Mesechtas Sukkah: Difference between revisions

== The Rebbe's Explanations ==

The Alter Rebbe writes:<blockquote>"In sukkot you shall dwell for seven days, so that your generations will know that I caused the Children of Israel to dwell in sukkot when I took them out of the land of Egypt. These were His clouds of glory that surrounded them for shade so that the heat and sun would not strike them, and as an example of this He commanded us to make sukkot that are made for shade so that we will remember His wonders and awesome deeds."</blockquote>The Rebbe asks what is the Alter Rebbe's addition to the language of the Tur, which states "clouds of glory that surrounded them for shade so that the heat and sun would not strike them." Apparently, the fact that they were "for shade" is included in what he wrote "so that the heat and sun would not strike them," so what does he add by writing "for shade"? Similarly, in the continuation of his language, the Alter Rebbe adds to the Tur's wording - "and as an example of this He commanded us to make sukkot that are made for shade," and these words "that are made for shade" do not appear in the Tur.

Although in the Gemara itself this condition is mentioned only regarding the kashrut of the sukkah of gentiles, robbers, and shepherds, saying that even though these sukkot were not made for the sake of the mitzvah, they are nevertheless kosher if they were made for shade, the Alter Rebbe writes that this is a condition for every sukkah, to the extent that the intention of its construction needs to be solely for "shade alone," without any mixture of another intention - "to use it (also) for modest purposes," or even that it would be "also for shelter and protection from rain and storms" - because according to the Alter Rebbe, this is the definition of the mitzvah of sukkah, that it should be made for shade alone like the clouds of glory "that surrounded them for shade."

The Alter Rebbe writes in his Shulchan Aruch: "His clouds of glory that surrounded them for shade so that the heat and sun would not strike them etc." Seemingly, the Alter Rebbe's addition of the word "for shade" is not understood, even though it is consistent with the continuation of his language "He commanded us to make sukkot that are made for shade" as mentioned above. This appears to be a duplication of language, and even if he had written only "so that the heat and sun would not strike them," the continuation would have been understood as related to "He commanded us to make sukkot that are made for shade."

# In contrast, the law regarding the sechach of the sukkah is a positive matter, that the sechach of the sukkah should be "for shade," and this is specifically when "its shade is greater than its sun," as then it is "complete sechach," but even when they are merely equal there is no invalidation, it's just that it is not "complete sechach" - as precise in the language of the Alter Rebbe.

In defining the mitzvah of sukkah, the Alter Rebbe emphasizes that the sukkah is "for shade" as mentioned above, intending to hint that the main definition of the sukkah is not that for the person there must not be a situation of "more sun than shade," but rather the requirement that the sechach should be made "for shade," "more shade than sun."

* The Tzemach Tzedek Rebbe, "Masechet Sukkah," '''Tzemach Tzedek on the Shas''', Brooklyn, 5755 (1995), pages 70-146, on the HebrewBooks website