October 1955
To the friends, may they live long,
I have no news and I hope that the Creator will make my way successful.
I am writing to you a summary of the talk I gave to the students of Rav Desler concerning the Sukkah (a hut on the festival of Sukkot), called “shadow of faith.”
A Sukkah means thatch, which is the waste of barn and winery. A thatch is called “shade,” and shade is called “concealment of the face.” In order not to have the bread of shame, we have room for work, meaning that we can engage in Torah and Mitzvot although we feel no flavor or vitality. Naturally, afterwards we can receive the vitality and not blemish the gift, meaning that the gift will not be blemished due to the shame that is present in the receiver.
And before we can receive the vitality of the Torah, we must receive vitality form corporeal things because without vitality it is impossible to live. This is why the Creator has prepared for us reception of vitality from corporeality. This means that vitality is called “light” and “pleasure,” and pleasure is spirituality. It is a rule that there is no light without a Kli (vessel), meaning there is no such thing as pleasure without clothing. For this reason, the whole difference is not in the pleasure, called “light,” but in the clothing, meaning in the Kli, since there is a clothing of falsehood, and clothing of truth.
This is similar to a five-year-old girl playing with a doll. The girl is playing with the doll as though the doll is a real child with feelings. And although the doll does not respond, she talks to it. At the same time, if there is a six month old baby in the house, and he is crying, and the five year old girl is told, “Go play with the real baby and we will benefit as well because the baby will not cry,” she will refuse completely. That is, she cannot derive pleasure from a clothing of truth, but from a clothing of falsehood. But as for the pleasure, we see that the girl is feeling real pleasure.
But when the girl has grown to be eighteen, she must derive pleasure from a clothing of truth. Likewise, before we grow up, we derive pleasure specifically from Lo Lishma (not for Her sake), regarded as “clothing of falsehood.” This is called “shadow,” “concealment,” and then there is room for work, and we derive vitality from false things. Afterwards, when we are rewarded, we receive the light of faith.