הַל ַחֹחיִנ ַחיֵר הֵ שִא הָלֹע םֶ תְבַרְקִהְו' ָבְ כ םִיָנְ ש םִליֵא רָ שָע הָ שֹלְ ש רָקָב יֵנְ ב םיִרָ פש ִי ם ב ְנֵי ש ָנָה אַרְ ב ָעָה עָש ָר ויְהִי םִמיִמְ ת.
And you shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Hashem: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; they shall be without blemish.
The Ohr Hachaim explains the reason for the order of the korbanos of Sukkos. The number of young bulls offered each day goes progressively down, beginning at thirteen and continuing to twelve, eleven, and so on. The yomtov of Sukkos is connected to two different mystical dimensions of the number seven; the Jewish and non-Jewish. The seventy Gentile nations comprise the number seven in the “tens,” i.e. 70, and they are compared to young bulls. The total number of bulls brought on Sukkos is seventy, corresponding to the seventy nations. Klal Yisroel’s number is seven, in the “singles.” Their number decreases throughout Yomtov, showing us that they have reached their zenith and are slowly descending into irrelevance and powerlessness. Many matters of Torah are sevens, there are seven korbanos mussaf each yomtov, there are seven days of Yomtov through the year (two days of Pesach, 1 day of Shavuos, 1 day of Rosh Hashana, 1 day of Yom Kippur, 1 day of Sukkos, and one day of Shemini Atzeres), and Shabbos is on the seventh day of the year. Shabbos has a special mystical significance, as it contains the root of the seven days of the week, which correspond to the seven Tzadikim of our history, memorialized in the Ushpizin of Sukkos.
This also explains the difference between the number of sheep offered on Sukkos and those offered on Shemini Atzeres. On Sukkos, we bring fourteen sheep each day, whereas on Shemini Atzeres we only bring seven, like the other Yamim Tovim.
Klal Yisroel’s obligations in this world include two layers. There is the hidden spiritual level and the visible one. The Arizal taught us that many sparks of holiness have been captured by the gentiles, held hostage by the evil forces for many years. Our job, until Moshiach comes, is to redeem those holy hidden sparks. This is the hidden spiritual level. The visible spiritual level is the job of Klal Yisroel to increase spirituality in this world.
During Sukkos, Klal Yisroel bring korbanos corresponding to the nations of the world. This redeems the sparks that are hidden among them. This is why we bring fourteen sheep, seven of which correspond to our visible spiritual layer and seven of which correspond to the hidden one. When the seventy nations of the world have been taken care of, through the korbanos of Sukkos, the hidden level is over. The sparks of sanctity have been released, they are no longer held hostage in the hands of the evil side.
Now, we are alone with Hashem, elevated to the level of his ‘close friend.’ The korbanos correspond solely to our obligation in the visible spiritual sphere, and we only bring one group of seven sheep, which symbolise the holy nation of Klal Yisroel. One young bull remains, as well as one ram. These correspond to the final leg of redemption, when only two nations will exist. The bullock represents Yishmael, and the ram represents Esav. They are the last to be taken care of, before Hashem comes in His full glory and redeems His holy nation.
