Sukkos 5787 - What is the concept of the Ushpizin on Sukkos?

00:00 In 5659, the students began studying in the town of Lubavitch. The Tomchei Temimim yeshiva was founded, as is well known, in Elul 5657, but throughout 5658 the students studied in another town, not in Lubavitch. Only in Tishrei 5659 did they arrive in Lubavitch, beginning the period of the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in Lubavitch. As is well known, the Rebbe Rashab gave the yeshiva the name “Tomchei Temimim” only that year, on Simchas Torah, on Shemini Atzeres. Until then, it did not even have a name. The Frierdiker Rebbe relates in his sichos that 5659 was a difficult year for the students, because their military conscription had to be dealt with. In Russia, they were required to serve in the army. Young men their age had to report for the draft, to present themselves to the military, and everything possible had to be done so they could obtain exemptions. During that Sukkos, when the Rebbe Rashab held a farbrengen, there was great anxiety among the students: What would happen? After Yom Tov, they would have to report for the draft at the government offices. At the farbrengen, the Rebbe Rashab instructed them to sing a niggun familiar to chassidim, a niggun based on

01:38 the Prayer for Dew: “Let our well-nourished ones not grow lean.” They sang the niggun at the farbrengen. The Rebbe Rashab instructed them to sing it with great joy: “Let our well-nourished ones not grow lean.” And so they sang it throughout Yom Tov, throughout Sukkos. At the farbrengen, the Rebbe Rashab told the students to undertake to give their “well-nourished years”—that is, to devote their best years, when their strength was at its peak, to Torah and avodah. He promised that they would “not grow lean”: they need not worry; they would have everything they needed, including exemptions from military service and all that it entailed. So they danced to the niggun throughout Yom Tov, and miracles and wonders immediately occurred for all the students. They were spared the problems with the military and succeeded in obtaining the exemptions they needed. It was also on that Sukkos that the Rebbe Rashab first revealed the concept of the Chassidic ushpizin. He said: The Zohar tells us that there are ushpizin—guests, exalted guests—who come to the sukkah. These are the seven holy shepherds: Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef and Dovid. They are the ushpizin who come to the sukkah during Sukkos. And the Rebbe

03:16 Rashab revealed that there are also Chassidic ushpizin: the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, the Alter Rebbe, the Mitteler Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, the Rebbe Maharash and the Rebbe Rashab. These are the Chassidic ushpizin, and they, too, come. The Rebbe Rashab said that the Chassidic ushpizin are our Rebbeim, who join every chossid in his dance in exile, wherever he may be—in Russia, in Lithuania, even in [unclear], in some remote place in the world. Our Rebbeim take him by the hand, lift him up and draw him into the dance of exile. These were among the subjects discussed during Sukkos of 5659, at the beginning of Tomchei Temimim. And on that Simchas Torah there was [unclear], when the Rebbe Rashab said that the yeshiva still had no name, and [unclear]. When they reached the seventh hakafah, during which we say, “Supporter of the wholehearted, please save us,” he said that the yeshiva would be called Tomchei Temimim and the students who studied there would be called Temimim. We have explained a little about Sukkos and its connection to guests. Today we will discuss it in somewhat greater depth: What is the significance of the guests, and what is the significance of the Chassidic guests? One of the stories we have about the Chassidic guests is...

04:48 Yes, there is a story—I have told it before—about a time when people sat with the Frierdiker Rebbe in the sukkah, I think in 5700. They were sitting in the sukkah, and the Frierdiker Rebbe spoke about the ushpizin and again said that there are Chassidic ushpizin as well. And more than that: one of those present related that the Frierdiker Rebbe pointed with his fingers, raised his holy fingers and said, “Here sits the Baal Shem Tov, here sits the Maggid of Mezritch, and here sits the Alter Rebbe.” He went on to name each of our Rebbeim and say where each one was sitting. The chassidim there were overcome with awe and reverence, fear and trembling, [unclear], as the Frierdiker Rebbe was with them and they were actually present there in the sukkah. What is the significance of the ushpizin in general? And what is the significance of the Chassidic ushpizin? We saw how the Rebbe, year after year, [unclear], would emphasize the ushpizin and the connections between them. And what was said, [unclear], about the Chassidic ushpizin—these are really two parts of one thing: the revealed teachings of Torah and the inner dimension of Torah; the souls connected with the avodah of the Jewish people as a whole and the souls connected with the avodah of chassidim. There is an inner connection

