Sukkah 9a (ט.) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

In the Mishna before us, the tannaim disagree as to whether the sukka must be made for the sake of the festival, or whether it is sufficient that it was made for shade.

An old sukka,

which he made to provide protection from the sun during the summer, and did not make for the sake of the festival,

Beit Shammai deem invalid,

since according to their view, one must make the sukka with the prior intention that it be for the sake of the festival.

And Beit Hillel deem valid,

as they did not require that one make his sukka specifically for the sake of the festival. Rather, any sukka that he made for shade is valid, and below the Gemara will explain their reasoning. And the Mishna asks:

And which is an old sukka,

about which Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagree?

Any sukka that he made before the festival, thirty days

Certainly, when he made the sukka, he did not have in mind that he would sit in it during the festival of Sukkot. But if he made it within thirty days of the festival, it is valid, because the Jewish people customarily study and engage in the laws of the festival thirty days before the festival, and certainly one who makes a sukka during this period remembers that he must make a sukka, and had in mind to make it also for the sake of the festival.

But if he made it

explicitly

for the sake of the festival, even

if he made it

at the beginning of the year,

it is

valid

even according to Beit Shammai.

Gemara:

The Gemara now discusses the source for the ruling of Beit Shammai, who require a sukka made for the sake of the festival:

What is the reason of Beit Shammai,

who deem an old sukka invalid?

The verse says: “The festival of Sukkot shall be seven days for the Lord.”

And from the wording of the verse, “Sukkot for the Lord,” the Sages derived:

We require a sukka made for the sake of the festival.

That is, it must be made for the sake of the mitzva of the King.

And the Gemara asks:

And Beit Hillel,

how do they interpret the verse? And the Gemara explains:

That

verse

is needed

according to Beit Hillel

for the teaching of Rav Sheshet.

For Rav Sheshet said in the name of Rabbi Akiva: From where is it derived that the wood of a sukka is forbidden

for benefit

throughout the seven

days of Sukkot?

The verse states: “The festival of Sukkot shall be seven days for the Lord.”

And it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: Just as the Name of Heaven takes effect

that is, sanctity takes effect

on

the peace-offerings of

the festival,

rendering them forbidden for consumption and benefit until after the burning of the sacrificial fats—and even afterward, they are merely like those who receive from the table of the Most High, like a servant who receives a portion from his master—

so the Name of Heaven takes effect on the sukka,

and it is forbidden to derive benefit from its wood throughout the seven days of Sukkot.

As it is stated: “The festival of Sukkot shall be seven days for the Lord,”

and the Sages derived:

Just as “the festival,”

as the festival offering is sacred

to the Lord, so too the sukka

is sacred

to the Lord.

Just as “the festival,” like the festival offering, is sacred for the Lord, so too the sukka

And the Gemara objects:

And Beit Shammai, too, need

this verse

for this?

And the Gemara answers:

Indeed, so!

Beit Shammai, too, derive from this verse that the wood of a sukka is forbidden for benefit throughout all seven days of the festival.

The Gemara explains:

Rather, what is the reason of Beit Shammai,

who require a sukka made for the sake of the festival?

Another verse is written: “The festival of Sukkot you shall make for yourself for seven days,”

Invert the wording of the verse and expound it as follows: “You shall make a sukka for the festival.” From here Beit Shammai derived that

we require a sukka made for the sake of the festival.

The Gemara now asks:

And Beit Hillel,

what did they derive from this verse?

The Gemara explains:

That

verse

is needed to

derive from it that

one may make a sukka during the intermediate days of the festival,

if he did not make it before the festival. And this is the meaning of the verse: “The festival of Sukkot you shall make”—that is, during the festival of Sukkot, you shall make it.

The Gemara explains:

And Beit Shammai,

who did not derive this law from the verse, is because

they maintain

the view of Rabbi Eliezer, who says: One may not make a sukka during the intermediate days of the festival.

This is because he expounds the verse, “The festival of Sukkot you shall make for yourself for seven days,” as follows: Make a sukka fit for seven days. If one makes his sukka during the festival, it will not be fit to serve him for seven days.

The Gemara had supposed that Beit Hillel, who do not require a sukka made for the sake of the festival, likewise stated their ruling regarding the making of ritual fringes and the like, and do not require that the ritual fringes be made for the sake of the mitzva.

The Gemara objects:

And Beit Hillel,

do they not

accept the ruling of Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav?

For Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav:

If one did not attach ritual fringes to the four corners of his garment, but rather

made it

for ritual fringes

from the tufts,

the knots made at the ends of the warp threads are called tufts because they protrude like thorns; and if, while they were attached to the garment, he made from them a braid for ritual fringes,

or he made the ritual fringes

from the threads,

for example, a tallit that was sewn, or in which a seam was made with a needle, with the ends of the sewing threads hanging from it, and he made a braid for ritual fringes from these threads,

or he made them

from the frayed threads,

the threads hanging from the end of the tallit, which are the excess of the weaving, and while they were still attached he made coils and knots from them,

it is invalid.

The ritual fringes are invalid because these threads had been hanging from the garment from the time of weaving and were not attached to it for the sake of ritual fringes, so there was no making for the proper purpose.

But if he made the ritual fringes

from spun threads,

from bundles of thread, it is

valid.

For when the threads were attached to the garment, they were attached for the sake of the mitzva of ritual fringes. Although the spinning of the threads was not for the sake of the mitzva of ritual fringes, it is considered making for the proper purpose, because spinning is not part of the making of the ritual fringes; the Torah required only that the attachment of the threads to the garment be done for the sake of the mitzva of ritual fringes.

And Rav Yehuda added and said:

When I stated

that teaching of Rav—that it is not necessary to spin the threads for the sake of the mitzva of ritual fringes—

before Shmuel,

Shmuel disagreed with this and

said to me: Even

if he made them

from spun threads, too, they are invalid,

because

we require spinning for the proper purpose.

In any event, it is clear that both according to Rav and according to Shmuel, the threads of the ritual fringes must be attached for the sake of the mitzva of ritual fringes. If so,

here too, must we require a sukka made for the proper purpose?!

And the Gemara answers:

That case is different,

in the case of ritual fringes,

as the verse says: “You shall make twisted threads for yourself,”

and the Sages expounded:

“For yourself”—for the sake of your obligation,

but with regard to making a sukka, the Torah did not innovate that it must specifically be made for the sake of the festival.

The Gemara objects:

Here too,

let it be stated with regard to a sukka:

“The festival of Sukkot you shall make for yourself,”

which implies

“for yourself”—for the sake of your obligation?!

And the Gemara answers:

That

“for yourself,” which is stated with regard to the mitzva of sukka,

is needed

to derive

the exclusion of

a

stolen

sukka.

And the Sages derived as follows: “The festival of Sukkot you shall make for yourself”—from your own property, excluding a stolen sukka. The Gemara objects:

There too,

with regard to the mitzva of ritual fringes, also

is it needed

to use the verse “You shall make twisted threads for yourself”

to exclude

stolen

ritual fringes?!

And the Gemara answers:

There,

with regard to ritual fringes,

another verse is written:

“And they shall make

ritual fringes on the corners of their garments,” and the Sages expounded: “For them”

from their own property,

so that the ritual fringes may not be stolen. Therefore, the verse “You shall make twisted threads for yourself” is superfluous, and it can be expounded as above: “You shall make twisted threads for yourself”—for the sake of your obligation, so that the making be for the proper purpose.