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THEMES of Featured Mystical Classics Articles

Foundation of the Festivals
Without the Jewish Nation, the whole universe lacks meaning and purpose.
"The eighth day shall be a solemn assembly [in Hebrew, "atzeret"] for you."

The word "atzeret", used in connection with this festival, conveys the idea that the Jewish people - "Knesset Yisrael", spiritually speaking - are the purpose of all festivals. In Kabbalistic terms, they are the yesod/foundation", without which the entire legislation of the festivals would lack meaning.
The Fruit of Desire
The Etrog, like Shemini Azteret, rectifies the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
The etrog is not bound up with the other three species, and yet the mitzva is invalid if it is not taken together with them. This is comparable to Shemini Atzeret which is a festival of its own, and yet is supplementary to the first days.
A Holiday for G-d
Intermediate
A Holiday for G-d
On Sukkot, we rejoice that G-d is happy and has seen His judgment proven right.
There is a basic difference between Sukkot and Passover and Shavuot. The latter two denote specific historic events, as opposed to the Sukkot festival, which is a celebration for G-d for the fact that Israel had recovered from the stain on its soul due to the Golden Calf episode.

The larger, bold text is the direct translation of the classic text source.

The smaller, plain text is the explanation of the translator/editor.
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