06:11 between them. And we saw each year how the Rebbe spoke about many subjects, and this relates to our [unclear], as mentioned, highlighting where he stands and where he is going in his [unclear]. When we look at it, we have here the ushpizin and the [unclear]. What is the significance of the ushpizin, and why do we need the ushpizin to come? To understand this, its spiritual meaning is that Sukkos is a festival of greater light, a far greater light. This is what is called the Clouds of Glory on Sukkos. Aharon the Kohen—the Clouds of Glory came in the merit of Aharon the Kohen. And on Sukkos there is something connected with [unclear], through the merit of the Clouds of Glory: “For I caused the Children of Israel to dwell in sukkos.” The Clouds of Glory protected us in the desert. That lies at the heart of Sukkos, when we sit in the sukkah. But according to the inner dimension of Torah, according to Kabbalah and Chassidus, the Clouds of Glory represent a much higher level. Aharon’s theme is love. That is Aharon’s role in what he [unclear]. “When you kindle the lamps” awakens the great love a Jew has for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The Clouds of Glory are the encompassing light drawn down from above, the essential love Hakadosh Boruch Hu has for Jews, which is greater than the love we have for Him. Sukkos is the time when

07:39 this great love from above is revealed with particular intensity. It is explained that this is the difference between the first days of Tishrei and the days that follow. The first eleven days of Tishrei are the Days of Awe, when awe is revealed, as the Alter Rebbe explains in Likkutei Torah. Then comes Sukkos, when love is revealed. The Alter Rebbe explains: “His left hand is beneath my head, and His right hand embraces me.” The first days of Tishrei are “His left hand is beneath my head.” The left hand, which “pushes away,” represents awe—the Days of Awe, reverence and teshuvah. After Yom Kippur, and especially on Sukkos, it is “His right hand embraces me.” What does that mean? [unclear]. It is an embrace; it is the sukkah. The sukkah is an embrace, an encompassing light. [unclear]. What is it? [unclear] “As water reflects a face back to a face.” [unclear]. This is Sukkos, the time of our rejoicing. [unclear]. And this is an encompassing light. It is far greater. [unclear]. How can we [unclear]? [unclear]. How do the ushpizin come, and likewise the tzaddikim? Who are the ushpizin? What is their connection to Sukkos? [unclear]. How [unclear], and how is it possible to be [unclear]? This is the Tzemach Tzedek. [unclear]. This is the concept of the ushpizin. These are not the ushpizin [unclear]. They are tzaddikim. [unclear].

09:23 On the contrary. The ushpizin go from one extreme to the other. And this, as I have heard, is a kind of [unclear]. These are the ushpizin. We are speaking about the Jewish people, and this is the meaning of the parable: a king prepared a feast and invited all the people of his kingdom. It is written in the Midrash. In the plain meaning of the Midrash, [unclear]. The offerings: What did they offer? Seventy bulls on Sukkos, corresponding to the seventy nations. This is what Sukkos is all about. What do the offerings mean? What is the significance of the seventy nations? After all, the seventy nations also had a connection to the offerings brought in the Beis Hamikdash. [unclear]. This is the festival; this is its whole theme. The seventy nations share in the joy of the festival, as the Midrash says. That is one aspect in particular. Then there are the ushpizin. Ushpizin means guests. [unclear] Sukkos, and this concerns the Jewish people. It is expressed on Shemini Atzeres. And what is it? [unclear]. “Make Me a small feast so that I may enjoy your company”—that is what the king says to the Jewish people. [unclear]. It is simply, simply difficult. These are opposite extremes. This is the significance of the ushpizin: they are the seven tzaddikim, the seven shepherds of the Jewish people. That is what the ushpizin are about; they concern the Jewish people. But there is no contradiction here. It is an avodah, [unclear] among the Jewish people. Let us simply try to understand: What is the significance of the seventy nations? What does it mean? This is Sukkos. Let us think about it. Yes, “to perfect the world under the sovereignty of the A-lmighty”—

