18.3 - Sukkah Daf 20 B (Misnah)

Summary

Mishna: One who sleeps under a bed in the sukkah has not fulfilled his mitzvah.

Rabbi Yehuda: It was our custom to sleep under the bed in the sukkah in the presence of the Chachomim and they didn’t tell us anything (in those days they wouldn’t hold back criticism if someone was doing something wrong).

Rabbi Shimon: It happened that Tavi, the eved of Rabban Gamliel (this eved was a pious and scholarly man. It was common for the family of the nesi’im to have scholarly servants. We find that the maidservant of Rebbi had certain knowledge that the Chachomim didn’t have) slept under the bed in the sukkah*. Rabban Gamliel pointed out to the Chachomim that Tavi is a talmid chochom and is aware that he is pottur from the sukkah (since an eved is like a woman who is absolved of mitzvos asei she’hazman grama), so he sleeps under the bed which is not considered to be in the sukkah. Thus we learn that one who sleeps under a bed in the sukkah has not fulfilled his mitzvah.

Gemara:

Challenge: But the bed is not 10 tefachim high?!

Resolution: Shmuel explained that our mishna is referring to a bed that is 10 tefachim high**.

We learned there [in Ohalos]:

If [an unintentional ohel was formed; it means that] something was hollowed out by water, by moles, or if it was corroded by salt, [or if an ohel was unintentionally formed by] a pile of stones or wood: constitutes an ohel if it is over a meis.

Rabbi Yehuda: It cannot be an ohel unless it was made intentionally as an ohel.

Question: What is Rabbi Yehuda’s source?

Answer: He learns it from the word ohel that is used regarding the mishkan. Just as the mishkan was built by intentional humans, so too an ohel hameis needts to be made intentionally.

Click here to listen to the shiur with Tosfos:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1svN7dbl20Q5SV16k933VMae0qUYQ3ZCJ/view?usp=drivesdk

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* Tosfos: The Yerushalmi says that he would put on tefillin too. The Yerushalmi asks why they allowed him to put on tefillin (which may mislead people into thinking that he is a full-fledged Jew) but not to sleep in the sukkah. The answer is that he was allowed into the sukkah proper but he wanted to make more room for the Chachomim. The question is though, why he didn’t leave the sukkah entirely to make even more room. The answer is because he wanted to hear the conversations of the Chachomim.

** Tosfos has a discussion about whether this gemara is based on a unanimous opinion or if it’s only Shmuel’s opinion. If it’s unanimous, then we understand the question and the answer. But if it’s only Shmuel’s opinion then we must explain that the question was also asked by Shmuel, not only that he answered the question. This podcast has been graciously sponsored by JewishPodcasts.fm. There is much overhead to maintain this service so please help us continue our goal of helping Jewish lecturers become podcasters and support us with a donation: https://thechesedfund.com/jewishpodcasts/donate