The Festival of Sukkot [Feast of Tabernacles]

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814) “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month,” Tishrey, “you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days.” “On the fifteenth” is from the side of YodHeyHB. “And you shall celebrate it” is the letters AlephVavTav Vav [the letters of Oto (it)], the middle pillar, ZA. “Seven days” is from Bat-Sheba, Malchut, the bottom Hey.

The patriarchs are HGT, Moses is Netzah, Aaron is Hod, David is Malchut, and Solomon is Yesod, called “peace.” Thus, they are seven, corresponding to seven Sefirot. I want to establish for you a Sukkah [hut/booth], upper Ima, so she covers the seven Sefirot as a mother over the children.

815) Because of the seven Sefirot it is written, “For I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt,” with seven clouds of glory, seven Sefirot. A Sukkah with the letter Vav is two sons that Bina covers. They are HaVaYaH ADNIZA and Malchut. This why a Sukkah equals YAHDONHY (91). The word Sukkah has the letters ChafVav, which is twenty-six, HaVaYaH, in Gematria, and the letters SamechHey in Gematria are ADNI (65). These are the two cherubim that cover the ark cover with their wings, and who face one another, ZA and Malchut.

816) There are ten handbreadths in the cherubim, in ZON, from below upward: ten Sefirot of Reflected Light from their feet to their heads, and ten Sefirot of Direct Light, from their heads to their feet. They are on a handbreadth, which is Yod. Ten, ten, from above downward and from below upward, ten Sefirot of Direct Light, and ten Sefirot of Reflected Light, YodVavDalet, which is twenty in Gematria. This is why sages said that the measure of a Sukkah will not be less than ten or above twenty.

It is written about a Sukkah that is made as a furnace from the side of Ima, judgment “And Mount Sinai was all in smoke,” since the Lord had descended on it with fire, and the smoke rose as the smoke of the furnace, and it is all one.

817) It is written, “And there shall be a hut for a shadow by day.” It requires thatch, and the thatch becomes shade, as it is written, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,” and not in the shade of a Sukkah of an uneducated one, which protects the body from the sun. Rather, a shade is to protect the soul, as it is written, “Under its shade I delighted to sit,” and, “Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.” Tzel [Shade] with a Mem is Tzelem. Shade is thatch, and the Mem [] is the four corners of the hut. It is written about it, “Man walks as mere semblance [Tzelem].” The blocked Mem has four corners, the four corners of the Sukkah.

818) We learn that two should be proper and a third even a handbreadth. And some say, “Three as they should be and a third even a handbreadth,” because of the three measures, two, three, four, which add up to nine. Two are HB, three are HGT, and four are NHYM. The handbreadth that they said, in two and in three, is the tenth, Malchut, complementing each deficiency.

This is why the measure of the Sukkah is no less than ten, which is Malchut, the tenth of all the Sefirot, and not more than twenty, Chaf, which implies the upper Keter [spelt with Chaf in Hebrew], which the eye does not govern, meaning that there is no attainment there, in the upper glory. Moses said about it, “Show me please Your glory.” And the Creator replied, “You cannot see My face.” There is no glory without a Chaf.

819) This is why a Sukkah that is built as an alley relates to the letter Bet []. As GimelAlephMem relates to the letter Gimel [], and as a kind of shed, it relates to the letter Dalet []. Seven letters are BetGimelDalet ChafPehReishTav, doubled with an emphasis, implying the judgment in the seven Sefirot HGT NHYM, and they are as initials implying the seven disqualified Sukkot [pl. of Sukkah] due to the judgment in them: Chaf implies a Sukkah that is made as a furnace. Bet implies a Sukkah that is an inn. The rest of the letters imply the other disqualified Sukkot, such as Sukkah of keepers of fruits, a Sukkah of shepherds, a Sukkah of Kutim [Samaritans], and we should not elaborate on them.

820) Seven planets correspond to the BetGimelDalet ChafPehReishTav, and they are male and female. The non-emphasized ones are in the male, and the emphasized ones are in the female. This is why they are called “seven doubles.” It is like the seven candles of the lamp—the seven Sefirot HGT NHYM—on which it is written, “Seven times a day do I praise You.” It is also written, “Seven candles on it with seven spouts,” seven doubled, seven non-emphasized, and seven emphasized letters. And likewise, seven doubled Sefirot in which there are seven of judgment and seven of mercy.

And so are the seven days of creation below, the seven Sefirot of Malchut, emphasized with judgments, and seven above—the seven Sefirot of ZA, not emphasized with judgments. It is written about the seven Sefirot of below, “There is nothing new under the sun,” since all the innovations come from the sun, from the seven Sefirot of ZA, and not from below the sun—the seven Sefirot of Malchut.

821) A righteous Lulav [palm branch] is Yesod, since the Lulav is similar to the spinal cord, in which there are eighteen rings corresponding to the eighteen shakes of the Lulav. These correspond to the eighteen blessings of the standing prayer, and corresponding to the eighteen mentions of the names of HaVaYaH in the psalm, “Bring to the Lord sons of gods,” and corresponding to the eighteen mentions in the Shema reading. The shaking of the Lulav is to six sides: south, north, east, west, up, and down, three shakes to each side, amounting to eighteen.

