Vol 29.27 - Chag HaSukkot       Spanish French Audio  Video

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Summary:

(5747) The boundary of the obligation to sleep in the Sukkah and many ways in the exemption of mitztaer ('one who has pain');

Debate in Chazal (Tal. Sukkah 53a) "We did not enjoy a proper sleep, because they dozed on one another's shoulder" and not in the Sukkah (Tasbatz 1:2).

The saying of the Mittler Rebbe: "How is it possible to sleep in the Makifim d'Bina" (trancedent level of intellect). And its justification with the obligation to sleep in the Sukkah according to halacha.  

Translation:

 1. The Previous Rebbe displayed two contrasting modes of behavior with respect to dwelling in the Sukkah:

·         He was scrupulous with regard to eating and drinking exclusively in the Sukkah, so much so that he would not even drink water outside it (and this scrupulousness occurred even on Shmini Atzeret)

·         However, regarding sleeping in the Sukkah, on the contrary – one observed that he did not sleep in the Sukkah (but rather in the house).
 

It would seem that the opposite should have been the case: The obligation to sleep in a Sukkah carries a greater stringency than that of eating and drinking there - For one may eat a light repast (and surely drink water) outside the Sukkah, while even a short nap is prohibited outside of it.
 

And even though that, due to difficulties and hardships of sleeping in a Sukkah, resulting from the conditions of time and place, a person is exempt from the obligation according to halacha (as we find that the halacha (din) is that:

 “where it is painful to sleep in the Sukkah because of the cold … it is not necessary to sleep in the Sukkah … for whoever is distressed by dwelling in the Sukkah is free from the obligation to dwell there.”)
 

Nevertheless, this does not entirely resolve the question. For concerning the Previous Rebbe, physical difficulties such as these had absolutely no bearing, even when it just concerned an adornment to a Mitzvah (a hiddur Mitzvah).
 

And as we observed his conduct regarding the Sukkah in matters of eating and drinking, he did not consider any hardships and was stringent (even on Shmini Atzeret), so much so that, even when it was raining — during which time one may halachically eat in the house — he would not eat outside the Sukkah.
 

It is therefore understood that his not being scrupulous to sleep in the Sukkah was not due to difficulty or physical discomfort.
 

2. There is a well-known saying of the Mitteler Rebbe concerning sleeping in the Sukkah:

 “How is it possible to sleep in Makifim d’Binah?” 

This means that the Sukkah is illuminated by an extremely lofty level of holiness which is too high to come down into enclothement within a person (in his Pnimiyut). The light, however, surrounds him in an encompassing manner (just like a real Sukkah which “surrounds” the person. And not just the person himself (or at least his head and the majority of his body), but also his table etc.- in a manner that all of his aspects must be enveloped within the Makif of the Sukkah – “living in the Sukkah in the same manner as you ordinarily live; as one's permanent abode” (taishvu k'ein taduro). And since an extremely G-dly light illuminates there, how is it possible to sleep there?! –

This is analogous to the verse: “Behold, G-d is to be found in this place, and I knew it not,” upon which Rashi comments: “Had I known, I would not have slept in so sacred a place.”
 

And it is simple to understand that this is according to Halacha and is quite clear: that If one lies down to sleep in the Sukkah yet is unable to fall asleep, under any circumstance, then, according to Shulchan Aruch, one simply may sleep in his house.
 

And if one is completely certain that he will be unable to fall asleep in the Sukkah - one does not need to, from the onset, prove that he cannot sleep there.
 

This is also simply why the Previous Rebbe did not sleep in the Sukkah: For while sitting in the Sukkah he tangibly felt the revelation of the Or Makif of the Sukkah and this did not allow him to sleep there.
 

And one could add and correlate (hamtik) this with Halacha regarding the difference between eating and drinking in the Sukkah and sleeping in the Sukkah:

Concerning the boundary of “living in the Sukkah as if permanently” (taishvu k'ein taduro), the Alter Rebbe explains that:

“Any excessive bother where one would not discomfort himself, and where one would refrain himself from this bother rather than sit in one’s house permanently, is not obligated to bother oneself for the same situation to sit in the Sukkah permanently” And we also find regarding sleeping that if it is in a manner that: “if due to such a bother one would not sleep in one’s home, one need not because of this bother to sleep in the Sukkah because anyone who is bothered by sitting in the Sukkah is exempt from sitting in it”
 

[And as he explains, the exemption of “bothered” (mitztaer) regarding the Sukkah comes from the maxim of “living in the Sukkah as if permanently” where “even throughout the year a person does not dwell in a place that bothers him”. And therefore, every aspect which does not fall into the category of “permanent living” (taduro), as in one’s home, does not have the obligation of “dwelling” (taishvu) (in the Sukkah)
 

And the same is in our case:
 

In a situation where it speaks of the Mitteler Rebbe or the (conduct of the)Previous Rebbe, where the greatness of the revelation of the Sukkah is a barrier and obstacle to sleep, one is indeed exempt from sleeping in the Sukkah, for even in one’s home, under those conditions, one would be unable to sleep.

