A new mishnah! A sukkah that is "meduvlelet" and with more shade than sun, is kosher. That is, a sukkah with sparse schach. Alternatively, a disordered sukkah. The dispute here is between Rav and Shmuel, and the question is how many factors are contributing to this sukkah. Also, when can layers of schach combine to be one roof, and when would they be considered one on top of another? Also, the Gemara picks up on the shade being greater... And addresses what happens if shade and sunlight are equal - an equation that already came up and the Gemara resolves the issue here by focusing on where the light is coming from. Plus, another mishnah - if you build a sukkah on a wagon, on a boat, on a treetop, on a camel.... all kosher.

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Sukkah 22: On a Boat, in a Tree, on a Camel, Oh, What Can Be?

Sleeping under a bed - is doing so an obstruction to fulfilling one's obligation of sleeping in a sukkah? Does it get in the way of the schach above? Part of this halakhic discussion includes the story of Tavi, the servant of Rabban Gamliel, who was not Jewish. His sleeping under the bed is used to "prove" that the bed is an impediment. Also, leaning the sukkah on a bed - does it need to stand on its own, or is this a kosher sukkah? It seems to depend on two factors: stability and the possibility of becoming impure.

Sukkah 21: Sukkah Beds (Or Is That Bed Sukkahs?)

In the ongoing discussion of the mats and their acceptability as schach, we find some rabbinic interlude, which brings us to: Who's Who: Rabbi Hiya. Plus, more on the mats themselves. The question of whether they are acceptable continues to revolve around the potential they have to be rendered impure - regardless of the variety of materials that can be used to make a mat. Also, a trans-Babylonia/Israel exchange that conclusively answers the question of the permissibility of the mats. Almost.

Sukkah 20: When a Mat Has a Wall

When something comes off a sukkah, it's treated like a sukkah - whatever does that mean? The Gemara offers 4 possibilities, including a discussion of shade vs. sunlight. Also, 2 mishnayot - the first of which is undermined by a contradictory beraita and R. Yosi's practice. The second mishnah allows for sukkah mats for schach, as long as they've been designated for schach use.

Sukkah 19: Creative Interpretations

Lavud... What if you have a gap of less than 3 tefachim in the middle of the schach? Specifically, if your sukkah is larger than the minimum. Which leads to a discussion of the purity issues of a sukkah in this way, and the absolute heritage of how impurity works in this kind of case. Note the methodology here, in terms of seeking halakhic parallels (or not, as this case may be). Also, a couple of statements by R. Yehudah bar Ilai, including one about small kosher fish - where they can be eaten, and where not.

Sukkah 18: The Little Fish

A mishnah with 3 cases of non-kosher sukkahs. And then the Gemara needs to figure out why all 3 cases are necessary. Also, some narrative about the sages having their discussions on the halakhot of sukkah, and the talk that happens around learning. Plus, What's What (Where's Where?) on the yeshivot of Sura, Nehardea, and more.

Sukkah 17: In the Process of Learning

Looking for the stages that clarify the previous mishnah. A bed can, of course, be rendered impure and then be purified. Even if the bed is dismantled... Whereas, mats woven from various reeds and grasses - which are apparently too small. And lastly of those cases - digging into a grain pile to make a sukkah, depending on the measure of the hole you dig. Also, a new mishnah: wherein one lowers the walls of a sukkah to hover above the ground. How large the gap is will make the difference - in what amounts to a hanging sukkah. Which of course yields significant comparison to Eruvin, and specifically lavud.

Sukkah 16: Mind the Gap!

A daf with 2 mishnayot. The first has 3 different disputes in the span of the one mishnah, which focuses on wooden boards that can be used for schach, depending on the finished product. How wide can the board be? What if you remove a board? And most importantly, perhaps, how do we apply other basic sukkah concepts to this new scenario of sukkah. Also, the second mishnah - metal skewers or bed rods for schach.... Plus one who digs a sukkah out of a pile of grain... Which poses a structural question about the mishnah. The next daf may have an easement to that structural difficulty. Also, the Gemara delves into the question of the poles being placed at a distance from each other equal to the width of the pole.

