Sukkah Daf 4

This article by Susan Suna is a brief reference guide as we begin to traverse Masechet Sukkah. There is significantly more details and discussions on these topics.

As we start Masechet Sukkah we will need to familiarize ourselves with a number of Halachic terms. The terms included in our daf are: דופן עקומה, לבוד, גוד אסיק. All three are Halacha to Moshe from Sinai.

דופן עקומה – a bent wall is discussed on Daf 17a about a case where Sechach was put over a hole in the roof and the walls are within 4 Amot of the Sechach. In that case we see the roof as an extension of the wall towards the place of the Sechach. Our Daf extends the principle to include a case where the height of the Sukkah is above 20 Amot and there is a raised platform on the floor by two walls decreasing the height of the Sukkah. If the opposite wall is less than 4 amot away then it has the rule of a bent wall and the Sukkah now has 3 walls and is Kosher.

לבוד – If a gap between two items is less than three Tefachim, it is as though the two items are touching. Our Daf gives the example of a Sukkah whose height is less than the minimum 10 Tefachim and one digs out a space on the floor in order to reach the required height. If the space from the dug out area to the wall is less than three Tefachim the Sukkah is Kosher.

גוד אסיק מחיצתא – Extend and raise the partitions. In a case where we have a Mechitza (wall / partition) that is a minimum of 10 Tefachim high, the Halachic walls extend upward.  On our Daf Abaye brings the case of a pillar in the center of a Sukkah that is more than 20 Amot tall. The pillar is the minimum width of a Sukkah which is 7 x 7 Tefachim and is a height of 10 tefachim. Abaye sees the walls of the pillar rising up to the Sechach and that area is a Kosher Sukkah. Rava disagrees as there is no obvious partition since the walls of the pillar do not project above the surface. A longer discussion then ensues about when to apply the principle of  גוד אסיק מחיצתא. 

Teachers: Yehudit Epstein and Dena Rock