“Ein simchah ke’hatarat ha-sfeikot”—there is no joy like the resolution of doubt.
On the eve of Rosh HaShanah, our sages describe a cosmic pause: the Creator “reconsiders” whether to renew the world. Picture the universe suspended between yes and no—a superposition of existence and non-existence. In the morning, we crown the King with malchuyot; we blow the shofar, and that raw cry slices through uncertainty. The “wavefunction” collapses toward life. Creation is renewed.
Yom Kippur narrows the question: Am I forgiven? Until Ne’ilah’s final moments, we inhabit personal superposition—acquittal and guilt both possible. We repent, we plead. One last shofar blast seals the verdict. Doubt dissolves; we erupt in song and dance. Joy, the Sages teach, is not the absence of questions but the resolution of doubt.
Then comes Sukkot, zeman simchateinu—a week of dwelling inside the answer. We step from the courtroom into the sukkah, the tzela d’meheimnuta, the “shade of faith.” In Chassidic terms, this fragile booth radiates ohr makif, surrounding light: despite walls that sway and a roof through which stars peek and rain drips, we are enclosed by certainty. The sukkah is the Jewish safe room—a place where vulnerability becomes security.
Consider the quantum parallel: Before measurement, an electron’s spin exists in superposition—Up and Down simultaneously mixed, with outcome uncertain. Measurement doesn’t just select an outcome; it establishes the frame in which that outcome has meaning. The Tishrei trilogy mirrors this: Rosh HaShanah measures at the cosmic scale, Yom Kippur at the personal scale, and Sukkot embodies living within the state of certainty—dwelling in trust.
Practice for today: Identify one lingering doubt that drains your joy. Make a decisive “measurement”—a call, a choice, a commitment—that collapses it. Then dwell in the new reality: eat in the sukkah, invite a guest, notice the light through the sekhakh. Certainty deepens when you both choose and then inhabit what you’ve chosen.
Moadim leSimcha! It is explained in Previous Rebbe’s Maamarim Kuntresim Volume 2 page 734 on the verse in prophet Ovadia 1:4 “Should you nest as high as the eagle, Should your eyrie be lodged ’mong the stars, Even from there I will pull you down —declares GOD.” Says the Rebbe: “As high as the eagle”-superior level of Godliness to which “darkness” and the “light” are the same. This level is totally above of our reach. “Even from there I will pull you down -declares God“-through following mitzvot we engage 4 Letter Name of God to reach and manifest this supreme level of Godliness into the world.
-My comment: This interpretation of the Rebbe can be aligned with what is said in Dr. Poltorak’s article (above): that on 3 occasions Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot even with great level of Godliness revealed it is nevertheless still above the level of the world, hence the world is the status of “superposition”. However the performance of the special mitzva of the day: Shofar on Rosh Hashana, Teshuva on Yom Kippur and Lulav and Sukkah on Sukkot creates “wavefunction” delivered by the 4 Letter Name.
The Rebbe explains 2 reasons for such a system why the superior level is not attainable but only via 4 Letter Name.
First reason: The function of the 4 Letter Name is like a special tool with which is possible to reach supreme level of Godliness.
Second reason: The 4 Letter Name which is invoked only via performance of the Mitzvot ensures the this superior level of Godliness will be used to increase Kedusha/holiness in the world and not fall into the “wrong” hands.