Ushpizin (guests) of Ya'akov Avinu (Jacob our father). You know, it says, Vayeishev Ya'akov be'eretz megurei aviv (And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings.), bikesh Ya'akov leishev beshalvah (Jacob sought to dwell in tranquility.), kafatz alav rugzo shel Yosef (The troubles of Joseph sprang upon him.), which is be'emet (in truth) a pele (wonder). What did he ask for? Bikesh Ya'akov leishev beshalvah. Do you think he wanted a new Lexus? Did he want a house in the country? What did he want? He wanted ruyikeit (tranquility), a shtender. He was getting old; he wanted a big Gemara, with large type, to sit and learn in menuchah (rest). Didn't he need just beshalvah? He had such a difficult life. He went through so many tzarot (troubles) and so many... Kafatz alav rugzo (The troubles of Joseph sprang upon him)—do you have a musag (notion) of what this kafatz alav rugzo shel Yosef means? He had a ben zekunim (son of his old age) who was taken from him. For twenty-two years, he had no idea where he was. He was in she'ol (the netherworld), beyagon she'olah (in sorrow down to the grave). He went down be'aveilut (in mourning). We can't even begin to imagine such a thing.
I remember Yochanan Herzog. He had a first cousin. Remember those two soldiers, Zechariah Baumel and Yehuda Katz? They were captured by the Syrians for years. He told me they had no idea where they were; they're still ad hayom (until today), every day... His parents—his uncle and aunt—were Holocaust survivors. They went through the war, they went through everything, and they had a child. He said their whole life was overturned. They were going from country to country, from government to government, just asking, “Where is my child?” Could you imagine? If that was Ya'akov's life, it was basically overturned—the worst tzarah imaginable. Why? Why? Bikesh Ya'akov leishev beshalvah. Such a ferocious, unbearable tzarah comes. It's mamash mavhil al hara'ayon, mavhil al hara'ayon. I don't think we're even able to give a teirutz (answer). It's not something we can understand enough to explain.
This chag (festival), which brings Ya'akov Avinu into our presence, sitting in the sukkah, adrabah (on the contrary), we can ask. But we want to share a hergesh (feeling). Denn steht, the whole Yom Tov of Sukkot (the Feast of Booths) is Ya'akov Avinu. The Tur brings the Gimel Regalim (three pilgrimage festivals): Pesach (Passover), Shavu'ot (Shavuot), and Sukkot are Avraham (Abraham), Yitzchak (Isaac), and Ya'akov. Ya'akov is veYa'akov nasa Sukkotah vayiven lo bayit ulemikneihu asah sukkot al kein kara shem hamakom Sukkot (Jacob journeyed to Sukkot, built himself a house, and made shelters for his livestock.), which is be'emet a pele. He came into this town, vayiven lo bayit. He built himself a house, and he also built a shed, a stable for the sukkah, and named the town after the stable he built. Vayiven lo bayit, he built a house. You know, you need a garage; you need somewhere, a place to keep the behemot (animals). He named the town—the town got a new name, Sukkot, because he put up a refet bakar (cattle shed) for the animals. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh (the holy Ohr HaChaim) says that Ya'akov Avinu was the first person to invent the barn. That's what it says in the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh. Until then, they didn't have rachmanut (compassion); they left the animals out at the mercy of the elements, out in the bad weather. Ya'akov, bechemlato (in his compassion) for the ba'alei chayim (living creatures), made such a binyan (construction), a shtal (stable) for the behemot, and that was his chiddush (innovation). He had the patent on the stable, and mimeila (consequently) he named the town Sukkot. It's mamash a pele, because the shoresh (root) of the Yom Tov of Sukkot—what is the shoresh? A stable for behemot. Think about it. You'd expect that the holy Yom Tov of Sukkot, the Shechinah (Divine Presence), the Ushpizin Kadishin (holy guests), and mamash, it's kodshei kodashim (holy of holies), kedushat Eretz Yisrael (holiness of the Land of Israel). The shoresh hadevarim is Ya'akov making a refet bakar for his animals.
