Succah 9b

סוכה ט׳ ע״ב

Sukkah 9b

Learn Succah 9b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Succah 9b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

A סוכה under a tree, and a סוכה on top of another סוכה: what makes the roof (סכך) count, and when does something above it ruin it?

Overview

The משנה teaches two cases. A סוכה built under a tree is like one built inside a house, so it is פסולה. When one סוכה sits on top of another, the upper one is כשרה and the lower one is פסולה, though רבי יהודה says the lower one is כשרה if no one lives in the upper one. רבא limits the tree case to a tree whose shade is greater than its sunlight, and he proves this from the משנה's comparison to a house. רב פפא explains that a sparse tree does not ruin the סוכה when its branches were pressed down into a majority of valid סכך. The גמרא shows that רבא's statement adds something: there is no גזירה against this, and it is allowed even לכתחילה. A ברייתא then learns from the word בסכת, spelled without a ו, that a סוכה under another סוכה is פסולה. Finally, רבי ירמיה lists four outcomes for stacked סוכות, and the גמרא begins explaining each one, depending on shade versus sun and the twenty-אמה height limit. The explanation of the third case continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (19)

1. StatementA סוכה Built Under a Tree
2. StatementOne סוכה Built on Top of Another
3. Statementרבי יהודה: The Lower סוכה Can Be Valid
4. Statementרבא Limits the Tree Case
5. ProofProof From the משנה's Comparison to a House
6. ChallengeChallenge: The Tree's Branches Should Mix In and Ruin the Good סכך
7. Resolutionרב פפא: The Branches Were Pressed Down and Mixed In
8. ChallengeWhy would רבא need to say this?
9. ResolutionWe do not make a גזירה
10. ChallengeA משנה about trellised vines already teaches this
11. ChallengeProving the משנה is about pressed-down plants
12. Resolutionרבא teaches it is allowed even לכתחילה
13. ProofSource for invalidating a סוכה under a סוכה, a tree, or a house
14. ChallengeThe word looks plural, so it should allow two סוכות
15. ResolutionThe word is written without a ו, meaning one סוכה
16. StatementFour possible outcomes for two stacked סוכות
17. ResponseWhen both stacked סוכות are fit
18. ResponseWhen both stacked סוכות are unfit
19. ResponseThird case: lower סוכה fit, upper סוכה unfit