11:13 [unclear]. No, that is not the avodah of Rosh Hashanah; that is Sukkos. So what have we done? We crowned the King of Israel, the King of the world, [unclear] Selichos, atonement, and avodah. Our relationship with Hashem becomes personal and close on Sukkos. That is the great avodah we did over the forty days, through the Ten Days of Teshuvah, until Yom Kippur. So now we go out into the world with that avodah. Yes, [unclear]. What we have done until now is build a connection with Hashem. It is not yet even an engagement with the world. The world—[unclear]. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the Master, the Master of the world. He is the G-d of the world. That is the meaning of the offerings for the seventy nations. How so? We refine the sparks of holiness. Yes, we refine the things of this world. [unclear]. This is the mission of the Jewish people, and what we are speaking about here begins with the non-Jew within us. The Alter Rebbe says: the non-Jew that each person has within. “Praise Hashem, all nations; laud Him, all peoples”—the Alter Rebbe says this refers to the stray thoughts of the animal soul and to the non-Jew each person has within, in the body and the animal soul. That is what Sukkos is about. On Sukkos, we need to eat and drink, sleep and walk about—to do everything in the sukkah, things connected to the body and the animal soul. But all of it is permeated with holiness.

12:46 “Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven”; “Know Him in all your ways”—to transform the world, worldly affairs, and physicality into G-dliness. That is the avodah of Sukkos. We say that the avodah of Sukkos is for a Jew, after going through the avodah of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, to be able, when Sukkos arrives, to make a dwelling for G-d out of physicality. The avodah is to bring G-dliness into the world, to crown Hakadosh Boruch Hu over everything, and to make the world an illuminated world, a G-dly world, a world of Geulah. For this, we have the strength of the tzaddikim, of the leaders of the Jewish people, of Avraham Avinu, who was the first to do [unclear] among the nations, and of all the tzaddikim. The point is that through the Jewish people, the entire world becomes an illuminated world, so that throughout the world it will be heard: “Hashem will be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be One and His name One.” This will be complete when Moshiach comes, but it begins on Sukkos. That is why Chassidus explains the verse “You shall dwell in sukkos for seven days; every native-born Jew shall dwell in sukkos” by saying that the word for “native-born” points to the future: it will shine forth. In the future there will be light; the entire world will shine, because there will be the light of, of…

14:15 the Geulah, when the entire world will proclaim: “Every created being will know that You created it.” As it says: “Hashem will be King over all the earth.” But when does it begin? On Sukkos. “Every native-born Jew shall dwell in sukkos.” On Sukkos there are guests, the ushpizin. So the avodah of Sukkos is to bring in the ushpizin. The forefathers and the tzaddikim give us the strength to know how to carry out our avodah in the world, to illuminate the exile and make the world an illuminated world, a world of Moshiach, a world of Geulah. And so we saw that every year on Sukkos, the Rebbe would explain each night, and we would hear sichos. Every year the Rebbe spoke about how the ushpizin are reflected in the avodah of Jews, how a Jew illuminates the street. The Rebbe connected this with going out to dance in the streets at Simchas Beis Hashoevah, so that the street would dance—the non-Jews and the Jewish people—and the entire world would become a G-dly world, a Jewish world. That is how the Rebbe would speak. I cannot speak now about all the ushpizin, but I will give just one example to show what this means. Afterward, everyone should study it. Boruch Hashem, we have the sichos and the books, including an entire book, Maayanei Hayeshuah, in which all—

