Succah 23b

סוכה כ״ג ע״ב

Sukkah 23b

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Topic

Using a live animal as a סוכה wall: does אביי contradict himself about whether רבי מאיר or רבי יהודה worries that a living being might die?

Overview

This amud opens by finishing אביי's explanation of why רבי מאיר disqualifies a living animal as a סוכה wall. If the animal dies, its body shrinks, and the wall becomes too short without the owner noticing. The גמרא then asks whether אביי really holds that רבי מאיר worries about death and רבי יהודה does not. It recalls an older discussion about תרומה. One משנה lets a כהן's wife keep eating תרומה while her husband is overseas, because we presume he is alive. Another משנה forbids a woman given a גט 'one hour before my death' to eat תרומה right away. In that discussion אביי said the first follows רבי מאיר, who does not worry about death, and the second follows רבי יהודה, who does. That is the reverse of what he said about the סוכה. The גמרא then brings the ברייתא behind אביי's reading: a buyer of wine from the כותים may drink now and separate תרומה and מעשרות later, because רבי מאיר does not worry about a sudden loss. The resolution of אביי's apparent self-contradiction continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (5)

1. ResolutionA dead animal shrinks, and no one notices
2. ChallengeDid אביי really say רבי מאיר worries about death?
3. ChallengeThe contradiction: a גט that takes effect one hour before death
4. Challengeאביי's earlier answer: רבי מאיר does not worry about death
5. ProofWine from the כותים: רבי מאיר lets him drink now and separate later