Sukkah 4b.

Shvat 16, 5780 –  February 11, 2020

Some topics discussed. 

1- The concept of ‘Gud Asik’.  גוד אסיק

 

Gud Asik – גוד אסיק  (Lit: the wall goes up) is a הלכה למשה מסיני.

The concept of גוד אסיק considers a “wall” to continue upwards infinitely. The wall must be a minimum of 7 טפחים tall and and start  from within 3 טפחים from the ground for this halacha to apply.

Example: On Sukkos, the mechitza of a sukkah needs to reach the סכך. 

More practically, many people put the סכך  to within 3 טפחים of the top of the wall and use a different halacha called לבוד  to halachically eliminate the space. 

Sukkah walls employing לבוד

With גוד אסיק you can use, say, using gazebo walls that are only 10 טפחים high and placing the סכך  on a frame 15 feet high. Now, if the imaginary line drawn upward from the walls hits the edge of the סכך (or within 3 טפחים), your walls halachically reach your סכך. (O.C. 630:9)

2-  The concept of “dyumadim”. Or a double wall. 

The Gemara:

The Sages taught: If one inserted four posts into the ground and placed a roof over them, Rabbi Ya’akov says: One considers whether the posts are wide enough that if they were grooved and split, forming a piece of wood with two segments at a right angle, and they have a handbreadth to here, in this direction, and a handbreadth to there, in that direction, then they are considered a double post [deyumad]. With regard to certain halakhot, the status of a double post positioned at a corner is that of two full-fledged partitions. And if not, if after splitting them they are narrower than that, they are not considered a double post, as Rabbi Ya’akov would say: The minimum measure of double posts of a sukka to be considered full-fledged partitions is one handbreadth. 

And the Rabbis say: The sukka is fit only if it has two full-fledged partitions in the standard sense, completely closing each of those two sides, and a third wall, which, based on a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai, measures even a handbreadth.

2-  We began to learn the Sugya concerning the minimum height of the Sukkah which is 10 טפחים

The esoteric idea of למטה מעשרה טפחים. 

 

3- The height of the ארון  and the כפורת. 

 

To be continued.