Sukkah 29a (כט.) — the Talmud in English

And

this is

because we find that in the Gemara there is a rapid form of study without exertion and analytical study, which involves exertion, as we find:

When Rava and Rami bar Ḥama would rise from before Rav Ḥisda

[when they would leave Rav Ḥisda’s lecture],

at first they would rush through it together

[at first they would review rapidly and without analysis] the words of Rav Ḥisda, having heard from him that this matter is prohibited and that matter is permitted.

And afterward they would examine the reasoning

[and afterward they would analyze the rationale for each matter].

Rava said: Drinking vessels

may be left

in the sukkah

after drinking from them, and there is no need to remove them from the sukkah, since they are not repulsive.

But

eating vessels,

after the meal they are repulsive, and therefore they must be removed

outside the sukkah,

to outside the sukkah.

And likewise,

a ḥatzva,

an earthenware vessel used to draw water,

and

likewise

a sheḥil,

a wooden bucket, must be removed

outside the sukkah,

to outside the sukkah after they have been used.

And

if

a lamp,

an earthenware lamp, may be left

in the sukkah.

And some say,

there are those who say that the earthenware lamp must be removed

outside the sukkah

after it has gone out.

And the Gemara explains:

And they do not disagree,

the latter authorities with the words of the first tanna.

Rather,

this

case, in which the first tanna permitted leaving the earthenware lamp after it had been used, is

in a large sukkah,

which has ample room.

This

case, in which the latter authorities said that it must be removed from the sukkah, is

in a small sukkah,

whose area is limited, and anything that takes up space unnecessarily must be removed from it.

We learned in the Mishna:

If rains fell,

from when is it permitted to leave? Once the mekafe becomes spoiled:

A tanna taught: Once the mekafe of grits becomes spoiled.

Abaye was sitting before Rav Yosef in the sukkah; a wind blew

[wind]

and it brought

and caused to fall

wood chips

onto the food.

Rav Yosef said to them: Remove my vessels

my vessels

from here.

Abaye said to him: But didn’t we learn

in our Mishna

“Once the mekafe becomes spoiled”?!

He said to him,

Rav Yosef to Abaye:

For me, since I am sensitive in my disposition,

as I am fastidious and sensitive,

it is equivalent for me to the mekafe having become spoiled.

The Sages taught: If one was eating in the sukkah and rains fell, and he descended

from his sukkah to his house,

he is not required

when the rains stop

to ascend

again to his sukkah

until he finishes his meal.

If one was sleeping beneath the sukkah and rains fell, and he descended

from his sukkah,

he is not required

when the rains stop

to ascend

to his sukkah

until it becomes light,

and the Gemara proceeds to explain this.

They raised a dilemma before them:

What is the intention of the beraita?

Does it mean that he is not required to ascend

until the time

of his waking,

or until it becomes light

during the day?

Come and hear:

He is not required to ascend

until it becomes light and dawn breaks.

But surely this is difficult:

Two statements?!

That is, the statements contradict one another, since “it becomes light” implies that the east has become illuminated for him, at sunrise, whereas it then teaches, “until dawn breaks,” which is an earlier time?!

Rather,

by necessity

say

that this is what the beraita teaches:

until the time

of his waking

and dawn breaks.

We learned in the Mishna:

To what is this matter comparable? To a servant who came to pour a cup for his master, and he poured a pitcher over his face:

—

They raised a dilemma before them: Who poured it on whom?

Does the Mishna mean the following: It is comparable to a servant who was serving his master improperly—for example, the servant poured a pitcher over his master’s face. So too, when rains fall, it is evident that the Jewish people are not serving properly, and dwelling in the sukkah improperly is likened to pouring the pitcher over the master’s face.

Or this is the meaning of the Mishna: His master poured the pitcher over the servant’s face. That is, the master says to his servant: Leave my presence, for I do not desire your service! And the falling of the rains is likened to the pouring of the pitcher over us.

Come and hear, as it was taught

explicitly in a beraita:

His master poured a pitcher over his face and said to him: I do not desire your service.

Since the Gemara spoke of matters that are a sign of calamity, it also cites the following matter:

The Sages taught: When the sun is eclipsed, it is an evil sign

for

the entire world.

To what is this matter comparable? To a flesh-and-blood king who prepared a feast for his servants and placed a lamp before them

so that it would illuminate for them;

he became angry with them and said to his servant: Remove the lamp from before them and seat them in darkness;

so too, when the sun is eclipsed, it does not illuminate as much.

It was taught: Rabbi Meir says: Whenever

[each time]

the luminaries are eclipsed, it is an evil sign for the enemies of Israel

[a euphemistic expression, meaning Israel],

because

Israel

are accustomed to their blows,

as they are accustomed to being struck more than everyone else.

It is comparable to a teacher

[a teacher of young children]

who came to the school with a strap in his hand;

so

who is anxious?

Certainly

the one who is accustomed to being struck every single day is,

the one who

is anxious.

The Sages taught: When the sun is eclipsed, it is an evil sign

for

the nations who worship the stars.

And if the

moon is eclipsed, it is an evil sign

for

the enemies of Israel.

Because Israel count

their months

by the moon, whereas the nations who worship the stars

count their months

by the sun.

If

it is eclipsed

the sun in the morning, when the sun is

in the east, it is an evil sign

for

those who dwell in the east.

And if it is eclipsed in the evening, when the sun is

in the west, it is an evil sign

for

those who dwell in the west.

And if it is eclipsed in the middle of the day, when the sun is

in the middle of the sky, it is an evil sign

for

the entire world.

If

its appearance resembles blood, a sword comes to the world.

And if its appearance resembles

sackcloth,

made from goat hair and resembling blackness,

arrows of famine

that blacken the face

come to the world.

And if its appearance resembles

both this and that, a sword and arrows of famine come to the world.

If

it is eclipsed at its setting

[at sunset], it is a sign that the

calamity is slow to come.

And if it is eclipsed

at its rising

[at sunrise], it is a sign that the calamity

is quick to come.

And some say: Reverse the matter,

that if it is eclipsed at its setting, the calamity is quick to come, and if at its rising, the calamity is slow to come.

And there is no nation that is struck without its deity being struck with it, as it is stated: “And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.”

And when Israel do the will of the Omnipresent, they need fear none of all these things, as it is stated:

“So said the Lord: Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not fear the signs of the heavens, for the nations fear them!”

You have therefore learned:

The nations who worship the stars will fear, but Israel will not fear.

The Sages taught: For four reasons the sun is eclipsed:

1.

For a president of the court who dies and is not mourned in accordance with halakha.

2.

For a betrothed young woman who cried out in the city and there was no one to save her.

3.

For male homosexual intercourse.

4.

For two brothers whose blood was spilled together.

And for four reasons the luminaries

[the moon and stars]

are eclipsed:

1.

For those who write forged documents,

counterfeit deeds and fraudulent letters intended to defame a person, writing in his name what he did not command.

2.

And for those who testify falsely.

3.

And for those who raise small livestock in Eretz Yisrael,

as they destroy the land, since they cannot prevent them from grazing in the fields of their neighbors.

4.

And for those who cut down good trees,

even if they belong to them, since they destroy and appear to be rebelling against the Holy One, blessed be He, and against His blessing, through which He bestows His goodness.

And for four reasons the property of householders is delivered to the government:

1.

For those who delay unpaid promissory notes

with them in order to return and collect them another time.

2.

And for those who lend with interest

to Jews.