Because we know the Gemara tells us that le'atid lavo (in the future), the umot ha'olam (nations of the world) are going to say, “Atoh lo nosato lonu meirosh (you didn't give us the Torah).” The Eibershter (Almighty) was mechazer al kol umah velashon (He went around to every nation and language), and the malachim (angels) are going to say, mi shetarach be'erev Shabbat yochal beShabbat (One who prepared on Friday will eat on Shabbat), “What right do you have...?” Af al pi chein (nevertheless), the Ribbono shel Olam (Master of the Universe) is going to say, “You know what? I have a mitzvah kalah (an easy mitzvah): sukkah shemah (Its name is sukkah.).” And kol echad ve'echad, every goy (non-Jew) is going to go and build a sukkah berosh gago (a sukkah on his roof). Can you imagine what the world is going to look like? You have seven billion goyim, each one going to build a sukkah berosh gago. The globe is going to be covered in sukkot. Some of the Yidden (Jews) will make a fortune selling sechach (sukkah covering) and noi sukkah (sukkah decorations), and Ushpizin. Imagine every goy building a sukkah berosh gago—pil'ei pela'im (wonders of wonders), what the world is going to look like. And the Eibershter is going to take out the sun, and the goyim are going to run out. They won't be able to bear the heat in the sukkah. They won't be able to stay there. The Yidden, too—aye, mitzta'er patur min hasukkah (One who suffers is exempt from the sukkah)—but be'itah lo va'atinan (But we do not kick it.). Yidden beiten nisht; they're not going to be bo'et (one who kicks). It's a pele. I mean, the goyim know it's all over, right? Mashiach (the Messiah) is here, and they're given another chance, another chance after all the things they did. They know it's either this or she'ol forever, so He gives them a chance, and they blow it. They can't sit in the sukkah. The sun: hotzi chamah minartikah (He brought the sun out of its sheath). I thought maybe the pshat (plain meaning) is that Hashem—the atmosphere is going to be thing and cell phones won't work in the sukkah, and they won't be able to sit there. They're just going to run out; they won't be able to exist, pashut (simple), they'll just go. What's the pshat? Yeah, whatever it is. What's the pshat? They can't hold out noch a paar minuttin in the sukkah. What? Be'itah: they're going to be bo'et in the sukkah.
The emes (truth) is, we all know: Yom Kippur comes, and on Yom Kippur we're ma'amin (believe) be'emunah sheleimah (with complete faith) that bayom hazeh yechaper aleichem letaher etchem mikol chatoteichem (On this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you from all your sins.). The Eibershter washes us, cleanses us, and we're coming to the sukkah bikdushah uvetaharah (in holiness and purity). It says in the pesukim (verses), and the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) says mochi'ach (proves) that we're ma'aminim. Lema'aseh (in practice), in our hearts we don't feel it. We see the same yetzer hara (evil inclination), the same middot ra'ot (bad character traits), coming back to us quite quickly. We know, takeh (indeed), al kol panim (in any case), Yom Kippur was mora'dig (tremendous), mora'dig, aber ve'inshvi, a mentsh is a mentsh, and he doesn't feel like he's a completely new person. So what's this? We go into the sukkah and now we're like malachim, more than malachim, so the malach can't even go into a sukkah, it says. We go into a sukkah—what's so heilig about us?
Mashal lemah hadavar domeh (To what is this parable similar?): If a child is mored (rebels) against his father and does the worst, mamash doing the worst things, if his father showers him with love and just gives him everything he wants, the child is just going to take advantage of it. He's not going to—he'll just take it and use it against him. It's not going to have an effect; he'll just do more. If the father sees that the child takes a small step toward him, sees that he wants to be good, even if he can't hold on to that, at that moment he has to shower him with hatavah (beneficence), with shefa (abundance), with everything, with all the ahavah (love). That way, he can hold on to that turn, that turn letov (toward good), and that or (light), the or shebah machziro lemutav (The light in it brings him back to goodness). What happened on Yom Kippur was that we showed HaKadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One, blessed be He) that we want to be good. We showed HaKadosh Baruch Hu that we made that step, that step toward Him. And that gives the Ribbono shel Olam, kavyachol (as it were), the yicholet (ability) to shower us with keiruv (closeness). The keiruv in the sukkah is lo ye'uman ki yesupar (beyond belief), mamash. Semolo tachat roshi vimino techabkeini (His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me.). The whole world is cut out—it's nisht meglech. The deveikut (cleaving to God) tzaddikim (righteous people) had in the sukkah, mamash, in the tzila dimehemnuta (shade of faith) of the Ribbono shel Olam, is that they are orchim (guests) by the Ribbono shel Olam. Because when the Eibershter sees that ratzon (will) for tov (good), He's able to give us the hatavah, able to give us hatavah and not be afraid. It says, when you give hatavah, it's vayishman Yeshurun vayiv'at (Jeshurun grew fat and kicked.); we become bo'eten, we become ba'alei ga'avah (arrogant people).
