Succah 24a

סוכה כ״ד ע״א

Sukkah 24a

Learn Succah 24a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Does רבי מאיר or רבי יהודה worry that an animal used as a סוכה wall might die (חיישינן למיתה)? Each position is compared with their dispute about drinking untithed wine before separating תרומה and מעשר.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a challenge from a ברייתא about wine bought from כותים. רבי מאיר lets a person drink now and separate the tithes later, so he does not worry that the wineskin will burst. רבי יהודה forbids it, which seems to show that he does worry. The גמרא answers 'איפוך' and reverses the positions: רבי מאיר worries that an animal used as a סוכה wall might die, and רבי יהודה does not. The reversal raises contradictions inside each תנא. רבי מאיר answers that death is common, but a wineskin rarely bursts because it can be guarded. רבי יהודה's ruling on the wine rests on his rejection of ברירה, not on fear of bursting, and his backup wife for the כהן גדול is a special stringency for יום כיפור. The גמרא then challenges רבי מאיר from the law of גולל. In response, רב אחא בר יעקב gives two Torah-level reasons why an animal is not a wall for רבי מאיר: it 'stands by air', or it is not made by a person. The amud ends with the case of an inflated wineskin, which shows the difference between the two versions and finishes on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (17)

1. ChallengeThe other תנאים forbid drinking the wine
2. ResolutionReverse the positions on worrying about death
3. ProofProof from using an animal as a סוכה wall
4. Challengeרבי מאיר contradicts himself
5. ResolutionDeath is common, but a burst wineskin is not
6. Challengeרבי יהודה contradicts himself
7. Resolutionרבי יהודה's real reason is that he rejects retroactive clarification
8. ChallengeThe end of the ברייתא seems to show רבי יהודה does worry about bursting
9. Resolutionרבי יהודה raised the bursting only as an argument against רבי מאיר's view
10. Challengeרבי יהודה prepares a backup wife in case the High Priest's wife dies
11. Resolutionיום כיפור atonement gets an extra stringency
12. StatementBoth earlier reasons make the animal a real wall by Torah law
13. ChallengeChallenge from grave-cover impurity
14. ResolutionNew reason: a wall held up by life-breath is not a wall
15. ResolutionSecond version: a wall not made by people is not a wall
16. QuestionWhat is the difference between the two versions?
17. ResponseThe case of an inflated wineskin