What’s the comparison here? What does one have to do with the other?
The answer is based on some Chassidus about “Makkif vs. Pnimi”. Makkif surrounds us, it is above us and around us, but not necessarily something we internalize and relate to on a very personal level. Pnimi is personal, we relate to it, we internalize it, it becomes part of who we are. Generally, Makkif is often something from a much higher realm, on a higher level, while Pnimi is energy that is modified or channeled down to our level. Often Makkif can be an infinite energy while Pnimi is usually more finite.
So much for the Chassidic Kabbalistical lingo. When it comes down to your plate, we can talk in terms of meatballs and spaghetti. Meatballs are round and symbolize the infinite (circles have no defined beginning or end, which is why we often dance in circles on Simchat Torah) while spaghetti are configured as line segments which by very nature have a beginning and end, and symbolize the finite.
There are two key Mitzvot on the Sukkot holiday: (1) We eat outside in the Sukkah (2) We share the Lulav & Etrog, the Four Species. Sukkah surrounds us, it envelopes us, like Makkif. And the Lulav is a spiritual wand of sorts that draws that overall higher-up Makkif towards us into our personal lives. Most people think we’re shaking the Lulav outward in all directions, but Chabad actually sees it that we’re drawing in, or sucking towards us, all that Makkif towards our heart, from all directions. This explains why Chabad has a special preference to make the blessing on the Lulav while inside a Sukkah when possible. We’re trying to draw that supernal Makkif into a personal Pnimi.
As it is with meatballs and spaghetti. Most don’t eat these separately on their plate. On the contrary! You want the pasta to soak up the flavor of the meat, and you need the base of pasta to support the meatballs. You want them to mingle, to coat and absorb the other. The goal of Sukkot is not for the Makkif and Pnimi, the Sukkah and Lulav to each do their own thing, but instead to bring them together, to bring that higher light down to us in a more personal way.