3. One must however have an explanation in this:

As has been mentioned many times, our holy Torah is one Torah (Torah achas) – The esoteric (pnimiyut) parts of Torah (and its customs) as well as the Halacha of Torah are: “all one (kulo chad)” (As the Zohar states: the esoteric and exoteric Torah as like the body and soul).

This means that:

 All parts of Torah correlate (masim) with each other and all stem from one branch (kaneh echad). It is therefore understood that the Minhagim (customs) of the great Torah leaders (gedolei Yisroel) (and those that follow in their paths), which from the very onset, are sourced in Pnimiyut of the Torah, must correlate to their (corresponding) aspect according to Halacha.

It is not understood in our case:

Since, according to Halacha, the Mitzvah of Sukkah is that one must sleep in it – how can it be that the innermost aspect of the Sukkah (the “Or Makif” which illuminates in the Sukkah) contradict this (and not allow sleeping in the Sukkah)?!

Or – additionally:

The aforementioned explanation (Par. 2) is only an exemption that allows sleeping outside of the Sukkah (since it must be “living in the Sukkah as if permanently dwelling there” as aforementioned). But at the end of it all, one is seemingly missing out the fulfillment of the Mitzvah of Sukkah.

And how could one say, that the inner aspect of Sukkah should cause that one miss out, G-d forbid, in the fulfillment of the Mitzvah of Sukkah (as it is simply stated in Halacha) properly and completely?

Seemingly, it should be the opposite:

Attaining the inner aspect of a Mitzvah (in our case – the revelation of Or Makif of the Sukkah), should come, specifically after and through the fulfillment of the Mitzvah, simply and physically.

4. Seemingly one could say, as it is explained in the Tzafnat Paneach – that there is a major difference between eating and drinking in the Sukkah and sleeping in the Sukkah:

·         Eating and drinking are the fulfillment of the Mitzvah of Sukkah.

·         However, sleeping in the Sukkah: “is not a fulfillment of the Mitzvah but rather it is forbidden to sleep outside of the Sukkah”.

And accordingly, he explains that this is the reason why the Talmud and Rambam (in the description of the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah) do not mention the specific (prat), of sleeping, but only eating and drinking – (as it states in Tal.. Sukkah 28b): “He should eat and drink and pass his leisure (metael) in the Sukkah” (omitting sleeping).

[With this he also answers simply, the question – why one does not make a blessing on sleeping in the Sukkah? – because by sleeping in the Sukkah one does not accomplish (a positive) in the fulfillment of the Mitzvah, but rather, just an aspect of the negation of the prohibition, in that one must not sleep outside of the Sukkah ]

Therefore it is understood, that even when one sleeps, with permission, outside of the Sukkah, since however, he eats and drinks in the Sukkah, he is not lacking anything regarding the fulfillment of dwelling in the Sukkah.

Accordingly it is understood, that there is no contradiction in this, namely, that according to the inner aspect, Sukkah “confuses” (mevalvel) the concept of sleep, and yet, at the very moment, according to Halacha, one must sleep exclusively in the Sukkah because:

Sleeping in the Sukkah is not a part of the essential Mitzvah (of dwelling in the) Sukkah, but rather it is forbidden to sleep outside of the Sukkah. The obligation of sleeping in the Sukkah is just an (outcome of the) prohibition of sleeping outside of the Sukkah, as aforementioned. And in our case, since this causes pain etc., the prohibition, from the very onset, does not exist.

[And one should not ask: at the end of it all it still is not ideal,

– for how is it possible to say that, according to Halacha, the Mitzvah of Sukkah should cause a prohibition of sleeping outside if the Sukkah, at the very same time that the inner aspect of the Mitzvah is, that, on the contrary – sleeping outside of the Sukkah is a permissible thing (and even a proper manner)? –

 Because the Torah deals with the majority – and the particulars of the Mitzvah are established according to their aspect that is the norm of the majority of people. Therefore, since most people do not feel the Or Makif of the Sukkah, then it becomes, on the contrary, an obligation to sleep in the Sukkah (for one must dwell in the Sukkah in the same manner as one ordinarily lives; as one's permanent abode –“taishvu k'ein taduro”)

Therefore there is no contradiction, that a minority – the exceptional individuals (yechidei segulah) who do feel the Or Makif of the Sukkah - the inner aspect of the Sukkah, that they are exempt (according to Halacha, as aforementioned Par 2) from sleeping in the Sukkah].

