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Succah 4a

סוכה ד׳ ע״א

Sukkah 4a

Learn Succah 4a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Succah 4a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Fixing a סוכה that is too tall or too short: raising the floor with ביטול, low-hanging leaves, platforms and the bent wall (דופן עקומה), and digging out the floor

Overview

This amud looks at ways to fix a סוכה that is too tall or too short. First the גמרא finishes explaining that cushions and blankets never lower a too-tall סוכה, even if he declares them permanent. Straw that he declares permanent does count, and dirt counts even more so. The in-between cases are a מחלוקת between רבי יוסי and the רבנן: straw he plans to leave, and plain dirt, both with no declaration. Next, palm leaves hanging below twenty אמות can make a too-tall סוכה kosher if they give more shade than sun by themselves. In a סוכה only ten טפחים high, אביי thought sparse low leaves could be ignored, but רבא says leaves hanging that low make a 'sagging home' that no one lives in. Then the גמרא discusses a platform built inside a too-tall סוכה, along the middle wall, along a side wall, or in the middle, using the idea of דופן עקומה (a bent wall). It explains what each of these cases adds that we did not already know. Finally, it starts a new case: a סוכה under ten טפחים where he dug out the floor to reach ten.

Opening lines

וְאַף עַל גַּב דְּבַטְּלִינְהוּ [לְכוּלְּהוּ],

And even though he nullified them [all],

מִשּׁוּם דְּבָטְלָה דַּעְתּוֹ אֵצֶל כׇּל אָדָם.

because his intention is canceled out by that of all people.

תֶּבֶן וּבִטְּלוֹ הָוֵי מִיעוּט,

Straw, and he nullified it: it is a decrease,

וְכׇל שֶׁכֵּן עָפָר וּבִטְּלוֹ.

and all the more so dirt, and he nullified it.

The steps (17)

  1. StatementWhy declaring cushions permanent does not work
  2. StatementStraw declared permanent lowers the סוכה, and dirt even more so
  3. StatementThe in-between cases are a dispute
  4. ProofThe משנה about a house filled with straw or pebbles
  5. ProofReading the משנה: only an actual declaration works
  6. Proofרבי יוסי: what you plan decides, not just the material
  7. StatementPalm leaves hanging below twenty אמות
  8. Statementאביי's view on a ten-טפחים סוכה with low-hanging leaves
  9. Rejectionרבא: a sagging home is no home
  10. StatementA platform along the middle wall fixes a too-high סוכה
  11. StatementA platform built along a side wall
  12. ChallengeWhy teach this if we already know the bent wall rule?
  13. ResolutionThe bent wall works even when the wall itself is too tall
  14. StatementA platform built in the middle of the סוכה
  15. ChallengeWhat is new about the middle platform case?
  16. ResolutionA bent wall works on every side, not just one
  17. StatementDigging out the floor of a short סוכה