Lately we've been talking about one theme of the holiday of Succot- the humility of the Succah. There is another aspect of the holiday, called Zeman Simhatenu/a time of happiness. In the Bet Hamikdash there was something called Simhat Bet Hashoeva. What is the connection between the happiness of Succot and the Middah of Anava? The sefer Imre Menachem explains that if a person is arrogant, he feels he's deserving of more, and therefore he is always lacking and he’s not happy.
However, when a person is humble, he has the trait of Sameach B’Helko, he’s happy with what he has, which comes from humility. He feels like he has everything, and therefore he is happy. The source of the Succah, the Ananeh HaKavod/clouds of glory, were there in the merit of Aharon HaKohen. Of the three siblings, Moshe, Aharon and Miriam, Moshe brought the Manna, Aharon brought the clouds of glory, and Miriam brought the well.
Moshe Rabbenu was afraid to take the position of leader, because he was concerned that it might insult Aharon. But Hashem told Moshe that, “Aharon will see you and happy in his heart.” Because he had no jealousy and he had no desire for honor, he was happy for his brother. That's the Simha that comes humility.
The Simhat Bet Hashoeva was the source of happiness because it was a place of humility. Furthermore, the sefer Bene Yisaschar says that the word Succah/ סוכה is an acronym.
סומך ועוזר כל הנפלים
Somech V’Ozer Kol Hanoflim/
God holds up and helps all those that are falling. When someone humbles himself, it’s as if he's falling, so he realizes that he needs Hashem at all times, to hold onto Him- that is the person that is going to be uplifted by the Succah, the Succah that is
Somech V’Ozer Kol Hanoflim
lifts up and helps all those that are falling.
It's interesting that the Succah is called Succat David Hanofelet- and it doesn't say that fell, but that is falling because if Hashem doesn't hold us, we're constantly falling. It's not like you tripped and you fell and you get back up. There is no ground under your feet. You're in one big free fall, as they say. Like when a guy jumps out of an airplane. He's falling for how long? Until he hits the ground. That's Succat David Hanofelet-David was the most humble. He said, “I'm a worm. I'm not a human being.” He was extremely humble. That is what we get from the Succah.
Rav Chaim Pilaggi brings down another interesting connection to the Succah. He says that it says, “All Jewish people sit in the Succah,” which means everyone can sit in the same Succah. You don't have to necessarily own your own Succah. All of the Jewish people can share the same Succah. So the Succah symbolizes the unity of the Jewish people, which stems from the humility of the Succah. When everybody's humble, and everyone gets along, they aren't jealous of each other. And all of this traces back to Aharon HaKohen, who was Ohev Shalom V’Rodef Shalom/
He loved peace and he ran after peace. He loved people, and he brought them closer to Torah.
And this great trait of humility, once again, comes back to our Emunah and Bitachon/our belief that Hashem is the One that makes it all happen, and our recognition that we’d be falling without Him holding us. That's our source for humility.
A further hint to the humility factor is that we're all tied together. The four different species refer to four different Jewish people, that unify themselves. Without humility, that can't happen.
The Bene Yisaschar brings down, in the name of the Sifre Kabbalah, that every plant has an angel on top of it that tells it to grow. But the four species that we take in our hands on Sukkot have no ministering angel- God Himself tells them to grow, because they’re a siman to the Jewish people. When we're together, we’re under Hashem’s special supervision, and his special Hashgacha that goes on these four species. As the pasuk says, ‘When the Jewish people are together with shalom, then God is amongst them.’ Again, the source for this unity ultimately comes from the trait of humility, and the source of the lack of jealousy comes from the Emunah and bitachon that nobody could take anything from me that isn't mine, and therefore, I get along with everybody.
B’Ezrat Hashem, we will use the time of Succot to work on this humility and let it bring us to simha, truly being happy with our lot and not being jealous of anybody else.