Sukkah, Daf Tet Zayin, Part 1
Introduction
Our daf begins by discussing a statement cited on the previous daf concerning the use of worn out vessels (clothing) as skkakh.
גופא, אמר רבי אמי בר טביומי: סככה בבלאי כלים – פסולה. מאי בלאי כלים? – אמר אביי: מטלניות שאין בהם שלש על שלש, דלא חזיין לא לעניים ולא לעשירים.
[Reverting to] the main text: R. Ammi b. Tavyomi said: If he covered with discarded vessels it is invalid .
What are discarded vessels?
Abaye said, Small strips of cloth less than three [handbreadths] square which are unfit to be used either by rich or by poor.
R. Ammi doesn’t allow one to use worn out discarded vessels as skhakh. We should note that this is true even if they follow the other rules governing skhakh. The cloth is from a plant so this is something that grew from the ground and is no longer attached to the ground. Second, discarded vessels are no longer susceptible to impurity. Nevertheless, they can’t be used as skhakh.
Abaye explains that these discarded vessels are small pieces of cloth, so small that even poor people wouldn’t use them. Anything larger than that cannot be used for skhakh because it is susceptible to impurity.
תניא כוותיה דרבי אמי בר טביומי: מחצלת של שיפא ושל גמי, שיריה, אף על פי שנפחתו מכשיעורה – אין מסככין בהן. מחצלת הקנים, גדולה – מסככין בה, קטנה – אין מסככין בה, רבי אליעזר אומר: אף היא מקבלת טומאה, ואין מסככין בה.
It has been taught in agreement with R. Ammi b. Tavyomi: Matting of rushes or straw, its remnants, even if diminished from the minimum measure, may not be used for skhakh. A mat of reeds, a large one may be used for skhakh, a small one may not be used for skhakh.
R. Eliezer said: It too is susceptible to impurity and may not be used as skhakh.
The Talmud now cites a baraita that agrees with R. Ammi b. Tavyomi. However, the agreement is subtle. The baraita says that matting made of reed or rushes can never be used for skhakh. Since this matting was once a vessel, it can never be used for skhakh even if it is now smaller than the minimum measure.
However, a large mat of reeds was never made to be a vessel. We can assume that such a mat was made for skhakh from the outset. A small mat of reeds may have been made for sitting or lying upon. Since it is a vessel it cannot be used for skhakh.
R. Eliezer says that a large mat made of reeds may also have been made for sitting or lying upon and therefore it too may not be used as skhakh.