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Week 34 - Tuesday - 18 July 2000

SUKKAH: CHAPTER 2: MISHNAH 6

R. Eliezer says: It is incumbent upon everyone to eat fourteen meals in the sukkah one by day and one by night. But the Sages say: There is no fixed number except for the first night of the Festival. And R. Eliezer further stated: Whoever failed to eat a meal on the first night compensates for it on the last night. But the Sages say: There is no compensation for it. Of this it is said: "That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered".

Kehati

R. Eliezer says: It is incumbent upon everyone to eat fourteen meals in the Sukkah - two each day - one by day and one by night - during all seven days of the Festival. The Gemara explains that he derives this obligation from the Scriptural injunction (Lev. 23:42): "You shall dwell…" which implies normal dwelling; just as generally one eats two meals daily, one in the daytime and one at night, so must he eat in the sukkah.

And the Sages say: There is no fixed number - except that when he does eat, he must eat inside the sukkah. The Sages also base their view on the verse "You shall dwell" but explain that just as at home, one dines when one feels so inclined, so, too, in the sukkah. Hence there is no set number of meals one is required to eat,

Except for the first night of the Sukkot Festival alone - when it is mandatory to eat a meal in the sukkah. This obligation is deduced by the application of the hermeneutic principle of gezerah shavah (the occurrence of the same expression, e.g., "fifteen" in two different contexts, leading to the application of a law explicitly stated in the one instance to the circumstances mentioned in the second). Of Sukkot, it is said (Lev. 23:34): "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month is the feast of Tabernacles", and of Pesah it is stated (ibid. v. 6): "And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread". Now, it is obligatory to eat matzah on the first night of Pesah, for Scripture expressly enjoins (Exod. 12:18): "In the evening you shall eat unleavened bread". The gezerah shavah conveys that just as only on the first night of Pesah it is obligatory to eat unleavened bread, so, too, on the first night of Sukkot alone is it prescribed to eat a meal in the sukkah; during the rest of the Holyday it is optional. If one wants to eat a meal, he eats it in the sukkah, but set meals are not part of his obligation to "dwell" in the sukkah.

And R. Eliezer further stated: Whoever failed to eat a meal on the first night of Sukkot compensates for it on the last night - i.e., on the evening of Shemini Atzeret, by eating an additional meal, though he eats it outside the sukkah.

But the Sages say: There is no compensation for it - for the mandatory meal missed on the first night. Of this it is said: "That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered" (Eccl. 1:15). The opinion of the Sages is accepted Halakhah.

NOTE: In analyzing the Mishnah, the Gemara questions R. Eliezer's second statement: Since R. Eliezer requires that fourteen meals be eaten inside the sukkah, one by day and one by night, how can one compensate for the missed meal after the termination of the Festival? The answer given is that R. Eliezer retracted his statement. Several expositions of this question and answer are given. According to Rashi, the question was: since it is prohibited to eat in the sukkah on Shemini Atzeret, because of "You shall not add to the word which I command you" (Deut. 4:2; 13:1), how is it possible to make up the missed meal on Shemini Atzeret? Hence, R. Eliezer retracted his view that one is obliged to eat fourteen meals during the course of the Sukkot Festival, and accepted the view of the Sages that only on the first night is it mandatory to eat a meal in the sukkah. Accordingly, R. Eliezer (after retracting) and the Sages differ where one had failed to eat a meal on the first night: In R. Eliezer's view, it is possible for him to make up that meal, just as anyone who had not offered his Festival sacrifice on the first day, could bring it on the last (cf. Maharsha); the Sages on the other hand, hold that there is no compensation for the missed meal (cf. Tosafot, who query Rashi's exposition and offer an alternative solution).

Others interpret the query of the Gemara as follows: since R. Eliezer claims that fourteen meals must be eaten in the sukkah, he should have stated, "Whoever misses [any] one of his meals…" Why then did he confine his statement to "Whoever failed to eat a meal on the first night"? The answer is that R. Eliezer retracted and concurred with the Sages that only the meal of the first night is mandatory, and he added that if this mandatory meal was missed, it could be made up on the last night (Hameiri).

SUKKAH: CHAPTER 2: MISHNAH 7

One who had his head and the greater part of his body inside the sukkah and his table inside the house, Bet Shammai rule this invalid but Bet Hillel declare it valid. Bet Hillel said to Bet Shammai: Did it not happen so, that the elders of Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel went to visit R. Yohanah b. Hahorani and found him sitting with his head and the greater part of his body in the sukkah, while his table was inside the house, and they said nothing to him? Bet Shammai said to them, Proof from there? They actually said to him: If you have conducted yourself thus, you have never in your life fulfilled the mitzvah of sukkah.

Kehati

One who had his head and the greater part of his body inside the Sukkah and his table inside the house - according to Rashi, in Talmudic times diners would recline on the left side on couches rather than sit upright, hence: "His head and the greater part of his body" (Gemara 2b).

Bet Shammai rule this invalid but Bet Hillel declare it valid. The Gemara concludes (sukkah 3a) that Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel differ both in respect of a large and a small sukkah. The Mishnah, then, is to be expounded thus: One who had his head and the greater part of his body inside the sukkah but his table inside the house," i.e., the sukkah was large, but the person sat at the entrance, with the table set inside the house: Bet Shammai say he has not fulfilled his obligation and Bet Hillel say he has. Furthermore a sukkah which can only hold his head and the greater part of his body, Bet Shammai declare invalid; Bet Hillel, valid. The reason underlying their difference of opinion is supplied by the Gemara: Bet Shammai fear lest one be drawn after his table (into the house), whereas Bet Hillel do not. The Gemara rules that the sukkah must contain a person's head, the greater part of his body, and his table. From this statement it has been inferred that Bet Shammai's ruling applies to both a large and a small sukkah, for fear of one being drawn after his table and eating inside the house. Hence, the view of Bet Shammai, in both cases, is binding (Alfasi, Rambam). Other authorities believe that the fear of being drawn after his table into the house only applies to a large sukkah, whereas a small sukkah is not considered a "dwelling" altogether. Hence, according to the Gemara the Halakhah is that the sukkah must be large enough to contain his head, greater part of his body and his table. Thus a sukkah too small to contain all three is invalid, following the view of Bet Shammai. As for a large sukkah, the normative ruling is that of Bet Hillel, we do not fear that one might be drawn after his table into the house (Tosefot).

Bet Hillel said to Bet Shammai: Did it not happen so, that the elders of Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel went to visit R. Yohanan b. Hahorani and found him sitting with his head and the greater part of his body in the Sukkah, while his table was inside the house, and they said nothing to him? - substituting our view that he fulfilled his obligation.

Bet Shammai said to them - Do you adduce - proof from there - for you opinion? - They actually said to him: If you have conducted yourself thus, you have never in your life fulfilled the mitzvah of Sukkah properly and as prescribed by the Sages (Ran).

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