Rabbi Abba said, Abraham [who represents the sefira of chesed/kindness, and who was kind to all who came to his house] throughout his life used to stand at the crossroads to invite guests and set tables loaded with food for them [intending by his love for the physical guests to draw down flow to the Shechinah from the spiritual guests]. Now, if one invites him and all the other righteous and King David but does not give them their share, Abraham stands up from the table and cries, "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men," (Num. 16:26) and everyone walks away after him. Isaac says, "but the belly of the wicked always feels empty," (Prov. 13:25) and Jacob says, "The morsel which you have eaten shall you vomit up." (Prov. 23:8) The rest of the righteous say, "For all tables are full of vomit and filth, so that there is no place clean." (Isaiah 28:8)

King David
[who represents the sefira of malchut], executes the judgment (on that person with no poor guests at his table), as it is said [of Nabal who did not want to give David food to eat]: "And it came to pass about ten days after, that G‑d smote Nabal, and he died." (I Samuel 25:38) What does this mean? This is because David asked Nabal to accept him as a guest, but he declined. So too, [he who dwells in the sukkah] he invited him (David, as a member of the Ushpizin) yet did not give him his share [(by inviting also earthly guests1) G‑d punishes like He did Nabal, during the 10 Days of Penitence] During the ten days, when [malchut called] King David judges the world, that man is punished for behaving even worse than Nabal [for Nabal did not invite David to his meal, but this man did invite him but then did not give him his share, which makes him worse than Nabal].

Rabbi Elazar said, The Torah does not trouble a person to give more than what he can afford, as is written, "every man shall give as he is able." (Deut. 16:17) One must not say, let me eat and be full and slake my thirst first, and give the rest to the poor. Rather the first portion belongs to the guests. G‑d is happy with he who gladdens the guests and satiates them and Abraham says about him, "then shall you delight yourself in G‑d," (Isaiah 58:14) and Isaac calls, "No weapon that is formed against you shall succeed
(to hurt you)." (Isaiah 54:17)

Rabbi Shimon said, King David
[the secret of malchut] recited this verse, because all the weapons of the King and the King's wars were delivered to David's hands. But Isaac says, "His seed shall be mighty upon earth...Wealth [which comes from the side of gevura, like Isaac] and riches shall be in his house..." (Ps. 112:2-3)

Jacob said, "Then shall your light break forth like the morning." (Isaiah 58:8) The other righteous
[Moses, Aaron, and Joseph] say, "and G‑d shall guide you continually, and satisfy you..." King David said, "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper," because he was appointed over all the weapons in the world.

Happy is the lot of the man who merited all this. Happy is the lot of the righteous in this world and in the World to Come. Of them it is written, "Your people also shall be all righteous..." (Isaiah 60:21)

BeRahamim LeHayyim: Why are we Jews? How did we get to this place right now? The answer is Abraham, who was the first Monotheist in history.

His special mitzvah was hospitality to guests. Three days after circumcision, when the pain is at its greatest, he sat in the heat of the day, at the front of his tent in G‑d's presence. He saw 3 travelers, so he turned his back on G‑d and ran after them. At age 99. 3 days after circumcision. In the heat of the day. He willingly forwent his opportunity of speaking/communing with the Eternal. All this to do the mitzvah of hospitality.

We too have a golden opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of hospitality during Sukkot. On the first day, our forefather Abraham is our special lead guest. Praise him for his deed. If you can't bring a poor guest, give some money to charity to enable the poor to have a festive meal of their own.

What does the above mean for your Sukkot, and why is it being revealed for you now?


Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries
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