Sukkah, Daf Vav, part 5
Introduction
Today's section returns to the original mishnah and the topic of how many walls are
necessary to build a proper sukkah.
.‫ושאין לה שלש דפנות‬
:‫ רבי שמעון אומר‬.‫ ושלישית אפילו טפח‬,‫ שתים כהלכתן‬:‫תנו רבנן‬
.‫ ורביעית אפילו טפח‬,‫שלש כהלכתן‬
Or a sukkah which does not have three walls.
Our rabbis taught: Two [walls] must be of the prescribed
dimensions, and the third [may be] even one handbreadth.
Rabbi Shimon says: Three walls must be of the
prescribed dimensions, and the fourth [may be] even one
handbreadth.
The rabbis (the majority opinion) hold that the sukkah must have three walls. Two
walls must be at least of the minimum size (which we learned on daf gimmel—
enough to hold his head, most of his body and table) and the third can be even a
handbreadth.
Rabbi Shimon says the sukkah requires three proper walls. The fourth wall may be as
small as a handbreadth.
‫ יש אם‬:‫ ורבי שמעון סבר‬,‫ יש אם למסורת‬:‫במאי קמיפלגי? רבנן סברי‬
.‫למקרא‬
‫ הרי כאן‬- ‫ בסכת בסכת בסכות‬+‫ויקרא כג‬+ ,‫ יש אם למסורת‬:‫רבנן סברי‬
‫ ואתאי הלכתא‬,‫ שתים כהלכתן‬.‫ פשו להו תלתא‬- ‫ דל חד לגופיה‬,‫ארבע‬
.‫ ואוקמה אטפח‬,‫וגרעתה לשלישית‬
‫ דל‬,‫ הרי כאן שש‬- ‫ בסכות בסכות בסכות‬:‫ יש אם למקרא‬:‫רבי שמעון סבר‬
‫ אתאי הלכתא וגרעתה‬,‫ שלש כהלכתן‬.‫ פשו להו ארבע‬- ‫חד קרא לגופיה‬
.‫לרביעית ואוקמתה אטפח‬
What principle are they arguing about?
The rabbis hold that the traditional Scriptural text is
authoritative, while R. Shimon holds that the traditional
reading is authoritative.
‘The rabbis hold that the traditional Scriptural text is
authoritative’, and the word Sukkoth occurs twice
defectively and once with the full spelling, making four
references. Deduct one for the law itself, and three
remain; two [walls at least] must be of the prescribed
dimensions, and tradition came and diminished [the
prescribed minimum of] the third, reducing it to only one
handbreadth.
‘R. Shimon holds that the traditional reading is
authoritative’. The word Sukkoth is read three times,
which equals six [references]. Deduct one Scriptural
reference for the law itself and four remain; three walls at
least of prescribed dimensions, and tradition came and
diminished the [prescribed minimum of the] fourth and
reduced it to a handbreadth.
The Talmud now tries to figure out the source of this debate—what is the underlying
reasoning behind their dispute?
This debate is connected to a debate about whether to understand the Torah as it is
pronounced or how it is spelled. This is an issue because the Torah does not have
vocalization in it. In other words, there are no vowels.
There 3 cases in which the phrase "the Festival of Sukkot" is mentioned. Two of them
are written like this: ‫ חג הסכת‬and one is written like this ‫חג הסכות‬. The first way is with
the vav which makes the world plural and the second without it. But all three cases
are pronounced the same—in the plural. [Note that the way we write the Torah is not
exactly like this].
The rabbis give authority to the way the Torah is written. Therefor there are a total of
four "sukkot" in the Torah for the cases in which it is written without a vav count as
only one. One mention of sukkot is necessary just to teach you that you need to build
a sukkah. That leaves three extraneous "sukkot" for three walls. Tradition teaches that
the third wall need not be real. That leaves us with two real walls and one that need
only be a handbreadth.
R. Shimon holds that the way we pronounce the Torah is authoritative. So there are a
total of six "sukkot" in the Torah. One mention is needed to teach the law itself. That
leaves four "sukkot"—four walls. Tradition says that one wall can be as small as a
handbreadth, which leaves us with 3 full walls and one fictional one.