5. However, truthfully, one cannot explain the customs of our Holy Rebbeim in this manner – for according to the Halachic ruling of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, even sleeping is considered a part of the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah, as he explicitly states:

“How is the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah (fulfilled)? One should eat, drink, sleep, relax (yitael), and dwell (dar) in the Sukkah”.

[And his source is from the Rama:

The Shulchan Aruch (which is the same wording as Rambam) states:

“How is the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah (fulfilled)? One should eat, drink, and dwell (dar) in the Sukkah”.

On this the Rama adds the words:

“(eat, drink) and sleep and relax (mitael)”

This means that the Rama holds that the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah also includes sleeping (and relaxing (mitael)) in the Sukkah.

This, seemingly, is also the opinion of the Tur, who adds (on the wording of the aforementioned Talmud):

“eat, drink and sleep

It (also) coincides with the opinion of Rashi (which is cited by the Tzafnat Paneach there) that:

“The primary dwelling in the Sukkah is eating, drinking and sleeping (there)“]

We find similarly that the Alter Rebbe rules that the blessing over the Mitzvah of Sukkah encompasses also sleeping in the Sukkah (but the reason there is no special blessing for sleeping is because one fulfills it (yotzei) with the blessing over eating in the Sukkah).

Therefore the question remains:

Since, according to the opinion of the Alter Rebbe, the “Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah” also includes sleeping in the Sukkah – how can one say that inner aspect of the Mitzvah contradicts the aspect of sleeping?

 6. We can understand this, by prefacing that which the Sages relate regarding Simchat Beit HaShoeva – that:

“When we used to rejoice at the Simchat Beit HaShoeva . . we did not ‘taste’ (enjoy) a proper sleep because we dozed on one another's shoulder

From this it is understood, that during the days of Simchat Beit HaShoeva, the Tanaim did not sleep in the Sukkah.

(For the explanation of: “dozing on one another's shoulder” is that the dozing was (not in the Sukkah, but rather) in the place (Courtyard/Azara) where they all celebrated the Simchat Beit HaShoeva)

This seemingly is not straightforward (glatic):

Even though the dozing, outside of the Sukkah, was certainly according to the exemption of Torah (heter HaTorah) – nevertheless, it is clear that the Tanaim endeavored to fulfill the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah for seven days,

(as it states: “You should dwell in the Sukkah for seven days”)

with the greatest scrupulousness (hiddur). As it states: “All seven days one makes his Sukkah (as) a permanent (abode)”

And since the “primary dwelling in the Sukkah is eating, drinking and sleeping (there, as aforementioned) – how is it possible – that one, from the very onset, establish the order of celebrating the festival of Sukkot in a manner

(of dozing outside of the Sukkah, and consequently)

 that detracts from the completeness of “making one’s Sukkah permanent” (keva)

(since one does has not fulfilled (all the aspects of) the “Primary dwelling in the Sukkah (which includes) (eating, drinking and) sleeping”!?

Therefore this itself is proof (gedrungen), that even when one sleeps (in a permissible manner according to Torah) outside of the Sukkah, one can accomplish, according to all opinions,

[Even according to the aforementioned ruling of the Alter Rebbe that the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah includes sleeping in the Sukkah]

the fulfillment of the Mitzvah of ”dwelling in the Sukkah” in its completeness (with the (same) scrupulousness that the Tanaim had in performing a Mitzvah).

7. One could explain the reasoning:

The explanation of the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah including sleeping in the Sukkah, does not mean that the Mitzvah of Sukkah places a separate obligation on it, namely sleeping in it –

For that would mean that when one does not sleep in the Sukkah,

(for whatever reason, even due to a situation where Torah exempts him from sleeping in the Sukkah)

he actually is lacking in the fulfillment of the of properly dwelling in the Sukkah -

rather it is only a part of the general obligation to “living in the Sukkah in the same manner as you ordinarily live; as one's permanent abode” (taishvu k'eyn taduro).

The Torah’s obligation is to “dwell (taishvu) in the Sukkah for seven days:

There must be sitting (yeshivah) (and lingering) in the Sukkah - “The Sukkah is his permanent abode”.

However just as the establishment of a person’s dwelling is connected with a place where he conducts his main affairs- therefore the obligation of “dwelling in the Sukkah” includes (mainly) these three things (eating, drinking and sleeping).

Yet since the primary establishment of a person’s dwelling is based (not on the “place where he sleeps (lina)” but rather) specifically in the place where one eats,

 (as the Tzafnat Paneach cites the proof from the laws of Eruvin) -

therefore, of these three things (eating, drinking and sleeping) itself, the main aspect of dwelling in the Sukkah is specifically connected to eating. And the Alter Rebbe states this clearly, that: “Eating, (which) is the primary Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah” (even though the Mitzvah also includes sleeping in the Sukkah, as aforementioned).

