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Succah 47a

סוכה מ״ז ע״א

Sukkah 47a

Learn Succah 47a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Succah 47a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

שמיני ספק שביעי in חוץ לארץ (sitting in the סוכה without a ברכה), and why שמיני עצרת is a separate holiday that gets זמן.

Overview

Outside ארץ ישראל, the eighth day (שמיני עצרת) might really be the seventh day of סוכות. This is called שמיני ספק שביעי. The גמרא gives two versions of the מחלוקת about this day. In one version, everyone agrees we sit in the סוכה and the argument is about the ברכה. In the other version, everyone agrees there is no ברכה and the argument is about sitting. The final הלכה is that we sit in the סוכה but do not make the ברכה. Next, רבי יוחנן rules that we say שהחיינו (זמן) on שמיני עצרת but not on the seventh day of פסח, because שמיני עצרת is a holiday of its own. The גמרא proves this in several ways: the eighth day's מצוות are different, it breaks from the day right before it, and the פסוקים about its offerings use different wording. The amud ends with a ברייתא in which רבי יהודה calls שמיני a רגל בפני עצמו, with its own קרבן, שיר, ברכה, and לינה.

Opening lines

לְבָרוֹכֵי.

[they argue] about making the blessing.

לְמַאן דְּאָמַר שְׁבִיעִי לְסוּכָּה —

According to the one who says it is 'seventh' regarding the sukkah —

בָּרוֹכֵי נָמֵי מְבָרְכִינַן,

we also make the blessing,

לְמַאן דְּאָמַר שְׁמִינִי לָזֶה וְלָזֶה —

according to the one who says it is 'eighth' for this and for that —

The steps (19)

  1. StatementThe first version: the argument is about the blessing
  2. Proofרב יוסף: follow רבי יוחנן, as the great rabbis sat without blessing
  3. ChallengeMaybe they skipped the blessing for a different reason
  4. ResolutionThey had just come from the fields
  5. StatementThe second version: the argument is about sitting
  6. Proofרב יוסף: the master of the teaching sat outside the סוכה
  7. ConclusionFinal ruling: sit in the סוכה but do not bless
  8. Statementרבי יוחנן: say שהחיינו on שמיני עצרת, not on the seventh of פסח
  9. ProofProof: The eighth day is different in three ways
  10. ResolutionEven by רבי יהודה's view, two differences remain
  11. ChallengeChallenge: The seventh day of Pesach is also different
  12. ResolutionAnswer: Pesach differs only from the first night
  13. Resolutionרבינא: שמיני עצרת differs from the day right before it
  14. Resolutionרב פפא: One bull versus many bulls
  15. ResolutionThe missing ו in the verse about the eighth day
  16. Resolution"As the regulation" versus "as their regulation"
  17. ProofA ברייתא about the bulls that might support this view
  18. ChallengeThe חכמים say all the animals go down on the eighth day
  19. Resolutionרבי יהודה: the eighth day is a festival of its own