Succah 16a

סוכה ט״ז ע״א

Sukkah 16a

Learn Succah 16a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Bed parts and worn scraps as סכך, hollowing out a גדיש, and hanging walls (מחיצה תלויה)

Overview

This amud continues a discussion of a משנה in מסכת כלים about a bed (מטה). רבי אליעזר and חכמים disagree whether a bed can become טמא while it is taken apart. The גמרא explains which bed pieces still count as כלים: a side board with its two legs, which can be leaned on a wall and strung with ropes to sit on. This matters for סוכה because anything that can become טמא is פסול as סכך. The גמרא then turns to רבי אמי בר טביומי, who rules that worn-out scraps of כלים are פסול as סכך. אביי defines these scraps, and a ברייתא about leftover mat pieces and reed mats supports רבי אמי. Next, רב הונא limits the משנה about hollowing out a גדיש: it is a kosher סוכה if a space one טפח high over seven טפחים already existed. This is shown in two versions, first as a proof and then as an answer to a contradiction. Finally, a new משנה discusses walls lowered from above. The גמרא explains that רבי יוסי and חכמים disagree about whether a מחיצה תלויה works, and it begins citing a משנה from עירובין about a cistern, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (21)

1. StatementA מחלוקת about whether a dismantled bed can become impure
2. QuestionWhich bed parts do the Sages mean?
3. ResponseA long side with two legs and a short side with two legs
4. QuestionWhat use do these pieces have?
5. ResponseLean them on a wall, string ropes, and sit on them
6. Statementרבי אמי: roofing with worn-out vessel scraps is invalid
7. QuestionWhat counts as 'worn-out vessels'?
8. Responseאביי: scraps of cloth smaller than three by three fingerbreadths
9. ProofA ברייתא about mat remnants supports רבי אמי
10. StatementLarge reed mats may be used as roofing, small ones may not
11. Statementרב הונא limits the משנה about hollowing out a grain stack
12. ProofA ברייתא says hollowing out a grain stack does make a סוכה
13. ChallengeBut the משנה says it is not a סוכה
14. ConclusionSo the ברייתא proves רב הונא is right
15. ChallengeSecond version: the משנה and ברייתא contradict each other
16. Resolutionרב הונא: each source is talking about a different case
17. StatementNew משנה: Walls lowered from above versus walls built from below
18. Statementרבי יוסי: A hanging wall only needs to be ten handbreadths
19. QuestionWhat is the root of the disagreement?
20. ResponseThe dispute is about whether a suspended partition counts
21. StatementA related משנה: The cistern between two courtyards