Sukkah, Daf Mem Heh, Part 4

 

Introduction

The organizing principle in this section is that the statements are transmitted by Hizkiyah in the name of R. Yirmiyah in the name of R. Shimon b. Yohai. Only the first statement is connected with the topic of the lulav.

 

אמר חזקיה אמר רבי ירמיה משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי: כל המצות כולן אין אדם יוצא בהן אלא דרך גדילתן, שנאמר +שמות כו+ עצי שטים עמדים.

 

Hezekiah said in the name of R. Yirmiyah in the name of R. Shimon b. Yohai: For all of the commandments, one does not fulfil one’s obligation unless [the objects involved] are in the same condition as when they grow, for it is said, "Acacia wood standing up" (Exodus 26:15).

 

Whenever one is using something that grew from the ground for a mitzvah he must use it in the way that it grew, meaning that the part that was below is below and the part that is up top, is towards the top. Rashi gives two examples the boards used in making the Tabernacle, and the lulav. The proof text is the odd phrase in Exodus 26:15, "acacia wood standing up." Why does the Torah need to say "standing up"? Of course, if the planks are used to build the Tabernacle they will be "standing up." R. Shimon b. Yohai interprets this to mean that the part that grew below should be below. The same is true for the lulav. When we take the lulav we take the part that grew out of the trunk in our hands, and the lulav goes up, as it did on the palm tree. Holding the lulav or any of the other species upside down would prevent one from fulfilling his obligation.

 

תניא נמי הכי: עצי שטים עמדים – שעומדים דרך גדילתן.

דבר אחר: עמדים – שמעמידין את ציפוין.

דבר אחר: עמדים – שמא תאמר אבד סיברם ובטל סיכויין, תלמוד לומר עצי שטים עמדים שעומדים לעולם ולעולמי עולמים.

 

So it was also taught, "Acacia wood standing up": that they should stand in the manner of their growth.

Another interpretation: "Standing up" implies that they held their [gold] overlaying.

Another interpretation: "Standing up." Lest you may say, Their hope is lost, their chances have disappeared" Scripture states, "Acacia wood standing up" implying that they will stand for ever and to all eternity.

 

The Talmud cites a supporting baraita containing several more interpretations of "standing up." The first interpretation is the same as that from before.

The second interpretation is connected to the gold covering made for the boards. The word "standing up" means that the gold covering should be nailed into the boards, according to Rashi’s interpretation. It shouldn’t just be a complete overlaying that could stand on its own.

The final interpretation is more aggadic. Despite the fact that these boards are wood, these boards will last forever, not just their gold covering.

 

ואמר חזקיה אמר רבי ירמיה משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי: יכול אני לפטור את כל העולם כולו מן הדין מיום שנבראתי עד עתה, ואילמלי אליעזר בני עמי – מיום שנברא העולם ועד עכשיו, ואילמלי יותם בן עוזיהו עמנו – מיום שנברא העולם עד סופו.

 

Hezekiah further stated in the name of R. Yirmiyah who said it in the name of R. Shimon b. Yohai: I am able to exempt the whole world from judgment from the day that I was born until now, and Eliezer, my son, were to be with me [we could exempt it] from the day of the creation of the world to the present time, and were Yotam the son of Uzziah with us, [we could exempt it] from the creation of the world to its final end.

 

R. Shimon b. Yohai now talks about his own merit, and that of his sons. This line is related to a famous aggadah about R. Shimon b. Yohai and his son (Shabbat 33b) and their time in the cave. Their suffering there was sufficient to protect the whole world from its sins. Also their Torah learning was great enough to save the whole world from the consequences of their lack of dedication to the Torah.

Here R. Shimon b. Yohai adds in Yotam son of Uzziah, whose merit is even greater than his or his son’s. The one mention of Yotam in the Tanakh is in II Kings 15:6, that while his father the leper "lived in isolated quarters, while Yotam, the king’s son, was in charge of the palace and governed the people of the land." The rabbis understand this to be a sign of Yotam’s respect for his father instead of just becoming king, he ruled in the king’s name. There may also be a sense in this legend that Yotam was a decent person at a time when all of the kings were doing "what was displeasing to the Lord." The Tanakh doesn’t say that Yotam was good, but neither does it say that he was bad. That may be sufficient in times of such great evil.