{"id":10961,"date":"2001-01-02T00:01:17","date_gmt":"2001-01-01T22:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=10961"},"modified":"2022-07-31T13:59:41","modified_gmt":"2022-07-31T10:59:41","slug":"13-02-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/13-02-01\/","title":{"rendered":"01. A Temporary Residence"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a mitzva to reside in a sukka<\/em> throughout the seven days of the Sukkot festival, as the Torah says, \u201cYou shall dwell in sukkot<\/em> seven days; all citizens in Israel shall dwell in sukkot<\/em>, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelites dwell in sukkot<\/em> when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I the Lord your God\u201d (Vayikra 23:42-43). Similarly, it states, \u201cAfter the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the seven-day festival of Sukkot\u201d (Devarim 16:13).<\/p>\n

The sukka <\/em>that we are commanded to live in during the festival is defined as a \u201cdirat ara\u2019i<\/em>\u201d \u2013 a \u201ctemporary residence\u201d (Sukka<\/em> 2a). Thus, a sukka<\/em> must meet these two basic conditions: 1) it must be temporary; 2) it must be habitable. Therefore, if a sukka<\/em> is less than 10 tefa\u1e25im<\/em> (c. 80 cm) tall or less than 7 tefa\u1e25im<\/em> (c. 56 cm) wide, it is invalid, because it is too cramped even for one person to sit in it and eat. Even if a sukka<\/em> is very long, if it is less than 7 tefa\u1e25im<\/em> wide, it is invalid (Sukka<\/em> 2a; MB 634:1).<\/p>\n

Since a sukka<\/em> is a temporary residence, it does not need four walls. It is sufficient for it to have two walls plus a tefa\u1e25<\/em> of a third. This partial third wall must be within 3 tefa\u1e25im<\/em> of one of the other walls (as we explain below in section 6).<\/p>\n

If a sukka<\/em> is more than 20 amot<\/em> (c. 9 meters) tall, it is invalid, because a sukka<\/em> must be a temporary residence, while sekhakh<\/em> placed at such a height needs the support of a permanent structure. Note, however, that the main expression of the sukka<\/em>\u2019s impermanence is the sekhakh<\/em>; the walls may be permanent, as long as this is not necessary to support the sekhakh<\/em>. Thus, one may retract the roof in the home and place sekhakh <\/em>instead of a ceiling; since the sekhakh<\/em> is less than 20 amot<\/em> high, it does not need the support of a permanent structure.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

A house with a wooden ceiling is invalid for use as a sukka<\/em>, because sekhakh<\/em> must be impermanent, whereas a ceiling is permanent. To make sure that people do not mistakenly permit wooden ceilings, the Sages ruled that lumber commonly used to make ceilings may not be used as sekhakh<\/em> (as we will explain below in section 4).<\/p>\n

Since a sukka<\/em> is a temporary residence, it may be built on a wagon, motor vehicle, or boat, and it remains valid even during travel, as long as its walls and sekhakh<\/em> can withstand an ordinary wind (SA 628:2; SHT ad loc<\/em>. 11). As a temporary residence, a sukka<\/em> does not require a mezuza<\/em> (SA YD 286:11).<\/p>\n

A sukka<\/em> is invalid if its walls are unable to withstand an ordinary wind or if its sekhakh<\/em> is made of leaves or greenery that will wither and fall during the course of the festival. In both of these cases, it is not even considered a temporary residence (SA 628:2; 629:12).<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n[1]<\/a>. According to R. \u1e24ayim Naeh (based on Rambam and other Rishonim), a tefa\u1e25<\/em> is 8 cm (3.15 inches), so 7 tefa\u1e25im<\/em> is 56 cm (22.05 inches), 10 tefa\u1e25im<\/em> is 80 cm (31.5 inches), an ama<\/em> is 48 cm (18.9 inches), and 20 amot<\/em> is 9.6 meters (31.5 feet). (According to Noda Bi-Yehuda<\/em> and \u1e24azon Ish, a tefa\u1e25<\/em> is 9.6 cm and an ama<\/em> is 57.6 cm.) More recent measurements showed that the tefa\u1e25<\/em> of Rambam and other Rishonim is 7.6 cm and an ama<\/em> is 45.6 cm, as explained in the Har\u1e25avot<\/em>. The halakha<\/em> follows this latter measurement, as we explain in Peninei Halakha: Shabbat<\/em> ch. 29 n. 1 and the Har\u1e25avot<\/em> there. Nevertheless, in the text above I use R. Naeh\u2019s measurements, for several reasons: 1) for two generations or so, this was the accepted measure; 2) to avoid any uncertainty, one should measure a tefa\u1e25 <\/em>generously (Sukka<\/em> 7a; MB 633:2). According to most poskim<\/em>, this \u201cgenerosity\u201d means adding c. 2% (SHT 363:60), which already brings us halfway to R. Naeh\u2019s measurements. Some maintain that the addition should be more than 2% (as explained in the Har\u1e25avot<\/em>); 3) the main reason to use R. Naeh\u2019s measurements is his tefa\u1e25 <\/em>is a round number in the metric system: 8 cm. The more precise measurement of 7.6 is unwieldy. In order to make things easier for the reader, it is proper to use round numbers. Indeed, this is why the Sages themselves used round measurements like tefa\u1e25im <\/em>(handbreadths) and amot <\/em>(arm-lengths). However, when pertinent, the more precise measurement remains primary. Thus, when following R. Naeh\u2019s position results in a leniency, such as when calculating 20 amot<\/em> and lavud<\/em> (section 7 below), I use the more precise (smaller) measurements. Even then, I round down. For example, I write that 20 amot<\/em> are c. 9 meters when the exact measurement is 9.12 meters (9.6 meters according to R. Naeh), and I write that lavud<\/em> applies up to 22 cm, when the exact figure is 22.8 cm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a mitzva to reside in a sukka throughout the seven days of the Sukkot festival, as the Torah says, \u201cYou shall dwell in sukkot seven days; all citizens in Israel shall dwell in sukkot, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelites dwell in sukkot when I brought them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[200],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-13-02"],"yoast_head":"\n01. 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