Sukkah, Daf Nun Vav, Section 2

 

Introduction

Today’s section is a direct continuation of yesterday’s comparison of the debate between Rav and Rabbah b. Bar Hannah over the order of blessings made in the sukkah with Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel’s dispute over the order of blessings of Kiddush.

 

אמר לך רב: אנא דאמרי אפילו לבית הלל, עד כאן לא קאמרי בית הלל התם – אלא שהיין גורם לקידושא שתאמר, אבל הכא – אי לאו זמן, מי לא אמרינן סוכה?

 

[No,] Rav could say to you: I can state my view even according to Bet Hillel, for Bet Hillel stated their ruling only in that case, since the wine is the cause of the sanctification being recited, but not in this case, since even if there were no blessing of the season, would we not still say [the blessing of] the Sukkah?

 

Rav said that we recite the blessing over the festival first and then the blessing over the season, whereas Bet Hillel said that when it comes to Kiddush, the blessing over the wine is first and then the sanctification of the day. These positions seem to differ. However, Rav claims that Bet Hillel made his statement only with regard to Kiddush, where the wine is the mechanism through which Kiddush (the sanctification of the day) is recited. No wine, no Kiddush. In contrast, the blessing over the sukkah is independent from the blessing over the season. It is recited even on subsequent days, when no blessing over the season. Therefore, it comes first.

ורבה בר בר חנה אמר לך: אנא דאמרי אפילו לבית שמאי, עד כאן לא אמרי בית שמאי התם – אלא שהיום גורם ליין שיבא, אבל הכא – אי לאו סוכה, מי לא אמרינן זמן?

 

And Rabbah b. Bar Hannah could say to you: I could state my view even according to Beth Shammai, for Beth Shammai stated their ruling only in that case, since it is the day which causes the wine to be brought, but in this case, if it were not for the Sukkah, would we not still recite [the blessing of] the season?

 

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah says that the blessing over the season comes first and then the blessing over the day. He could claim that Bet Shammai who says that the blessing over the day comes first could agree with him in the case of the sukkah that the blessing of the season is first. Bet Shammai says that the blessing over the day comes first because it is the reason that we drink the wine. No festival/Shabbat, no wine. In contrast, even if one didn’t have a sukkah, he’d still have to recite the blessing over the season. Therefore, the two are independent, and even Bet Shammai could agree that first the blessing over the season is recited and then the blessing over the day.

תנן: בעצרת אומר לו: הילך מצה הילך חמץ. והא הכא, דחמץ עיקר ומצה טפל, וקתני: הילך מצה והילך חמץ, תיובתא דרב! –

 

We have learned: On Shavuot they used to say to the priest, "Here is matzah for you, here is leavened bread." Now here, surely, the leavened bread is the essential feature [of the Festival] and the matzah a secondary one, and yet it teaches, "Here is matzah for you, here is leavened bread." Is this not then a refutation of Rav?

 

The Talmud now raises a difficulty on Rav. On Shavuot there are both the regular showbread which comes in the form of matzah and the leavened bread of the two special loaves for Shavuot. The leavened bread is the essential main sacrifice of the festival, yet the matzah of the regular showbread is mentioned first when both breads are divvied out to the priests. This is a difficulty for Rav who holds that the blessing over the day comes first because that is the main feature of the day.

 

אמר לך רב: תנאי היא, דתניא: הילך מצה הילך חמץ, אבא שאול אומר: הילך חמץ הילך מצה.

 

Rav could say to you: This is a tannaitic dispute; for it has been taught, "Here is matzah for you, here is leavened bread for you." Abba Shaul says: [They said,] "Here is leavened bread for you, here is matzah."

 

Rav resolves the difficulty upon him by referring to a baraita in which there is a tannaitic debate over which comes first the matzah or the unleavened bread. Rav would hold like Abba Shaul who says that they first mentioned the leavened bread, the special sacrifice for Shavuot.

 

דרש רב נחמן בר רב חסדא: לא כדברי רב דאמר סוכה ואחר כך זמן, אלא: זמן ואחר כך סוכה. ורב ששת בריה דרב אידי אמר: סוכה ואחר כך זמן. והלכתא: סוכה ואחר כך זמן.

 

R. Nahman b. R. Hisda expounded: The law is not according to Rav who said, [First the blessing over] the Sukkah and then [that of] the season, rather first [is the blessing of] the season and then [that of] the Sukkah.

R. Shesheth the son of R. Idi said: First [the blessing of] the Sukkah and then [that of] the season.

And the halakhah is that the blessing of the Sukkah is first and then that of the season.

 

Here there is a dispute among later amoraim as to the order of the berakhot. The sugya concludes with a ruling that first we recite the blessing over the Sukkah (leshev basukkah) and then the blessing over the season (shehehiyanu). That is the way the practice remains to this day.