Sukkah, Daf Kaf Het, Part 3
Introduction
Today’s section consists of just mishnah, specifically two mishnayot which are numbered 2:7-8 in the Mishnah itself. Since I have already explained them as part of the Mishnah Yomit project, the below explanation is taken from there.
I should note that Mishnah Seven, concerning the size of the sukkah, or the position in which a person must sit while eating in a sukkah, was already dealt with in chapter one, on pages 2-3. So the Talmud doesn’t explain this mishnah here. The passage that we will begin to learn tomorrow is on mishnah eight.
1) משנה. מי שהיה ראשו ורובו בסוכה ושולחנו בתוך הבית,
i) בית שמאי פוסלין ובית הלל מכשירין.
2) אמרו להם בית הלל לבית שמאי: לא כך היה מעשה, שהלכו זקני בית שמאי וזקני בית הלל לבקר את רבי יוחנן בן החורנית, ומצאוהו שהיה יושב ראשו ורובו בסוכה ושולחנו בתוך הבית, ולא אמרו לו דבר?
i) אמרו להם בית שמאי: משם ראיה? אף הם אמרו לו: אם כן היית נוהג – לא קיימת מצות סוכה מימיך.
Mishnah Seven
1) One whose head and the greater part of his body were within the sukkah and his table within the house:
i) Bet Shammai say: it is invalid and Bet Hillel say it valid.
2) Bet Hillel said to Bet Shammai: Did it not in fact happen that the elders of Bet Shammai and the elders of Bet Hillel went to visit Rabbi Yohanan ben HaHoroni and found him sitting with his head and the greater part of his body within the sukkah and his table within the house, and they didn t say anything to him?
i) Bet Shammai said to them: From there [you bring] proof? Indeed they said to him, If this is your custom, then you have never in your whole life fulfilled the commandment of the sukkah.
Section one: If someone has a small sukkah, one that is not capable of fitting his entire body, but only his head and most of his body, Bet Shammai declare the sukkah invalid and Bet Hillel say it is valid. Similarly, if one has a large sukkah, a sukkah sufficient to fit his entire body, but he sat with only his head and most of his body in the sukkah, while the rest of his body was out of the sukkah, he would not have fulfilled his obligation according to Bet Hillel.
We should note that the terminology of this mishnah is ambiguous. At first it sounds like the mishnah is discussing where the person sits, regardless of the size of the sukkah. However, the words valid and invalid at the end of section one describe the validity of the sukkah based on its size. Hence, in my explanation I have tried to incorporate both elements. According to Bet Shammai the sukkah must be large enough to encompass his entire body and he must sit with his whole body in the sukkah. Bet Hillel say that the sukkah need only hold his head and most of his body and when sitting in the sukkah, only his head and most of his body need be inside. The table may be outside of the sukkah.
Section two: This story illustrates the argument between Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai. As an aside, we can note from this story and the discussion in 2:1 that space in sukkot might have been tight. This might reflect the reality in the Second Temple period in Jerusalem when many people came to make their pilgrimage. Alternatively, it may reflect the cramped housing and living spaces of 2nd century towns in the land of Israel.
נשים ועבדים וקטנים פטורין מן הסוכה.
קטן שאינו צריך לאמו – חייב בסוכה.
מעשה וילדה כלתו של שמאי הזקן, ופיחת את המעזיבה וסיכך על גבי המטה בשביל קטן.
Mishnah Eight
1) Women, slaves and minors are exempt from the [commandment] of the sukkah.
2) A minor who no longer relies on his mother is obligated in the [commandment] of the sukkah.
3) It happened that the daughter-in-law of Shammai the elder gave birth and he opened up the ceiling and put skhakh on top of the bed[posts] on behalf of the minor.
Section one: Dwelling in the sukkah is a positive time-bound commandment, similar to hearing the shofar. As such, women and slaves are exempt.
Section two: Children are exempt, as long as they rely on their mothers and need to be with them most of the time. According to the Talmud, a child who wakes up in the middle of the night and still cries for his mother is not obligated to dwell in the sukkah. Such a child sleeps where his mother sleeps outside of the sukkah. But if he wakes up and doesn’t need his mother, then he is obligated to sleep in the sukkah.
Section two: In this fascinating story, Shammai the elder opens up a hole in the roof of his house so that his newborn grandson can sleep in the sukkah. Shammai obviously disagrees with the halakhah in the previous section. Shammai the elder is also known to have made his son fast on Yom Kippur, far before he would have understood the meaning of fasting. It seems that Shammai s concept of commandment is not that one must perform an act with intent in order to affect one s inner life (what we call kavvanah ), rather the act must be performed regardless of whether one understands what one is doing. Children must perform mitzvot despite the fact the fact that they clearly don t understand what they are doing.