Hands-On Gemara!

A HUGE Yasher Koach to Rabbi Shusterman and the Shiur Beis Bochurim for bringing their Gemara learning to life.
In this post you will catch a glimpse of the Sugya in Meseches Sukkah that the Bochurim are learning and the creative "Mini Sukkos" they designed and created depicting the different Halochos.

ENJOY!

 ZEVI FEIGENSON AND YOSSI KAGAN:

                 סוגיא ח: דף ג:- ד.

The Gemara states: "A sukkah above 20 Amos is Possul"

The Gemara asks: How could we rectify this problem?

Answer: you can either:

1.     Fill up the Sukkah floor with dirt

2.     Fill up the Sukkah floor with hay

3.     Lower your Schach until it hangs below 20 amos

The Gemara also says that if you fill up the floor of the Sukkah with pillows and mattresses, which are valuable, even if they are worthless to you, you still cannot use them because of a rule בטול דעתו אצל כל אדם  ₁

R’ Yosi and the Rabanan argue on when you can use dirt or hay as a filler

Rabanan: it only works if you specifically say it’s worthless

R’ Yosi: you can use dirt that you don’t plan on moving , hay that you don’t plan on moving and dirt that you didn’t make it בטול

Yehuda Jalusi and Boruch Koussevitsky

ברוך ויהודה

גמרא ב.

רבה brings a posuk "In order for the generations to know that I made the Jews sit in סוכות" He holds that when a סוכה is under 20 amos, a person knows that he is sitting in a סוכה, but above 20 amos a person is not aware that he is sitting in a סוכה, because your eyes don't see the סכך.

 Rabbi Zeira brings a posuk saying "shade from the סוכה by day from the scorching heat". He holds until 20 Amos a person gets shade from the סכך. But above 20 Amos a person gets from the walls, not from the סכך. Abaye asks a question to Rabbi Zeira. If you have a סוכה in a valley how can it be kosher if you are getting shade from the walls and not the סכך? He answers him saying, if you take away the mountains then you will have shade from the סכך.

Rava brings a posuk saying "For 7 days you should dwell in a סוכה". He holds that you have to go from your permanent place to a temporary place. Until 20 Amos a person is in a temporary place but above 20 Amos a person makes a permanent place which is פסול. Abaye asks a question saying that if you make a סוכה lower than 20 Amos but it’s made out of iron walls which are holding the סכך is it posul or kosher [it’s a permanent dwelling but its lower than 20 amos]? Rava clarifies, “I meant to say that below 20 Amos means that it can be a temporary place or a lasting structure that will last for more than 7 days. But above 20 Amos it’s a permanent place which is פסול. 

 

Yossi Granat  .דף ו

My project is about the מחלוקות between רבי שמעון and the רבנן regarding how many walls a סוכה needs to be כשר.

       רבי שמעון learns from the פסוק that a כשר סוכה needs to have 3 הלכיק walls and the third could even be a טפח .

       The רבנן learn from the פסוק that a כשר סוכה needs to have 2 הלכיק walls and the third could be a טפח.

       There are 4 ways to learn this מחלוקות but if I wrote them all this would take too long so I’m only going to explain 1 way. It says בסוכות 3 times in theתורה . Twice missing a "ו" (סוכת) and once with the "ו" (סוכות).

        רבי שמעון holds יש אם למקרא- we look at the way they are read - that they are all plural and one teaches us the הלכה of סוכה itself and the others teach us how many walls which is 4. But we use the דין of  אתאי הלכתא לגרע – that the הלכה משה מסיני is to take off one if the walls - and you’re left with a טפח.

       Theרבנן  holdיש אם למסורת  - we look as how it is written - that there is 1 plural and the rest are singular. One teaches us the הלכה of סוכה itself then you’re left with 3 and we use the din of אתאי הלכתא לגרע and you’re left with a טפח.   

B”h

Moshe and Sruli

“Sukka Gedola”

Bais Shamai says you can’t have your Sukkah in your house because you might want the ice cream so much you’ll end up eating in your house.

Bais Hillel says we aren’t afraid of this (they don’t like ice cream)

But we Pasken like Bais Shamaiץ

“Sukka Kitanu”

Bais Hillel holds that the minimum size of a Sukkah is 6 tefachim by 6 tefachim

And Bais Shamai holds that the minimum size is 7 by 7 (including the table)

Yaakov Menoni

&

Schneur Zalman Ackermann

                                     מסכת סוכה דף ב: מעשה בהלני המלכה                                  

Our Sukkah illustarates the Sukkah of Heleni the queen. She had walls that did not reach the schach, because of airflow. 

At first glance we cannot bring her sukkah as a proof for R' Yehuda, who says that a sukkah can be over 20 amos. 

The reason her sukkah had to be kosher is because she had seven sons, and at least one of them was the age that is chayav for chinuch, and that's why it says that she always listened to the Chachamim. 

The conclusion is, that she would sit in a separate cubicle for modesty, and her sons and guests would sit in the main sukkah.

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