8 

BS”D

Sukkah 5a. Shvat 23, 5780. Feb.18, 2020

1- We continued the Sugya concerning the minimum interior height of a Sukkah which is 10 Tefachim. 

The Gemara derives this from the fact that the Shechina never fully descended upon this world. 

“It has never rested on this world. It stopped at 10 Tefachim above the ground”. 

This implies that the height of 10 Tefachim is a ‘domain’. Thus a Sukkah that is only 10 Tefachim is nevertheless considered a ‘domain’ or house. 

(Indeed. It’s a difficult esoteric concept to understand). 

We mentioned the idea from the  מהר”ץ חיות that the symbolism behind this concept is that although G-D permeates this world, He nevertheless grants humans free will. Thus “His Shechina never descend to this world” to control man’s deeds. 

2- The above idea that “The Shechina has never rested on this world, meaning that it stopped at 10 Tefachim above the ground” we know from the Posuk that states “I will talk to you from above the ארון”. Being that the ארון was 10 Tefachim tall it implies that the שכינה always stays above the 10 Tefachim mark.  

וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְךָ שָׁם וְדִבַּרְתִּי אִתְּךָ מֵעַל הַכַּפֹּרֶת מִבֵּין שְׁנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים אֲשֶׁר עַל אֲרוֹן הָעֵדֻת אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוֶּה אוֹתְךָ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

3- That the ארון  was tall 10 Tefachim in total we calculate as follows: From the Posuk we see that the box itself was 9 T.

On top of the ארון  was the  כפורת. It was one Tefach tall, as below,  for a total of ten. 

4- The Gemara now discusses the source for the thickness of the כפורת since the Torah does not specify it. The Gemara compares it to the smallest measurement we find in the כלים of the משכן. And that is the מסגרת of the שולחן which was a 1 Tefach tall.  מסגרת  is the rim or trim above or below the table. 

We came across the concept of “If you have seized a lot, you have not seized”

תפסת מרובה לא תפסת. תפסת מועט תפסת

5- The Gemara then asks that we find that ציץ the Kohen Gadol wore on his forehead was even smaller- 2 fingers tall. So perhaps the כפורת was only as thick as two fingers. 

6- Next topic:  The very interesting Gemara about how the words קודש להשם were engraved on the ציץ – On one line or on two lines. 

From Sefaria

The Chachomim say: And written upon it are two lines: The letters yod, heh, vav, heh, the name of God, above; and the word kodesh, spelled kuf, dalet, shin, followed by the letter lamed, below. Together it spelled kodesh laHashem, meaning: Sacred to the Lord, with yod, heh, vav, heh written on the upper line in deference to the name of God. 

Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei, said: I saw the ציץ in the emperor’s treasury in Rome, where it was taken together with the other Temple vessels when the Temple was destroyed, and upon it was written: Sacred to the Lord, on one line.

We mentioned the Rebbe’s explanation on this Gemara. L”S 26. P201.

In Short- 

Although Reb Eliezer saw the actual plate that had the words engraved on one line, the חכמים held their ground and maintained that was/is written on two lines!

How is that possible? 

This is because, as with the Menorah on the Arch of Titus, although it seemingly depicts the Menorah of the Beis Hamikdash, the numerous discrepancies [such as the 6 rounded bars, an engraved dragon!] show that it was just modeled and based on another contemporary Menorah. Not the actual Menorah that was in the בית המקדש. 

 

Similarly, we can assume as to the origin of the ציץ that was seen in the Roman archives. 

Since the חכמים had a קבלה that it was two lines, despite the fact that Reb Eliezer testified seeing the (actual) plate engraved on one line, the חכמים were convinced that the one he saw in Rome was not the ציץ that was worn by the כהן גדול. It was a prototype or piece of jewelry that was similar to the actual ציץ.

On the other hand, Reb Eliezer had no such קבלה. Thus his seeing the ציץ was proof for him that it was indeed a one line engraving. 

We continued with the Rebbe’s explanation on the ruling of the Rambam that it should be engraved on two lines but if it was done on one line it is kosher ‘and sometimes it was engraved on one line’. 

כֵּיצַד מַעֲשֵׂה הַצִּיץ. עוֹשֶׂה טַס שֶׁל זָהָב רֹחַב שְׁתֵּי אֶצְבָּעוֹת וּמַקִּיף מֵאֹזֶן לְאֹזֶן וְכוֹתֵב עָלָיו שֵׁנִי שִׁיטִין קֹדֶשׁ לַה’ קֹדֶשׁ מִלְּמַטָּה לַה’ מִלְמַעְלָה. וְאִם כְּתָבוֹ בְּשִׁיטָה אַחַת כָּשֵׁר. וּפְעָמִים כְּתָבוּהוּ בְּשִׁיטָה אַחַת:

7- We concluded with the Chasam Sofer concerning  אליהו הנביא.    

   חתם סופר – חלק ו 97

The question concerns travelling on a train on Shabbos (assuming one got on before Shabbos). Is there an issue with leaving the תחום שבת? 

There is an unresolved question (Eiruvin 43a-b) if the prohibition of traveling further than the תחום  applies if one is above 10 Tefochim. Such as in a boat or…a flying angel.

As per the Gemara this query concerns אליהו הנביא and how he reappears on Shabbos etc since he ‘travels’ from heaven which is more than a תחום from earth! 

הנה אנכי שולח לכם את אליה הנביא לפני בוא יום ה’

The Gemara discusses if אליהו הנביא can come on Shabbos to announce the coming of Moshiach since he will need to travel out of his תחום. 

The Chasam Sofer says that אליהו הנביא does not come from Heaven. Rather, his body is physically present in the גן עדן  that exists on our planet.

 

His soul, however,  is in the spiritual heaven like all other angels. 

Now,  אליהו הנביא can make an appearance in two ways:

 1- Only his soul descends. When that occurs he is not a ‘human’. Thus the laws of תחום do not apply to him. Therefore his attending a Bris on Shabbos and Yom Tov is not an issue. 

2- When his soul re-attaches to his physical body and he appears as such. We find numerous places in Sha”S that he makes a physical appearance. He is then considered human and מחוייב במצוות.

When announcing the coming of Moshiach he will need to arrive physically and thus there is an issue with his appearing on Shabbos.

There were more discussions on other topics. 

To be continued bl”n.