Sukkot is Chag Ha'asif (Festival of Ingathering). A person took in all the tevu'ah (produce), had all the hatzlachah (success), sees all the shefa, and says, “The fields are matzli'ach (succeeding).” He can come to ga'avah (pride): “Look, look at that.” It wouldn't be good for him. He has to first go through Yom Kippur; he has the hachna'ah (humility) of Yom Kippur, and then he breaks his ga'avah and turns toward the Ribbono shel Olam. Yeah, now you're ra'ui (worthy), you're ra'ui for the hatavah. If the hatavah comes before we're ra'ui for it, it becomes a be'itah, with vayishman Yeshurun vayiv'at.
Avraham Avinu was the mekor hachesed (source of kindness). He gave everything; he was the biggest machnis ore'ach (one who welcomes guests) in the world. He was mekarev (bringing close) so many tachat kanfei HaShechinah (beneath the wings of the Divine Presence), but we all know that nothing remained of them. Nothing remained. Because he gave them the hatavah before there was anything coming from their end. Mimeila, the sof (end) was a be'itah. Avadei, a person—it says in the sefarim (religious books), in Tanya (Tanya), and in many sefarim—that a person has a nefesh Elokit (Divine soul) and a nefesh habahamit (animal soul). Ulemikneihu asah sukkot (and for his livestock he made shelters): Yom Tov Sukkot comes, and on Yom Kippur there's no guf (body); on Yom Kippur we're fasting, we're be'inui (affliction), there's nothing—it's kulo neshamah (entirely soul). Un me geyt doch a Yom Kippur (and after all, one goes through Yom Kippur). And the Eibershter says, “You know, ulemikneihu asah sukkot.” You're ra'ui now to be mekabel hatovah (receive the good), to be mekabel (receive) that menuchah, the menuchah sheleimah (complete rest) of being inside a sukkah. Now you're ra'ui for it.
Farkert (conversely), the shoresh of the mitzvah (commandment) of Sukkot was from this ulemikneihu asah: We become on a madregah (level) where we can mekabel the shefa from HaKadosh Baruch Hu. The umot ha'olam said, “Give me good. Oh, Mashiach is here; we want it.” “So I'll give you. I'll take you into the sukkah.” But be'itah batina, they were bo'et. The minute they got the shefa, because they're not ready to give anything from themselves, mimeila, s'geyt alts arayn to the nefesh habahamit, es blaybt a behemah. A Yid, the turning letov is pashut the yeholet for the Eibershter to shower us with this keiruv, with the shefa, the shefa Eloki (Divine abundance). We have no musag, no musag, of Ya'akov Avinu and the bikkeish Ya'akov leishev beshalvah. The Eibershter's cheshbonot, what Ya'akov Avinu went through with Yosef HaTzaddik (Joseph the Righteous)—aval lema'aseh, Ya'akov Avinu was mevakeish leishev beshalvah. S'kumt im that the Eibershter... So what does Chazal (the Sages) say? Lo dayam (Is it not enough for them?) tzaddikim, that they have what's mesudar in Olam HaBa (the World to Come)—they want to have it in Olam HaZeh (this world)? No! Kafatz alav rogzo shel Yosef. All right, the Eibershter's cheshbonot—we don't know. Ya'akov Avinu's bikkeish leishev beshalvah: I have a hergesh that the answer to Ya'akov Avinu's tefillah (prayer) was the sukkah; Ya'akov asah sukkot. The Eibershter said, “Ya'akov Avinu, when he went to Olam HaBa—went to Olam HaBa—where is he going to have his sechar (reward) in Olam HaZeh? Where is he going to have the shalvah (tranquility) in Olam HaZeh?” So the Eibershter gave the mitzvah of sukkah. Ya'akov Avinu comes to the sukkah in this world to experience the shalvah, the menuchah, vos nor a Yid can shpiren in the sukkah.