Sleep, Sukkah and the Surrounding Light

 Having learned for many years in Litvish Yeshivas, it always bothered me about why Chabad doesn’t sleep in the Sukkah. 

I heard the idea that the holiness of the Sukkah was too intense for them to sleep. But to me, this seemed to contradict blatant halachos in the Gemara and Shulchan Aruch. 

Yes, our halachic codes give exemptions for sleeping in the Sukkah: cold, discomfort, privacy, safety… but overwhelming spiritual lights isn’t one of them!

But as my understanding and appreciation for the world of Penimius Hatorah matured, I decided to take a fresh look at the question, why does Chabad (and other Chassidim) find an exemption from sleeping in the Sukkah. 

It all starts with understanding a concept called Makif of Binah. It was this Makif of Binah that the Mittler Rebbe of Chabad felt the deep presence of and for this reason could not fall asleep in the Sukkah. 

To give some background, in Kabbalah and Chassidus, there are two different types of lights or Divine revelations. There is something called the Or Pnimi (inner light): a Divine energy that enters and is grasped internally by the recipient — limited, measured, integrated.

But there is an entirely different type of light called the Or Makif (encompassing light): a higher Divine energy that cannot be contained inside; it surrounds, hovers, overwhelms — it is felt, but not grasped.

Binah (understanding) is usually a faculty of pnimius, analyzing and internalizing Chochmah (wisdom). But at its highest level, Binah “expands endlessly” (התפשטות בינה עד אין קץ) — the oceanic flow of comprehension, too vast to fully enter vessels.

This expansive aspect of Binah is called the Makif of Binah: it illuminates the soul but cannot be assimilated inwardly.

This concept is discussed in the Arizal himself in Pri Etz Chaim, Shaar Sukkos 4:2 where he writes:

Indeed, the secret of the matter is that the secret of the Sukkah is always in the aspect of the Light of Binah, which shelters the Building.

But what does this mean for us, our understanding of Sukkos and whether we should sleep in the Sukkah at all?

Let’s dive a little bit deeper by going back to that famous sleep of Yaakov Avinu on Har Habayis. 

Yaakov lay his head to sleep and when he woke up he exclaimed (Genesis 28:16) “Surely יהוה is present in this place, and I did not know it!”

Rashi on this Passuk explains that had Yaakov Avinu known how holy this place was, he never would have slept there. 

But this concept is very hard to understand on a simple level. 

Ooops! I didn’t mean to fall asleep at the holiest spot in the world, I’ll try not to do that again. 

We’re talking about someone with cosmic greatness and spiritual sensitivity that we can’t imagine. Someone who is described as having the unique power to unite Kadosh Baruch Hu and His Shekhinah.

So what does this mean on a Penimius level?

The Sfas Emes explains why Yaakov was upset that he slept if Hashem revealed Himself to him in a dream. He elaborates that while visions, dreams, or moments of inspiration can be a gift, the highest level is conscious attachment to Hashem — not being passive, not being “asleep.” True d’veikus is when you are fully awake, aware, and choosing connection. Yaakov valued conscious avodah more than passive inspiration.

He thought that he could create the greatest attachment to Hashem while physically awake, but Hashem had other plans. The Zohar explains that when he said לא ידעתי, I didn’t know it indicates that greatest level of transcendence. He became so absorbed in the Divine that he no longer had awareness of his separate ego. That’s the essence of d’veikus — bittul of “ani.”

From his perspective, he desired to stay conscious, awake, filled with human effort and awareness. But Hashem’s true desire, the revelation that helped Yaakov achieve the vision of that ladder connecting heaven and earth, could only be achieved while sleeping.

And I believe that this has everything to do with Sukkos. The Passuk alludes to this idea that Yaakov Avinu is uniquely connected to Sukkos in Genesis 33:17:

“But Jacob journeyed on to Succoth, and built a house for himself and made stalls for his cattle; that is why the place was called Sukkos.”

The Bais Hamikdash, that holy place where Yaakov slept is also called a Sukkah, as we say in bentching, Sukkot Dovid Hanofeles, the Sukkah of Dovid has fallen.

And let’s bring this idea back to the minhag Chabad.

When the Mittler Rebbi entered a Sukkah, it was like the Kohen Gadol entering the Kodesh Hakodshim. The Ohr Makif of Binah was so overwhelming, it brought his Neshama to such a lofty place, who needs to sleep and who ever could!

He wasn’t preaching or flexing frumkite. He was describing a spiritual reality that he experienced in the most authentic way. And his Chassidim? They are connected to the lofty vision of their Rebbi. Even if they can’t experience it, they understand that there is such a plane to reach, and if they were really holding, they couldn’t sleep in a Sukkah either. Their Neshama knows this to be true even if it is masked over by body and ego. 

Is this practical halacha for all of us? Ask your own rabbi. Personally I try to sleep in the Sukkah whenever possible. But I also can gain an appreciation for those lofty Tzaddikim who experience the Sukkah on a higher level and share the Penimius of why the minhag Yisrael just might be different throughout the ages. 

This is true Simchas Hachag. Connecting to the depth of our own Shoresh Neshama and understanding that different Jews, different tribes, different Tzaddikim can perceive the Light of Hashem in different ways. But that multiplicity ultimately brings us closer to the united vision of Hashem Echad U’Shmo Echad.