Misna Szuka Jegyzetek

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A kabbalistic approach: The three festivals listed here in their proper sequence correspond to the three patriarchs who represented the three attributes of חסד, דין, רחמים, “loving kindness” (undeserved), “Justice,” “Mercy” (allowance being made for man’s inadequacy). Pessach symbolises that on the one hand G’d practiced judgments on the Egyptians when He killed their firstborn, whereas at the same time He extended kindness to us by “passing over” the houses of the Jewish people. [Remember that G’d did not entrust this task to an angel, as angels do not have the latitude to extend this kind of kindness when it is not warranted by some merits. Ed.]
Onkelos translates the word ופסח, which we normally translate as “he passed over,” (Exodus 12,23) as ויחוס, “He displayed loving kindness.” This is also reflected in Psalms 136,10: “Who struck Egypt through their first-born, His steadfast love is eternal.” Whereas this plague was judgment meted out to the Egyptians, it was a great act of kindness for the Israelite firstborn.
Shavuot corresponds to the attribute of Mercy, an attribute which usually reconciles the opposing demands of the attributes of Chessed and Justice respectively. This is why the sages in Berachot 58 consider the term והתפארת in Chronicles I 29,11 as referring to the giving of the Torah. The Torah was given under the exclusive aegis of the tetragram. Sukkot on the other hand, corresponds to the attribute of Justice.
The very word סוכה is interpreted in Megillah 14 as “Holy Spirit” [Avraham was told by G’d to submit to the dictates of Sarah known already as יסכה when introduced in Genesis 11,29. She was covered like a סוכה with Holy Spirit.] When David writes in Psalms 68,18: “the Lord is among them (the myriads of chariots) at Sinai in holiness,” he referred to the difference between סיני בקדש and בקדש סיני respectively. Had the Torah written the latter formulation I would have thought that a place was assigned to the Lord. As it is, it is the reverse. He determines “place,” no one determines a place for Him. He is the “place” of the universe. Even the (whole) universe is not “His place.” The meaning of מקום עולמו is similar to בית עולמו. We find that בית is an allusion to חכמה already in the very first letter ב in the Torah, at the beginning of the Torah. Just as חכמה is known as בית, so סוכה is known as בית (compare Genesis 33,17); in other words סוכה symbolizes חכמה. Solomon reinforces this concept in Proverbs 24,3: “a house is built by wisdom.” The symbolism is extended by our author to include the three walls which the סוכה has to have and which are symbolized by the shape of the letter ב which is closed on three sides. [Although the author sees the festival Sukkot as representing the attribute of Justice, presumably because it follows the activity of that attribute during the early part of the month of Tishrey, he goes out of his way to equate the procedures of building a Sukkah with the emanation חכמה which is only one rung below the highest emanation כתר, and several rungs above that of דין, Justice. Observance of the commandments then signifies that we have successfully contended with that attribute with the conclusion of Yom Kippur. Ed.].