Succot Lecture Part Ten: Where Everything Is Holy

Question: Is that consistent with what you are saying about the shechina and the analogies of the mizbeach to sleep in the succah, for example, I’ve heard that the chabad has a custom not to sleep in the succah? Is it dignified, is it giving it the proper kavod if a person sleeps in the succah?

Absolutely.  First of all, I mean we’re pretty sure its halacha. You have to sleep in the Succah, but you have raised an incredible and important point. Which is worthwhile to speak on for hours itself, but simply there is nothing we can do as human beings in our basic functions as human beings that is disrespectful of G-d. There’s nothing you to do that is disrespectful, we know that there is no place that is not filled with G-d’s presence. Which is why we even say in bracha after we relieve ourselves, we say “galui veyadua lifnei chisei chevodecha,” it is revealed and known in front of Your Thrown of Glory. We just relieved ourselves and now we are speaking about the Thrown of Glory?

Because everything that exists on a physical level exists on a spiritual level as well. Sleep that’s just sleep, you are right, would be in inappropriate. But sleep that is done to fulfill the mitzvah of sleeping in the succah, sleep that is done in order to gain the strength necessary to live a productive life of dvekus – of attachment to Hashem, is as holy as anything else. And there is nothing inappropriate about it. Nothing. 

And by the way if you want to understand the idea of why we say in asher yatzar, “galui veyadua lifnei chisei chevodecha”, we speak after going to the bathroom that it is known in front of G-d’s Thrown of Glory, just look at the story of what we did with the golden hemorrhoids that were laid by the Pelishtim when they returned the stolen ark to the Jewish people. So they had these beautiful wagons and on top of these beautiful wagons they put golden hemorrhoids to remember the hemorrhoids that G-d sent them. And we stored the golden hemorrhoids in the Holy of Holies. And they were made by the pelishtim.  So Rabbi Schwab zt”l explained that this has to do with the concept that even hemorrhoids can be holy!