Study Sukkah folio 9A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מתני׳ סוכה ישנה — בית שמאי פוסלין ובית הלל מכשירין. ואיזו היא סוכה ישנה, כל שעשאה קודם לחג שלשים יום. אבל אם עשאה לשם חג, אפילו מתחילת השנה — כשרה.
Mishnah: With regard to an old sukka, Beit Shammai deem it unfit for the mitzva of sukka and Beit Hillel deem it fit. And which is considered an old sukka? It is any booth that one established 30 days or more prior to the Festival without expressly designating that it was for the mitzva of sukka. In that case, the assumption is that he constructed it for some other purpose. However, if he established it expressly for the sake of the festival of Sukkot, even if he constructed it at the beginning of the previous year, it is fit for use in the fulfillment of the mitzva of sukka, even according to Beit Shammai.
גמ׳ מאי טעמייהו דבית שמאי? אמר קרא: ״חג הסוכות שבעת ימים לה׳״, סוכה העשויה לשם חג בעינן.
Talmud: The Talmud asks: What is the rationale for the opinion of Beit Shammai? The Talmud explains that it is as the verse states: “The festival of Sukkot is 7 days to YHWH” (Leviticus 23:34), indicating that we require a sukka established for the sake of the Festival. A sukka not constructed expressly for the Festival is unfit.
ובית הלל? ההוא מיבעי ליה לכדרב ששת. דאמר רב ששת משום רבי עקיבא: מנין לעצי סוכה שאסורין כל שבעה — תלמוד לומר: ״חג הסוכות שבעת ימים לה׳״,
The Talmud asks: And how do Beit Hillel interpret this verse? The Talmud answers: In Beit Hillel’s opinion, that verse is necessary to teach in accordance with the statement of Rav Sheshet, as Rav Sheshet said in the name of R' Akiva: From where is it derived that use of the wood of the sukka is prohibited for any purpose other than for the sukka all 7 days of the Festival, and it is designated exclusively for the mitzva? It is derived as the verse states: “The festival of Sukkot is 7 days to YHWH.”