Sukkah, Daf Het, Section five

 

Introduction

The baraita cited above ended with the words, "any sukkah whatsoever" is valid. Obviously this doesn’t mean any sukkah is valid. There are some types of sukkot that are invalid. So the Talmud asks what other types of sukkot are valid that weren’t mentioned in the other baraitot.

 

מכל מקום לאתויי מאי? – לאתויי סוכת רקב"ש. דתנו רבנן: סוכת רקב"ש; סוכת רועים, סוכת קייצים, סוכת בורגנין, סוכת שומרי פירות, סוכה מכל מקום – כשרה, ובלבד שתהא מסוככת כהלכתה.

 

What does "any sukkah whatsoever" come to include?

It includes the sukkot [whose mnemonic is] rakbash, as our rabbis taught: The sukkah of shepherds, the sukkah of fig-watchers, the sukkah of city guards, and the sukkah of orchard-watcher, and any sukkah whatsoever is valid, provided that it is covered according to the rule.

 

The Talmud connects the previous baraita to another baraita based on a mnemonic device. This baraita states that sukkot built for people who are basically guarding property is valid. These sukkot were obviously not made for Sukkot. Nevertheless, they are valid, as long as they were covered "according to the rule."

 

מאי כהלכתה? – אמר רב חסדא: והוא שעשאה לצל סוכה.

 

What is meant by according to the rule ?

R. Hisda answered: provided [the covering] was made [with the intention of providing] the shade for the sukkah.

 

This is the same explanation of "according to the rule" found in the previous section. See there for an explanation.