motivated me to find a way to help him. He said, “I have no choice by to end my life as without a horse I have no way to put bread on the table and cannot bear to see the agony of my children.” “I could not withstand any longer his suffering and despair and tried to comfort him. I told him that he must not forget that Hashem can help even in his distress and despite there seem to be no solution. The innkeeper also took pity on the man and told him, “I own a beautiful horse worth 80 gold coins, and to help you I’ll settle on 50. The coachman said that he did not even have 5 cents in savings and surely cannot afford to come up with 50 gold coins. I thought that there are no coincidences and Hashem was talking to me. I approached the innkeeper and asked him what is the lowest he would accept for the horse. He replied, no a cent less than 45 golden coins! I reached into my purse and gave him the 45 golden coins. The coachman was astonished with eyes ready to get out of their sockets, about what was unfolding before him. “You see,” I told him, ” Hashem Helps even in what seems a hopeless situation.” I hurried to pick up my belongings and leave, as I did not want to be a ‘victim’ of his overflowing feelings of gratitude. It is with a heavy heart I reached the market of Lemberg and started looking for an Esrog that was just about Kosher. All these years my Esrog was the most beautiful in my city and many important people used to visit me to bless on it. But this year I was so ashamed to stay home with such simple Esrog. My wife consented I should go to Lizensk, a place where no one knows me to spend the Holiday. “But Rabbi Uri”! Cried Rabbi Elimelech. “Your Esrog is indeed unique! Only now do I understand why your Esrog has the smell of heaven! Let me tell you the rest of the story: When you rescued the poor man from his desperate situation, he concluded that you were none other than Elijah the prophet. He was looking for a way to express his feelings of gratitude towards Hashem. But he was illiterate and uneducated so he could not pray. Suddenly he had an idea, he was an expert with the whip! He took his whip and waved it high and with all his might waved it and shouted: “Lord of the Universe! I love you so much! I love you more than my wife and children! What can I do to convince my sincere gratitude for saving me? All I know is to whip, so in Your Honor as a token of my love I will whip! The coachman indeed started whipping expertly. On Yom Kippur, Hashem sat with the high court to issue the judgement for every individual. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdychov, the famous defense attorney of the Bnei Yisrael, was pushing, through the gates of heaven, a wagon full of Mitzvos performed by the Jews during the year. At the last moment, Satan blocked the cart as his own cart was far more loaded but with sins. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was trying every possible way to move the cart, even Rabbi Zusia and myself, gave him a hand, but to no avail. Suddenly a strange sound pierced the Heavens, it was the sound of a whip. The whips turned into a blinding light and Satan got scared and run away. The Angels gather up and praised Hashem “Blessed is the King whose servants revere Him in such a manner!” At that moment Hashem decreed unilaterally a year of bounty for all the Jews. Rabbi Elimelech finished his story, adding: “And you, dear Rabbi Uri, all the Jews owe you for the year of blessings they will have. Return home and you will become a leader in Israel.” Rabbi Uri later became known as the “Saraf” [Angel of fire] – Rabbi Uri of Mesterlisk, of blessed memory.

By Rabbi Fridmann * [email protected] * 305.985.3461

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