The Secret of the Light of the Sukkah and the Tzaddik: Why is a Person Forbidden to Think He Already Knows?
Lesson No. 69 | Motzaei Yom Tov Rishon (the night after the first day of the festival), 15 Tishrei 5756 | A lesson for the yeshiva students
The Sukkah draws its holiness from the Holy of Holies and shines with the light of the tzaddik, but to merit this light, absolute humility is required. Rabbi Berland shlit"a explains why the thought "I already know" is the greatest flaw, and how the understanding that Godliness is infinite obligates us to renew ourselves completely at every moment.
Let us contemplate the secret of the letter Samech (ס). The first letter Samech mentioned in the Torah is in the verse, "And He closed up the flesh in its place" (Genesis 2:21). Similarly, the Midrash brings the verse, "That encompasses the whole land of Havilah" (Genesis 2:11). The esrog (citron) is in the shape of a Samech, hinting that a person must be clean from any blemish.
This is the secret that the holy Zohar states in Parashas Emor regarding the Kohen Gadol (High Priest): "He shall not go out from the courtyard outside." The Kohen Gadol must be clean from any blemish, and he is forbidden to leave the courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple) or to know what is happening outside. He is holy in the Holy of Holies, and therefore his Samech must also be holy when he enters the innermost sanctum to atone for the Jewish people.
The Holiness of the Sukkah and the Light of the Tzaddik
Reb Noson explains that the laws of the Sukkah are learned from the Keruvim (Cherubim). The Kohen Gadol enters the Holy of Holies, recites the Vidui (confession prayer), and atones for the entire Jewish people, and from there he draws out the holiness of the Sukkah. The Gemara in Tractate Sukkah derives the law that a Sukkah must be taller than ten handbreadths from the Keruvim.
An alleyway (mavoi), on the other hand, is the secret of the Sefirah of Malchus (Kingship), the secret of the diminishing of the moon, and therefore it says regarding it, "he should diminish it." But regarding a Sukkah, it says "it is invalid" (if it is too tall), because a Sukkah is the aspect of the sun. The Sukkah is the aspect of "the mother who hovers over her children," the Supernal Mother (Imma Ila'ah). In the Sukkah, the light of the tzaddik shines, whose face radiates like the sun, as it is said, "The face of Moshe is like the face of the sun." Reb Noson writes in the laws of Sukkah that the sechach (roof covering) is the light of the tzaddik, and without the light of the tzaddik, there is no light, wisdom, or knowledge in the world.
Going from One Extreme to the Other: The Danger of Knowing
To merit this light, a person must go from one extreme to the other. Rebbe Nachman says in Torah 62 that we must go from one extreme to the other. A person is forbidden to think, "I have already been to Uman ten times; I already know what Rebbe Nachman is." Rather, he must feel, "I have never been to Uman, I have never been to the Tziyon (holy gravesite), and I have no comprehension whatsoever of what Rebbe Nachman is."
Reb Noson warns that the greatest flaw is when a person thinks he already knows something. If a person thinks he already knows—that he knows there is Rebbe Nachman, that there is a Sukkah, that he understands the comprehension of Hashem, blessed be He—there is no greater destruction and flaw than this. The moment a person decides that everything is already fixed in his mind and he understands everything, he seals himself in the aspect of a dissenter. He does not understand that every single second, we must renew ourselves completely.
Godliness is Infinite: Always Starting Anew
Why must a person leave his home and travel to the tzaddikim, to Meron, to the Kosel (Western Wall), or to Uman? Because at home, he lacks the vessels to receive the overflowing intellect (mochin). With every single step a person takes, he reaches a different point where there is a different contraction (tzimtzum), and from there, spirituality is drawn down from a new aspect.
A person must draw upon himself completely new spirituality and Godliness at every moment. Godliness is infinite. How can one place a limit on the infinite and say, "I know"? Even if you have learned Gemara, Ramban, Rishonim, and Acharonim—this is only the Aleph-Beis. You are still in first grade. Rebbe Nachman said, "All the tzaddikim stood still, but I never stood still; I knew that Hashem is infinite and I have not yet comprehended anything." We must always walk in the aspect of "You have begun to show Your servant" (Deuteronomy 3:24), with the feeling that we have not yet seen anything.
The Destruction of Knowledge Versus New Yearnings
Reb Noson opens the laws of Sukkah with this foundation: Whoever thinks he knows something in the comprehension of Hashem, blessed be He, knows nothing at all. By entering beyond his boundary, he completely destroys his mind. A person who thinks he already knows is at the peak of the destruction of knowledge. If he had even a drop of yearning or desire to know, he has lost everything and is left without a drop of intellect.
The intellect we had a moment ago is already gone. If you understood a wonderful novel insight (chiddush) in the Gemara, in the Midrash, or in Likutey Moharan—you must dance and rejoice over it as much as possible. But immediately after you finish rejoicing, you must begin to yearn for new comprehensions. At every moment, a person must step into a different palace and a different world, and understand that what was a minute ago already belongs to the past, and now a completely new intellect is needed.
Part 1 of 3 — Lesson No. 69