Sukkah, Daf Kaf Aleph, Part 5
Introduction
This section relates to R. Shimon’s statement in the mishnah back at the end of Daf Kaf.
אמר רבי שמעון מעשה בטבי עבדו. תניא, אמר רבי שמעון: משיחתו של רבן גמליאל למדנו שני דברים; למדנו שעבדים פטורים מן הסוכה, ולמדנו שהישן תחת המטה לא יצא ידי חובתו.
R. Shimon said: It happened that Tabi the slave etc.
It has been taught: R. Shimon said: From the casual conversation of R. Gamaliel we have learned two things. We learned that slaves are free from the obligation of Sukkah, and we learned that he who sleeps under a bed [in a Sukkah] has not fulfilled his obligation.
This is a more expanded version of R. Shimon’s statement from the mishnah. In the mishnah R. Shimon relates the story of R. Gamaliel who tells the other sages to look at Tabi his slave who is sleeping under the bed, knowing that slaves are exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah but that others who sleep under the bed have not fulfilled their obligation. The baraita teaches pretty much the same thing.
ולימא מדבריו של רבן גמליאל? – מילתא אגב אורחיה קא משמע לן, כי הא דאמר רב אחא בר אדא, ואמרי לה אמר רב אחא בר אדא אמר רב המנונא אמר רב: מנין שאפילו שיחת תלמידי חכמים צריכה לימוד – שנאמר +תהלים א+ ועלהו לא יבול.
But why does he not say, "From the words of R. Gamaliel"?
He informs us of something [else] by the way, like that which R Aha b. Ada, and others say, R. Aha b. Ada in the name of R. Hamnuna said in the name of Rav: From where do we know that even the casual conversation of disciples of the sages demands study? As it says, "And whose leaf does not wither" (Psalms 1:3).
The Talmud inquires why R. Gamaliel said "from the casual conversation of R. Gamaliel" why not just say "from his words?" The answer is that R. Shimon teaches us that even the casual conversation of sages is worthy of study. This is derived from the verse in Psalms 1 which refers to a Torah scholar (see verse 2). Even his leaf, the lightest part of a tree, will not wither, for it too is worthy of study.
There’s a bit of irony here in that when R. Shimon says "casual conversation" he himself is teaching something "casually." So R. Shimon teaches casually that we should pay attention to "casual" conversation.