Sukkah 47a — the Talmud in English

When Rav and Shmuel differ—

Rav and Shmuel—

concerning reciting the blessing

over it, upon the sukkah.

According to the one who says “

the seventh is for the sukkah,”

we also recite the blessing

over dwelling in the sukkah, as though this were the seventh day.

But

according to the one who says “

the eighth is for this and for that,”

we recite the blessing

over dwelling in the sukkah,

we do not recite the blessing.

And it is “the eighth for the sukkah” in that we do not recite a blessing over it, and the eighth for the blessing, for in the prayer, in the Kiddush, and in the Birkat HaMazon he mentions the day of Shemini Atzeret.

Rav Yosef said: Hold to Rabbi Yoḥanan’s ruling,

that is, conduct yourself according to his words.

Since

Rav Huna bar Bizna and all the great men of the generation happened to be in the sukkah on the eighth, which is doubtfully the seventh—

they were sitting

in the sukkah, but

concerning reciting the blessing

over it,

they did not recite the blessing.

And we object:

Perhaps they held in accordance with the one who says “

once he has recited the blessing on the first day of the Festival, he no longer recites the blessing,”

and therefore they did not recite a blessing over it, and not because this was the eighth day. And one cannot bring proof from them for our case, in which we recite the blessing each time, that one does not recite a blessing over the sukkah on the eighth day.

And we answer:

It was received as a tradition—

Rav Yosef knew by way of received tradition—

that from the pasture

from the place of grazing,

they came

just now, and had not yet fulfilled the mitzva of sukkah. And if this had been a day on which one is obligated to recite a blessing over the sukkah, they would have recited the blessing over it, even if they held that one recites a blessing over the sukkah only once.

There are those who say: Concerning reciting the blessing—

everyone agrees that we do not recite the blessing.

When they differ—

concerning sitting

to sit in the sukkah.

According to the one who says “

seven are for the sukkah”—

we sit

in it, in the sukkah.

But according to the one who says, the eighth is for this and for that—

we do not even sit in it.

Rav Yosef said: Hold to Rabbi Yoḥanan’s ruling,

that one should not sit in the sukkah at all on it, and do not conduct yourself like Rav, who obligates sitting in the sukkah.

Since

the master of the statement—

the one who stated in Rav’s name that one should sit in the sukkah on it—

who is he?

He is

Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat!

And

I know that he himself,

on the eighth, which is doubtfully the seventh—

outside

outside,

sat outside the sukkah!

For although he was the one who stated Rav’s ruling, he did not conduct himself in practice according to the halakha that he stated in Rav’s name.

And the Gemara’s conclusion:

And the halakha is—

on the eighth day, which is doubtfully the seventh,

we sit

in it, in the sukkah, but

we do not recite the blessing.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: We recite Zeman

the blessing of Sheheḥeyanu

on the eighth of the Festival, and we do not recite Zeman on the seventh of Pesaḥ.

And Rabbi Levi bar Ḥama said, and some say Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina: Know

that one should recite Zeman on the eighth,

for it is distinct

the eighth day

in three matters

from the Festival of Sukkot:

with regard to the sukkah, the lulav, and the pouring of the water

which are not practiced on it.

And

also

according to Rabbi Yehuda, who says that with a log

of water

he would pour all eight

days, even on Shemini Atzeret, nevertheless one should recite the blessing of Zeman, because

after all

still

the day is distinct

the eighth day from the Festival of Sukkot

in two matters,

with regard to the lulav and the sukkah, which are not practiced on it.

And we examine this:

If so,

if the distinction in the laws of the day obligates the blessing of Zeman, on the day

of the seventh of Pesaḥ also

let us recite the blessing of Zeman, for

after all it is distinct

in the matter of

eating matza.

For the master said: On the first night

of Pesaḥ

there is an obligation

to eat matza on it;

from here onward—

it is optional.

And the Gemara rejects this difficulty in several ways: A.

a.

Can it really be compared?

What is the comparison!

After all,

there,

on the seventh of Pesaḥ, only

from the night

of the first night is it

distinct,

but

from the day

and even from the first day, it

is not distinct,

for even on the first day of Pesaḥ there is no obligation to eat matza, but only on the first night!

Whereas

here,

on Shemini Atzeret,

it is distinct even from the day.

B.

Ravina said: This

Shemini Atzeret

is distinct from

the last day of Sukkot

preceding it,

and therefore one recites the blessing of Zeman over it.

And

if

this

were the seventh of Pesaḥ,

it would be distinct from

the first night of Pesaḥ

preceding it by two

and such a remote distinction does not make the seventh of Pesaḥ a day in itself, so as to recite the blessing of Zeman over it.

C.

Rav Pappa said:

The distinction between Shemini Atzeret and the Festival of Sukkot has proof from the Torah, and therefore one recites the blessing of Zeman. For

here,

on the eighth day,

one bull is written,

only one, whereas

there,

during the days of the Festival of Sukkot,

bulls are written,

many on each day.

D.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said

that another proof should be brought from the verse:

here,

on Shemini Atzeret,

it is written

at the beginning of the passage of its offerings, “

on the day

the eighth.” Whereas

there,

with regard to the offerings of the Festival of Sukkot,

it is written

on each of the days

and on the day, with the conjunctive vav, teaching you that only the seven days of the Festival of Sukkot are one Festival, whereas the eighth day is a separate Festival.

E.

Rav Ashi said: Here,

on the eighth day,

it is written

in its offerings, “[in accordance with] their number,

according to the statute.”

And it indicates that it has a statute of its own.

Whereas

there,

on the seventh day of the Festival of Sukkot,

it is written “according to their number,

according to

their statutes.”

And it indicates that there is one statute for the seven days of the Festival. And this is not “according to the statute” of the eighth day.

And the Gemara discusses Rabbi Yoḥanan’s statement that one should recite Zeman on the eighth:

Let us say that this supports him

from the words of Rabbi Yehuda in a beraita:

For it was taught: The number of

the bulls, the rams, and the sheep

mentioned in the Torah among the offerings of the Festival of Sukkot must be as it is written for them on each and every day of the Festival.

And if there is not the full number of offerings, but only part of it, it is impossible to offer any at all of that type of offering whose number is lacking, since they

prevent one another.

And Rabbi Yehuda says:

Only the rams and the sheep, whose number is fixed from day to day, prevent one another, because the Torah was particular about their fixed number from day to day.

But the

bulls—

do not prevent one another, for they diminish and continue diminishing

from day to day, indicating that it was not particular about their number. Therefore, even if some of the number of bulls for that day is lacking, one may offer a smaller number of bulls, in order to fulfill the obligation at least with these bulls.

They said to him

the Sages to Rabbi Yehuda:

But surely all of them,

the rams and the sheep as well,

diminish and continue diminishing,

for

on the eighth

they offer only one ram and not two rams, and seven sheep and not fourteen!

He said to them

Rabbi Yehuda:

The eighth—

it is a Festival in its own right.

And one cannot learn from the change in its offerings that the Torah was not particular about the number of offerings on the Festival of Sukkot.

Just as the seven days of the Festival require an offering

for themselves,

and

a

song

of its own, which the Levites would recite, for themselves,

and

likewise

a blessing

[as will be explained below], for itself,

and

likewise the mitzva of

lodging

in Jerusalem after bringing the offering, for themselves.

The eighth day also requires an offering

of its own,

and a song, and a blessing, and lodging

of its own.