Editing Mesechtas Sukkah (section)

=== The Shade of the Sukkah - A Law of the Person or the Object ===
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."

The Rebbe explains beautifully that by adding that the clouds of glory were "for shade so that the heat and sun would not strike them," the Alter Rebbe hints that there are two laws in the shade of the sukkah: (a) from the perspective of the sechach - like the clouds of glory that were "for shade," (b) from the perspective of the person, like the clouds of glory that caused "that the heat and sun would not strike them."

With this, the Rebbe explains the words of the Alter Rebbe regarding the law of "more shade than sun" as follows:<blockquote>"If the sechach is not greater than the open space but they are equal, it is invalid because the sunlight entering through the open spaces in the sechach, when it reaches the floor of the sukkah, spreads out more than it is above in the open spaces of the sechach, and thus the sukkah below at its floor has more sun than shade. But if below at its floor the sun and shade are equal, it is kosher because it is known that above in the sechach the open space is less than the covering and its shade above is greater than its sun, and this is complete sechach."</blockquote>In his words, there is seemingly a contradiction. From his words in the first law, it follows that because the shade and sun are equal, the sukkah should be kosher, and the reason we invalidate the sukkah is only because "the sukkah below at its floor has more sun than shade." However, from his words in the second law, the opposite conclusion emerges - that if the shade and sun are equal, this is not enough to make the sukkah kosher, and the reason the sukkah is kosher when they are equal below is only because "its shade above is greater than its sun."

Additionally, the Alter Rebbe's language that "if below... the sun and shade are equal, it is kosher because... its shade above is greater than its sun, and this is complete sechach" seems unnecessarily lengthy. Why isn't the reason that "its shade above is greater than its sun" sufficient?

Based on the above, the Rebbe explains that the measurement of sechach "above" and the measurement of sechach "below" are two different laws:

# The law of the shade of the sukkah regarding the person "below" is primarily a negative law, meaning it is invalid if for him the sun is greater than the shade, since then it is not similar to the clouds of glory that caused "that the heat and sun would not strike them," but if they are equal there is no invalidation;
# 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.
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