The text of this letter was sent to various individuals, personally addressed to each one.

B”H,
13 Tishrei,
the Hillula1of the Rebbe Maharash, נ"ע, 5711

Greetings and blessings,

Enclosed is the kuntreis for the coming Sukkos festival that includes a maamar, a sichah, a letter, and a collection of customs. [The intent is that] you share them with people at large, each person in his surroundings, in an appropriate fashion.

For [at the present time, i.e.,] in the holidays of the comprehensive month, the month of Tishrei, more than during the other days of the year, it is demanded of us to show love for our fellow man and for all of us to join together as one.

Rosh HaShanah [is] the day of the crowning of the King, the King of the world, when [G‑d requests] that we accept Him as our King,2 so that “there will be a King in Yeshurun.”3 This comes about through “the heads of the nation gathered together, the tribes of Israel in unity.”3

Before Yom Kippur, it is necessary to appease one’s colleague,4 [so that during their prayers, the Jewish people] will resemble the angels among whom there is no envy or strife.5

On the festival of Sukkos, [the concept of] unity is alluded to by our Sages’ expression:6 “All Israel are fit to dwell in one sukkah.”

And on Shemini Atzeres, [this theme is emphasized by our Sages’ statement that] the Holy One, blessed be He, said: “Bring one bull and one ram,7 because it is difficult for Me [to bear] your separation.”8

And [this then] receives even greater emphasis on the festival of Sukkos through the mitzvah “And you shall take for yourselves”9 the four species, whose symbolism is revealed in several sources — including the teachings of the one whose hillula is commemorated10 ([see the series of maamarim entitled] VeKachah, 5637, ch. 7ff.). Why were these species chosen? Because each one of them alludes to the concept of unity. Moreover, it is necessary to bring them all together as one. (See the comments of Beis Yosef and Turei Zahav in the name of [R. Menachem] Rikanti.)11 Although the esrog refers to those Jews who possess [the virtues of] both Torah study and the observance of mitzvos; the lulav and the myrtles, those who possess [the virtues of] either Torah study and mitzvos; and the willows, those who possess neither virtue — when [they are brought together,] the Holy One, blessed be He, says: “I shall ascend the date palm”12 this refers to the Jewish people. אעלה, “I shall ascend,” serves as an acronym for the names of the four species esrog, aravos (willow), lulav, hadassim (myrtle) (Zohar III, p. 283a, Tikkunei [Zohar], Tikkun 13, et al.). [The reference to the entire Jewish people is reinforced by the preceding verse:]13 “This is your stature, like a palm tree.”

It is possible to extend the literal meaning of the statement of our Sages cited above — that all of Israel are fit to dwell in one sukkah — and the conclusion (stated by Rashi, Sukkah 27b) that this teaches that a borrowed sukkah is acceptable, because it is only through lending [each other their share in the sukkah], that each person would own a perutah’s worth of the sukkah.

[The rationale is that] even with regard to one sukkah — i.e., the essential encompassing light from the Essence of the Ein Sof as explained at the end of the maamar from my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, הכ"מ, included in the [enclosed] kuntreis14— the Torah’s stipulation:15 “make for yourself,” i.e., “from your own resources,”16 has to [be fulfilled. This refers to] a person’s Divine service in the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos and the task of refinement.17 One must own at least a perutah’s worth,18 because for a perutah, “a woman would consent to be acquired [as a wife]” (Kiddushin 3b). This allows for the possibility for us to “live in His presence,”19 with inner vitality (see the end of the [enclosed] maamar).20 Our Sages explained and made it known that a perutah’s worth will not be owned by anyone — regardless of who he is — except through borrowing from the remainder of the Jewish people, because each one is, [from a certain perspective,] more refined than his colleague and each one requires the other.

With blessings for a happy holiday and for success in bringing merit to people at large, that “they form one bond to carry out the will of our Father in heaven with a full heart,”21

M. Schneerson