Sukkah 010

1:
It is possible that someone may wish to convert an already existent hut into a sukkah. The ceiling of this hut consists of wooden planks. How can such a ceiling be made appropriate for a sukkah.

2:
Our mishnah discusses the situation in which the planks which form the ceiling are nailed directly into the walls of the hut and those planks are not covered with clay or dirt or cement as waterproofing. (Because, as we have learned, such a covering, which does not have its origin in growth from the ground, would invalidate the sukkah.)

3:
Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel are in disagreement concerning the procedure to be followed in such circumstances. (See Sukkah 005 for details concerning these two schools within the Pharisaic movement.)

4:
Bet Shammai holds that the owner must perform two distinct acts in order to make such a sukkah valid. Firstly he must pull out all the nails that join the planks of the roof to the walls. Secondly he must also remove planks in such a manner as any two planks will have an open space between them: in other words the roof must consist of plank space, plank space and so on. He must cover the open spaces thus left with s^ekhakh that is valid.

5:
Bet Hillel hold that either one of these two acts is sufficient. The owner may dismantle the roof by pulling out the nails that join the planks to the walls and then remove all the planks completely. Having done that the owner may replace the planks and lay them, as they were, on top of the walls. Alternatively, say Bet Hillel, he can leave the roof nailed to the walls but remove from it planks in such a way that any two planks have a space between them (as described above in the view of Bet Shammai). The spaces thus left are to be covered with valid s^ekhakh.

6:
What we have described is the maḥloket between Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai according to Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Me'ir holds that there was no maḥloket on this matter between the two schools: both Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai hold that it is not enough just to dismantle the roof; planks must be removed as well, as related as the view of Bet Shammai.

7:
As we learned in the previous shiur the halakhah follows Rabbi Yehudah. This means that since in all but six cases, where there is a maḥloket between Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai, the halakhah is decided according to Bet Hillel, it is sufficient for the owner to dismantle the roof and then replace the planks.

8:
Rabbi Yehudah is consistent here, because, as we saw in the previous mishnah, he permits s^ekhakh which consists of planks of wood. However,of course, the conditions stated in
mishnah 6 must be observed: no plank should be wider than three or four handbreadths. He requires the roof to be dismantled before it can be replaced because of the other condition we mentioned in the previous shiur: the s^ekhakh must be laid specially for the festival; one can not use already existent s^ekhakh.

In Sukkah 007 I wrote:

I am afraid that I have no explanation why anyone would want to hang a sheet from a crossbar above their bed.

Two people have responded to this statement of mine, both with the same idea. Ed Frankel writes:

Just a guess here, but I can see how a sheet hung from two poles at the top and the bottom of the bed with a crossbeam would possibly work. If draped properly, and if the sheet were sufficiently long, the sheet would form a tent, perhaps as mosquito netting or just for privacy. The bottoms of the material could be tucked under the bed on each side or to the sides of the frame, to form a tent like area, similar to the standard pup tent. As noted, at best this would be conjecture.

Andy Hoffman is much less hesitant about this solution. He writes:

The purpose of the sheet over the bed, both 4-poster or 2-poster, is to keep insects, critters, and debris, from falling on you or flying or crawling on to you while you are asleep. In some ways, it was a primitive form of mosquito netting for the bed.

I respond:

Who would dare to argue against such certainty?

Due to the incidence of the festival of Shavu'ot the next shiur in this series will be, God willing, on June 13th. I take this opportunity of wishing everybody a joyous festival. Ḥag Samé'aḥ!