Sukkah 15: Structural Incongruities

A follow-up to the hyssop/"eizov" discussion. Also, continuing the case of one who harvested grain and then decided not to eat it, but to use it for schach. Where both action and intent can be relevant, and action demonstrates intent. Plus, turning straw over with a pitchfork. Which leads into a comparison between the prayers of tzadikim and a pitchfork. Also, a new mishnah, and the question of wooden boards as schach - which involves a dispute by R. Yehudah and R. Meir, and is followed up in the Gemara with a dispute about the dispute by Rav and Shmuel. The whole topic, together with the previous mishnah establishes the boundaries of the range of permanence in schach. Plus, mention of the case of danger for a sukkah.

Sukkah 14: What Are Your Intentions?

Binding things together entails more than one thing! Also, the hyssop (or "eizov"), and its uses in the process of purification. Also, materials that might usually be used for food (and therefore be able to be rendered impure) and use them for roofing, there are ways to use them in ways that won't be rendered impure. For example, grapes are obviously food, but the branches that they're on are never eaten. Once there's more inedible than edible, them you can use it for schach.

Sukkah 13: Grapes and Their Branches

Schach - what can be used for it: the specific examples of the leavings from the threshing floor and the winepress, as delineated and derived from the biblical verses. But not the grain or the grapes themselves, as food can be rendered impure. The Gemara also discusses whether wine can be used for schach, and, interestingly, the fact that it is liquid is not a concern. Plus, another sukkah connection to Nechemiah. Also, bundles are not acceptable for schach, but unbundled should be fine. The storehouse isn't acceptable as a sukkah either... Note the need to do some active preparation that makes a sukkah a sukkah. [What's What: Ta'aseh, ve-lo min ha-asui.] Plus, the possibility of using arrow shafts for schach. Or wormwood leaves or licorice leaves (the former of which gets nixed).

Sukkah 12: Male and Female Arrow Shafts

Climbing plants on a sukkah - ivy? Grapes? Etc. When they are attached to the ground, they can't really be part of the schach, unless they were overwhelmed in quantity by schach that was not attached to the ground. Also, tzitzit! In parallel to sukkah. In this case, can a string that is tied to two corners be acceptable for tzitzit? Plus, the 4 species make an appearance here. Do they need to be bound together? What if the myrtle branch has berries? And finally, what is the source for the requirement that schach comes from that which cannot be rendered impure? With the accompanying verses - how the cloud provides God's protection on this earth, and the water in that cloud is not rendered impure. It's from the very beginning of creation!

Sukkah 11: God's Rain Cloud

[Some wonky audio from the app. Not throughout. With our apologies nonetheless.] What can't go over the schach: for example, additional shading, such as a tarp or a canopy. Any such thing that can be rendered impure cannot be kosher for schach. But if you are intentionally beautifying the sukkah with decorations, that should be fine. The discussion of roofing that can be rendered impure does get some attention here, but as a given. Also, an exilarch (resh galuta) story, with a sukkah and schach that was hanging down. And it was treated as not problematic davka. Plus, the case of a bed with netting over it. And the case of sleeping under one's bed in a sukkah.

Sukkah 10: Sukkah Decorations

Does the age of the materials being used to build a sukkah matter? How long on advance of Sukkot can one build a sukkah? What about intent? How do we define an "old sukkah"? The dispute is between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai. Just as a korban that is dedicated to be a festival-sacrifice, so to the building materials are consecrated when they are dedicated to be part of a sukkah. That plan to use the materials for a sukkah elevates them. Also, one who built a sukkah inside of a house or under a tree... doesn't really have a sukkah. With some exception. A sukkah built on top of another sukkah - the upper one should be fine, the lower one will depend on the configuration. Though there are ways that the shade from a tree over the sukkah would not be a problem for the sukkah. Plus, the challenge of learning the non-linear text of the Gemara on a non-linear way.

Sukkah 9: A Tree Is Like a House

Serious math on the daf, geometry in particular. Squaring a round sukkah. Which gets into the math of circumferences... Which needs π (3.14....). Also, who can make a sukkah and be sure it will be kosher? Together with an a week to the question whether a sukkah has to be built for the express purpose of building a sukkah. Via mnemonic acronyms.

Sukkah 8: The Need for "Secular Studies"

Learning the daf? We have something for you to think about. Not learning the daf? We have something for you to think about! (Along with a taste of the daf...)

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