Therefore, because of this, one makes a blessing specifically on eating in the Sukkah, and that blessing covers drinking, sleeping and strolling (tiyul), because they are derived and secondary to eating.

Therefore it was not necessary (noitick) for the Tanaim to go and “doze” in the Sukkah in order to fulfill “One’s Sukkah as permanent abode (keva)” – because they fulfilled this completely by eating in the Sukkah,

 (as the Talmud relates their conduct on the day (seder hayom) : “ . . from there to eating and drinking” and certainly the “eating and drinking” was in the Sukkah)

since eating accomplishes the (main) aspect of “dwelling” (lingering) and permanency (kviut) in the Sukkah, so much so that they did not lack anything in the fulfillment of the Mitzvah of “dwelling in the Sukkah”.

Accordingly, it is also understood in our case:

Since the inner aspect of the festival of Sukkot prevents the aspect of sleeping in the Sukkah – one does not, through this, at all lack in the fulfillment of the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah according to Halacha.

[And the reason that, according to Halacha, sleeping in the Sukkah a part of the Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah – is because Torah speaks to the majority, and the majority of people do not feel the Or Makif of the Sukkah, as aforementioned in Par 4]

8. However this reasoning only answers the saying of the Mitteler Rebbe and the conduct of the Rebbe Rayatz and select individuals, who were able to actually feel the Or Makif of the Sukkah.

Yet we observe that in the conduct of many, even though they are not, as yet, at the level where (they can) feel the Or Makif of the Sukkah, that they are not accustomed to be scrupulous in sleeping in the Sukkah (even though they are scrupulous with regard to eating and drinking, even in a situation where there is no obligation).

The simple explanation to this is:

Since Chassidim are attached to the Holy Rebbeim and they learn their Torah (in order to fulfill it) and go in their paths – they emulate the customs of their Rebbeim (minhag rabboseihem biYideihem).

(As the Talmud relates that: “Rav Acha . . would scrupulously use (a hadas/myrtle that had) leaves that grew in twos and ones,

(meaning taking a hadas that had only two leafs on one cluster (ukatz) where a leaf from the lower cluster ascended and overlaid the upper two) –

for this was like the view of R’ Kahana (his teacher), even though R’ Kahana just said that “even two and one” (are valid). Yet although three on one cluster is all the more kosher, nevertheless, since it: “came from the mouth of R’ Kahana”, Rav Acha, his student, considered it an aspect of scrupulousness (hidur) to specifically emulate him)

And even more in our topic:

The inability to conduct themselves in a manner similar to their Rebbeim, wherever possible - causes them (the Chasidim) pain (in turn freeing them from the obligation to sleep in the Sukkah).
 

And even more so in our case:

Since the Mitteler Rebbe demanded this thing from his Chassidim (that they not sleep in the Sukkah),

(as the Rebbe Rayatz relates in a Sicha)

one (who is connected to the Rebbeim) is not able to sleep peacefully in the Sukkah.

For although the “Or” (illumination) of the Sukkah does not disturb his sleep, he is, however, pained by this very fact, namely, that he is not at the level where the ‘Or’ of the Sukkah tangibly illuminates within him, so much so that he could not sleep in the Sukkah.

And even an individual who is untroubled by his inability to feel the holiness (‘Or’) of the Sukkah is pained that the saying of the Mitteler Rebbe does not affect him. Accordingly, sleeping in the Sukkah causes him pain. For how is it possible that he is able to (neglect the saying of the Mitteler Rebbe) and sleep without pain in the Sukkah - therefore this pain frees him from sleeping in the Sukkah.

[And even though the pain does not come from the Sukkah itself, but rather from a side issue (from his low state, that the saying of the Mitteler Rebbe does not affect him) – the Halacha, nevertheless is, that one who is pained is free from sleeping in the Sukkah, not just in a case where the pain comes from the Sukkah itself, but also when the reason for the pain (in dwelling in the Sukkah) is from an external cause, for example cold or rain etc.

Therefore also in our case since, in actuality, his sleep is connected with pain (due to “coldness” (kor), since it does not conform to the saying of the Mitteler Rebbe, he is free from sleeping in the Sukkah.]

And may it be the will of G-d, that we soon actually merit the Sukkah (made from the skin) of Leviathan, and in general (the fulfillment of the verse): “Spread over us the Sukkah of Your peace” – the future revelation (of which a glimmer illuminates in the Makif of the Sukkah) – the true and complete Geulah through our righteous Moshiach, speedily and in our days, mamosh.

(m’Sichas Second day of Sukkot,

Day of Simchat Torah and Shabbat Bereshit, 5730)

 

Links:

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/92423/jewish/Sukkos.htm pp. 223-225
 
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