15:29 the explanations the Rebbe gave over the years were printed. On the first night, the Rebbe would speak about Avraham Avinu and the Baal Shem Tov. Avraham Avinu was, after all, the father of many nations. “And Avram journeyed on, traveling onward”—he went from place to place spreading G-dliness. As the verse says: “There he called in the name of Hashem, G-d of the world.” Do not read it as “he called,” but as “he caused others to call”—he made Hakadosh Boruch Hu known throughout the world. We find the same thing with the holy Baal Shem Tov. As we know from the stories of the Baal Shem Tov, he would travel through all the towns and cities, and wherever he went, he illuminated the place. He would speak even with poor, simple Jews and tell them to say “Boruch Hashem” about their livelihood, “Boruch Hashem” about their health, thus bringing G-dliness into simple things, into worldly affairs. As the Frierdiker Rebbe relates, this was the Baal Shem Tov’s way of serving Hashem. It was exactly what we find with Avraham Avinu, expressed by the Baal Shem Tov in his own way. With Yitzchak, we find that he was an unblemished offering, and that Hakadosh Boruch Hu told him to remain in the Land of Israel. So too in serving Hashem: alongside what we say about going out and illuminating the world, we must always take care that [unclear]. That one’s place remains a holy place. Going outside could, G-d forbid, cause a person to descend—

16:54 and lose the level he has reached. So we say: alongside the need to be one who “goes” and goes out to illuminate the world, one must also be [unclear], and that is Yitzchak, an unblemished offering. We see the same thing with the Maggid of Mezritch. As is well known, the Maggid of Mezritch did not travel from place to place. He sat in one place, and his students came to him. This too is a way of serving Hashem, in which each approach complements the other. It is also connected to the first day of Sukkos being chessed and the second day being gevurah. Chessed and gevurah—these two qualities complement one another. We do need to go out into the world, but at the same time we must know [unclear], to remain firm in holiness, connected above. They also spoke about the Alter Rebbe. The Rebbe would speak about Yaakov Avinu. Of Yaakov Avinu, we find: “Yaakov was a wholehearted man, dwelling in tents”—“tents,” in the plural. He had two tents, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. And the Midrash says of this: “He established testimony in Yaakov and set Torah in Israel.” So too with the Alter Rebbe, we see two lights. First, there was his work of spreading Torah, both the revealed dimension of Torah and its inner dimension, Tanya and Shulchan Aruch. These were the Alter Rebbe’s two lights, like what we find with Yaakov Avinu: “dwelling in…”

18:12 tents. With the Mitteler Rebbe, we find the idea of “the river’s broad expanse,” the expansive explanation of Chassidus, as is well known. This is why the Mitteler Rebbe is the ushpizin corresponding to Moshe Rabbeinu among the general ushpizin. With Moshe Rabbeinu, and also with Yaakov, there is the theme of Torah: “He established testimony in Yaakov and set Torah in Israel.” But Moshe’s role was to spread Torah and bring it down in an expansive way. Similarly, the Mitteler Rebbe took the Alter Rebbe’s Torah, brought it down, and spread it, and so on. With the Tzemach Tzedek, we find something similar to Aharon Hakohen. Aharon Hakohen “loved peace and pursued peace,” and with the Tzemach Tzedek, there was the theme of peace. As is well known, in his day there was peace between chassidim and misnagdim, and the stories about this appear in the chronicles. There are also several further parallels connected with Yosef Hatzaddik, who corresponds in Chassidus to the Rebbe Maharash. Yosef Hatzaddik was in Egypt, where he was second to the king and directed affairs in Egypt so that he could [unclear]. Likewise, the Rebbe Maharash was involved in matters of government. At that time there was a decree concerning [unclear], and he traveled to Petersburg, maintained connections with the government, and thereby had the decree annulled, as is known from the stories in Hayom Yom. And also

19:44 the Rebbe Maharash’s entire approach was “lechatchila ariber”—an approach of abundance, dealing with the world in a way of “lechatchila ariber.” He was not intimidated by the world. So too with Yosef Hatzaddik: his approach in Egypt was “lechatchila ariber,” and there, “Without you, no man shall lift his hand or his foot.” And further, when we speak of King David, the seventh day, Hoshana Rabbah, the theme is kingship. So too with the Rebbe Rashab, who founded Tomchei Temimim and the soldiers of the House of David. As is well known, the Rebbe Rashab called the Temimim “soldiers of the House of David,” through whom the revelation of Moshiach ben David would be brought about. So may Hashem help that [unclear] these great days of Sukkos, that we merit the holiness of the ushpizin, and thereby receive the strength to illuminate the world and prepare it, to wage the battle of the House of David and bring Moshiach ben David, and may this bring the complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. Amen, may it be His will.