Sukkah 48a — the Talmud in English

A baraita was taught in accordance with Rav Naḥman: The eighth ![](pamud.bmp "

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is a festival in its own right, with regard to pezer kashav,

as the Gemara details the initial letters:

A lottery in its own right,

for a lottery was conducted among all the divisions as to which division would merit offering the bull of the additional offering. But on the days of the festival of Sukkot they did not conduct a lottery; rather, all the divisions served according to the established order of the divisions, since there were sufficient offerings for the service of all the divisions during the festival of Sukkot.

A time in its own right,

for Sheheḥeyanu is recited over it, as it is recited over every festival.

A festival in its own right,

for one does not sit in a sukka on it.

An offering in its own right,

for it does not follow the count of the bulls of the festival offerings, which decrease progressively from thirteen bulls on the first day to seven bulls on the seventh day; and according to this order, six bulls should have been brought on the eighth day, but only one bull is brought on it.

A song in its own right,

for the Levites recite on it a song that is not connected with the festival of Sukkot.

A blessing in its own right,

for in the prayer one mentions the Eighth Day of Assembly. In addition, the king is blessed on it with a special blessing.

Mishna:

The Hallel and the rejoicing

with the peace-offerings of rejoicing, which we learned in the previous Mishna that they apply for

eight

days—

how so?

It teaches that a person is obligated in complete Hallel

complete

and in rejoicing

with the peace-offerings of rejoicing,

and in honoring the last festival day of the festival—

like all the other days of the festival.

Gemara:

And we inquire concerning the obligation of rejoicing on the eighth day:

From where are these matters

that there is a mitzva of rejoicing also on the Eighth Day of Assembly, as on the festival of Sukkot itself?

For the Sages taught:

Since Scripture said [Deuteronomy 16], concerning the festival of Sukkot, “And you shall rejoice in your festival,” why did Scripture return and say again, “

And you shall be only joyful”?

To include the nights of the last festival day

Eighth Day of Assembly] for rejoicing. Scripture taught that a person should slaughter peace-offerings on the seventh day of Sukkot, so that he can rejoice in eating them on the night of the last festival day [for it is impossible to slaughter at night]; and thereby Scripture included rejoicing on the night of the last festival day together with the seven days of the festival of Sukkot, even though the night of the eighth day is not included within the seven days.

And from here one can learn by a kal va-chomer concerning the eighth day, for the night is subordinate to the day; and if the night was included for rejoicing, all the more so the eighth day.

Or perhaps

the extra wording of the verse

rather

came to include

the first festival day

for rejoicing, so that there would be an obligation to slaughter a peace-offering on the eve of the festival in order to eat its meat joyfully at night.

And the extra wording of Scripture came to teach us that there is an obligation of rejoicing in eating peace-offerings that were slaughtered on the eve of the festival, for without this extra wording it could have been said that the mitzva of rejoicing on the festivals applies only when there is a slaughtering of peace-offerings at the time of rejoicing.

When it says “And you shall be

only

only

joyful”—

it divided

Scripture, by means of the word “only,” whose meaning is restriction and division, the obligation of rejoicing, and excluded the night of the first festival day from the obligation to eat the meat of peace-offerings for rejoicing; and it is unnecessary to slaughter peace-offerings on the eve of the festival in order to eat them on the festival for rejoicing.

And what did you see to include

from the extra wording of Scripture

the nights of the last festival day

for rejoicing with the meat of peace-offerings,

and to exclude

from the restriction of Scripture

the nights of the first festival day

from this rejoicing, and not the reverse!?

I include the nights of the last festival day—

since

there is rejoicing before it.

And I exclude the nights of the first festival day, for there is no rejoicing before it.

Mishna:

The mitzva of sitting in a

sukka,

which we learned above is for

seven

days—

how so?

When he has finished eating

his meal on the seventh day—

he shall not release

the bindings holding

his sukka.

That is, he shall not dismantle it, since he is still obligated to sleep in it or study in it; and likewise, if he wishes to eat another meal, he is obligated to sit in it.

But he lowers

he

the vessels

that are fine, and the bedding, and the other things that he used during the festival, beginning

from

the time of

the afternoon offering and onward, because of honoring the last festival day of the festival,

thereby showing his preparation for the meal of the last festival day in the house.

Gemara:

And we inquire about it: If

he has no vessels to lower—

what is [the law]?

How should he act so that he is permitted to continue eating in the sukka on the eighth day? For if he does not perform a distinguishing act indicating that he is no longer continuing to fulfill the mitzva of sukka also on the eighth day, he violates “do not add” when he continues to eat and sleep in the sukka on the eighth day.

And we are astonished: How is it possible that

he has no vessels

at all?

Rather, if he used

in the sukka during the days of the festival of Sukkot—

with what did he use [it]?

And we answer:

Rather,

this is what we inquire: If

he has no place

elsewhere to which he can

lower his vessels,

and eat there, but he must continue eating in the sukka—

what is [the law]?

How should he act so that he does not violate “do not add”?

Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi said: He makes a reduction in it

in the roofing of the sukka, an open air space that contains

four

handbreadths, and thereby invalidates the sukka.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

There is no need to invalidate it; rather, it is sufficient that he

lights a lamp in it.

Since one does not light a lamp in a small sukka, when he lights a lamp in it, this is a sign that he is not now fulfilling the mitzva of sukka in it.

And they do not disagree: This—

for us,

for the people of Babylonia, who need to sit in it tomorrow: he should not make a reduction in it; rather, he should only light a lamp in it.

And this—

for them,

for the people of the Land of Israel, who will not sit in it any longer: he should make a reduction in it.

And we refute:

This works well for a small sukka,

in which one does not light, and the lighting of the lamp is a sign that it will no longer be used for the mitzva.

A large sukka,

in which one does light—

what is there to say?

How should he act outside the Land of Israel, where he must eat in it on the eighth day?

And we answer:

That he brings into it

that he raises and brings into it

food vessels,

bowls used for eating, after they have been eaten from, which are repulsive vessels, and it is forbidden to bring them into the sukka during the festival of Sukkot.

And likewise

Rava said

[above 29a]:

food vessels,

eating vessels that are repulsive after one has eaten from them, need to be

outside the sukka,

for they must be removed from the sukka after the meal.

But

drinking vessels,

drinking vessels that are not repulsive, may be left after one has drunk from them

in the sukka,

in the sukka.

Mishna:

a.

The pouring of the water—

how

was it performed?

A golden flask

that

held three

log

of water

was filled from

the spring of

Shiloah.

When they reached

the bearers of the flask and its contents

the

Water Gate

in the Temple courtyard—

they sounded, blew, and sounded,

because of rejoicing, to fulfill the scriptural verse, “And you shall draw water with joy.”

The priest

who poured the water

ascended by the ramp

located on the southern side of the Temple courtyard, to the roof of the altar,

and turned

there above westward

to his left,

until he reached the first corner that he encountered, which was the southwestern corner, beside which was the place of pouring the water and the wine.

b.

Two silver bowls were there

fixed in the southwestern corner, into which they poured the water and the wine.

Rabbi Yehuda says:

Bowls

of plaster they were, but their surfaces were blackened because of the wine.

And they resembled the color of silver, which tends more toward a black hue than plaster, which tends more toward a white hue.