BS”D
Suka 25a-b
Elul 2, 5781. August 10, 2021
1- We continued on the topic of העוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה.
Discussed the ר”ן that places the emphasis on the word עוסק. Meaning not just simple מקיים מצוה. One needs to be actively involved and preoccupied with one מצוה to be פטור from performing another.
2- We brought up a brain teaser. Think!
Preface: העוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה
The פני יהושע says that there is a difference between someone that is busy with a מצוה and therefore could not eat מצה on Pesach to one that is busy with a מצוה and ate outside the Sukkah. [Both instances on the first night]
Whereas on Pesach he was מבטל the מצווה passively, he simply didn’t eat מצה, Sukkos, on the other hand, he was מבטל the מצוה with a positive action. He ate outside the Sukkah.
The 7 days of Sukkos are split into two time zones. The first night versus the rest of the 7 days. See the מנחת חינוך from a previous shiur
One must eat in a Sukkah on the first night. For the rest of the Yom Tov there is no obligation to eat in a Sukkah. One can fast, drink water or eat fruits that do not require being inside the Sukkah. Only if one wants to eat a סעודה then he is obligated to do so in a Sukkah. So the מצווה on the other days in not to eat outside the Sukkah.
Sukkos in Yerushalayim
Generally, a מצוות עשה is a positive commandment. One needs to do it. In other words, a מצוות עשה is a קום ועשה.
If one does not perform it, he transgresses by simply sitting back and not doing it. Like eating Matzah or Putting on Tefillin. A positive action to perform and a שב ואל תעשה to not perform.
Similarly, eating in a Sukkah on the first night, requires is a positive action. One must go into the Sukkah to perform this מצוה. That’s simple enough.
Now, what about if one eats outside a Sukkah on the first night? He obviously was not מקיים the מצוה of Sukkah. But how do we view this ביטול המצוה?
The פני יהושע says it is ביטול המצוה by a positive action קום ועשה because he ate outside a Sukkah.
Reb Akiva Eiger disagrees. He says that eating outside the Sukkah on the first night of Sukkah is ביטול המצוה in a passive action. ביטול המצוה בשב ואל תעשה. The reasoning is that the מצווה is to eat in a Sukkah. And that he didn’t do. The fact that he ate outside the Sukkah is just the reason that he wasn’t מקיים the מצווה. He ate his meal in the wrong place.
Let’s think – As Yanki Teitelbaum pointed out, if one eats a full meal on the first night in a Sukkah and then eats another meal outside the Sukkah, he was מקיים the מצווה with the first meal. The second meal, although very wrong to do so, has nothing to do with the positive מצווה of eating in a Sukkah.
It would work in reverse as well. If one eats a full meal on the first night outside a Sukkah and then eats another meal inside the Sukkah, he was מקיים the מצווה with the second meal. The first meal, although very wrong to do so, does not negate that he was מקיים the מצווה with the second meal.
3- Speaking of העוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה we discussed if this applies to ‘more important’ Mitzvos in relation to ‘less important’ ones.
We mentioned the responsa of the Radvaz (4, 13) who was a Rav in Egypt and Yerushalayim. Some say that the Ariza’l was his student.
[He is famous for reinstating חזרת הש”ץ in Egypt many years after the Rambam abolished it. We mentioned this in the past.
See here in Hebrew. And an excellent article here.
The Radvaz was asked about an unfortunate Jew that was imprisoned and was granted permission for a furlough for just one day a year. What day should he choose?
The Radvaz disagreed with others who said the he should choose פורים or any other ‘important’ מצווה that he was unable to do behind bars.
His opinion was that he should choose the first possible מצווה that came his way. Even if it seems like a small or of ‘lesser importance’. For one should not be the judge on the importance of any mitzvah in comparison to another.
4- We spoke about the Gemara’s question of who was טמא when the second פסח came around causing them to be unable to participate in the קרבן פסח.
The obvious question is: With a few million people at the time, it would be inevitable that one would pass away from מתן תורה until the second קרבן פסח came around. So what is the Gemar’s question?
We mentioned the פנים יפות. Bamidbor 9. He quotes a מדרש that no one passed away from Yom Kippur of the first year when the first count occurred until Iyar of the second year when the second count was made.
But see Rashi Shmos 30 :16.
To be continued BL”N.
5- The ‘vort’ on וַיְעַנְּךָ וַיַּרְעִבֶךָ וַיַּאֲכִלְךָ אֶת הַמָּן
ומסיימין בטוב.