822) The Lulav is held in the right hand and comprises six: three myrtles, corresponding to Gedula [greatness], GevuraTifferet, which are as three colors in the eye—white, red, and green. Two branches of willows, NH, are as two lips. The Lulav is Yesod, similar to the spine in which all the bones exist. David said about it, “All my bones shall say, ‘Lord, who is like You.’” The citron is Malchut, similar to the heart, in which there are thoughts.

823) The shakes of the Hallel [praise] blessing are joined with the shakes of the holding of the Lulav. They are eighteen shakes in the prayer, “Please Lord, do save, eighteen, eighteen in the prayer, “Thank [the Lord],” the first and the last, eighteen in the holding of the Lulav, thus seventy-two shakes. Because of it, Lulav amounts to sixty-eight [in Gematria], and with the four species in the Lulav it amounts to seventy-two, counted as Hesed, the right arm.

This is why they established the Lulav to be on the right, the side of Hesed, and that the citron, which is similar to the heart, would be in the left hand, to the left, the side of Gevura. They correspond to “remember” and “keep.” One who takes both, the Lulav and the citron, is the middle pillar, ZA, the Lulav in his right and the citron in his left.

824) The patriarchs came, and Moses, Aaron, David, and Solomon blessed Rabbi Shimon. They said to him: “You are a holy light, and your friends are six, corresponding to those seven Sefirot, with you, Rabbi Shimon, being the western candle in the midst of all the six candle that illuminate from you. It is written in each one: ‘The candle of the Lord is man’s soul.’ Moses shines in you, and you in your friends, and you are all one, without any separation. Henceforth, all these illuminations spread to all who attain the wisdom.” Complete the words of your first composition, to crown them.

825) Rabbi Shimon started and said, “Much water will not be able to quench the love, and the rivers will not wash it away. If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, he would be utterly despised.” Mockery is the second day, the sixth day, and the seventh day of Sukkot, in which they would mix wine and water.

826) During the seven days of Sukkot, Israel sacrifice seventy bulls, to atone for seventy ministers of the seventy nations, so the world will not be ruined by them. It is written about it, “And on the fifteenth day of the seventh months … and you shall present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord: thirteen young bullocks.” “And on the second … twelve young bullocks. “And on the third day eleven bullocks … And on the fourth day ten … And on the fifth day nine bullocks … And on the sixth day eight bullocks … And on the seventh day seven.” Together, they are seventy bullocks. Each day they grow fewer. Why do they grow fewer?

827) Here the text implies, “And the ark rested in the seventh month,” in Tishrey. In the days of the flood, it is written, “And the waters decreased continually.” It is likewise here, in Tishrey, in the seventh month—in which there is the commandment of Rosh Hashanah [Hebrew New Year’s Eve, beginning of the year], and the Day of Atonement, SukkahLulav, and a citron, species of the Lulav, and the Shofar—the upper Shechina is on Israel, which is repentance, BinaSukkah. The citron is Malchut and the Lulav is ZA. Promptly, “And the waters decreased continually,” diminishing the iniquities of Israel.

Likewise, the appointees are decreasing, meaning the harm-doing angels appointed over the iniquities, who are similar to the water of the flood. We learn that one who commits one transgression has acquired one accuser. As the iniquities decrease, the bulls decrease, the appointees of the seventy nations decrease, the seventy nations decrease, and their good decreases.

828) In Noah’s ark, the Creator commanded him to let in with him two, two, seven, seven, male and female, to be an offering, to protect Noah and all who entered the ark with him. Likewise, those who keep festival and appointed days, good days, are two, two, seven, seven.

Two, two are the two days of Rosh Hashanah and of Shavuot [Feast of Weeks]. And because the two days of Shavuot are due to doubt, there are two days of Purim in their stead. Seven, seven are the seven days of Passover and the seven days of Sukkot. Noah corresponds to the Sabbath, and it is written, “From all that is living,” since two, two, and seven, seven add up to eighteen [HetYod, “living” in Gematria].

829) The Sukkah protects Israel, as it is written, “And there shall be a hut for a shadow by day from the heat.” As Noah’s ark is to protect, the Sukkah is to protect. From all the living, the eighteen blessings of the prayer, some divide into nine, nine blessings, and along with the blessing of the species they are completed into ten Sefirot, completing the first nine and the last nine into ten. They correspond to the ten Sefirot of Direct Light from above downward, and the ten Sefirot of Reflected Light from below upward. It corresponds to Ruach, where the eighteen blessings of the prayer correspond to the eighteen of Noah, which are two, two, seven, seven, which is eighteen in Gematria.

830) “Of all that is living.” The Shechina protects the keepers, the Yod, which is the token of the Sabbath, in its boundary, which is eight thousand cubits, two thousand to each side. Ten of the token of the Sabbath, and eight of the boundary, are eighteen. These are the keepers of the token of the covenant, the Yod, for eight days, as it is written, “And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” The Yod of the token of the covenant, and the Het of the eight days are eighteen. The keepers are the token of the TefillinYod, in which there are eight portions, thus they are eighteen.

831) The Shechina, the Sukkah, protects them and spreads her wings on them like a mother over the young. This is why they established the blessing, “Who establishes a booth of peace on us.” For this reason, on the seventh month, in which there are all those commandments, much water will not be able to quench the love of Israel for their Father in heaven. And there is not much water other than all the nations and their ministers. If a man—who is SAM—should give all that he has in this world to partake in these commandments of Israel, he would be utterly despised.

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