Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 640 - Individuals who are Exempt from Dwelling in a Sukkah

SECTION 640 Individuals who are Exempt from Dwelling in a Sukkah. (1–22)

1 Women and bondmen are exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah1 because it is a positive mitzvah whose observance is associated with a specific time.2 A person who is half a bondman and half a free man,3 by contrast, is obligated, because in part he is a free man.4

2 A tumtum5 and a hermaphrodite6 are obligated [to observe the mitzvah of] sukkah, because possibly they are males.7 They are not required to recite the blessing leishev basukkah, for whenever there is a doubt as to [whether] a blessing [should be recited], the lenient perspective is taken.8 If, however, they desire to recite the blessing, they have that option, as explained in sec. 17[:3].9

Indeed, even women who desire to dwell in a sukkah and recite a blessing have that option. Nevertheless, a person who already recited the blessing leishev basukkah should not recite it a second time to fulfill the obligation on behalf of women. Since they are exempt from this blessing, [to recite] it [on their behalf] is to recite a blessing in vain,10 as explained in sec. 589[:2].

3 Although, according to Scriptural Law, minors are exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah until they reach the age of thirteen, any boy who does not require his mother’s [attention] is obligated by Rabbinic Law [to dwell] in the sukkah, so that he will be trained to observe the mitzvos.11 [At what age is he considered sufficiently independent?] From the time he is fully six years old,12 or, if he is bright and precocious and does not require his mother’s attention, from the time he is fully five years old.

If a child still needs his mother, just as she is exempt [from observing the mitzvah], so, too, is the child exempt even according to Rabbinic Law, for he requires her [attention].

4 Even though a child who does not require his mother’s [attention] is obligated [to dwell] in the sukkah, if he eats and sleeps outside the sukkah others are not required to rebuke or scold him, as stated in sec. 343[:1]. His father, by contrast, is obligated to scold and rebuke him, and bring him into the sukkah to train him in the observance of the mitzvos.13

His mother is not obligated to train him in the observance of the mitzvos.14 In relation to him she is considered as any other person. [Moreover,] she is permitted to place food before him outside the sukkah even though she knows that he will certainly not enter the sukkah to eat, but will eat in the place in which she placed the food. This is not a cause for concern, because she is not telling him to eat outside the sukkah.15

5 The Torah obligated [us] to dwell in the sukkah only to the extent that one normally dwells in his home throughout the year. Therefore a person who feels discomfort when dwelling in the sukkah and would free himself of that discomfort by leaving the sukkah is exempt from dwelling in it,16 for throughout the year one does not dwell in a place that causes him discomfort.

When does this apply? With regard to the meals of the festival other than on the first night. At that time, even a person who suffers discomfort is obligated to eat [at least] a kezayis in the sukkah, as explained in sec. 639[:17].

6 What is meant by discomfort? The inability to eat or sleep in the sukkah because of a distressing wind, or because of flies or fleas or the like, or because of an unpleasant odor in the sukkah, when it is possible for him to free himself from these discomforts by departing.¹⁶

When does the above apply? When the distressing factor arose incidentally, after he made the sukkah in its present location. A sukkah is invalid if it was made in a place where one knows that he will later suffer discomfort, such as if he built it in a place that he knows to be windy.

[Moreover,] a sukkah is invalid even if it was built in a place where one will not suffer discomfort while eating, but will suffer discomfort while sleeping; e.g., he built his sukkah in the street, where he cannot sleep tranquilly for fear of thieves and robbers. One does not fulfill his obligation with [such a sukkah] even while eating, even though at that time he feels no discomfort at all. [The rationale is that] whenever a person cannot eat, drink, relax, and sleep in a sukkah tranquilly, without aggravation, it is not considered a dwelling at all, because it does not resemble his home where he can meet all his needs comfortably.

However, if one builds his sukkah in the street and can sleep there at night without being fearful for his own safety, even if he is afraid that his utensils may be stolen from the sukkah, the sukkah is valid — for it is fit to serve him as a dwelling since he is not afraid to sleep in it, and he can return his utensils to his home at night. Nevertheless, as an initial and preferred option, one should not build a sukkah in the street; for explanation, see sec. 637[:11].

7 If one built a small sukkah in which he cannot sleep comfortably because he cannot stretch out his arms and legs, it is [nevertheless] valid. He is obligated to sleep in it and to bend his arms and legs. This does not qualify as discomfort, for sometimes a person will sleep with his body and his limbs bent.

If one feels discomfort, he alone is exempt from the obligation [to dwell in] the sukkah. His attendants are obligated [to dwell in] the sukkah; i.e., if they desire to eat or to sleep, they must enter it. If, by contrast, one is sick — even if he is not dangerously ill, indeed, even if he merely suffers pain in his head or eyes and it is difficult for him to dwell in the sukkah — his attendants too are exempt [from dwelling in] the sukkah,17 for they are occupied with the observance of a mitzvah.18 And whoever is occupied with the performance of a mitzvah is exempt from performing a different mitzvah.19 Accordingly, the attendants are exempt [from dwelling in the sukkah] only while they are caring for him, for that is when they are occupied in the observance of a mitzvah.20

8 A person who let blood is obligated [to dwell in] the sukkah, for he suffers no discomfort at all. On the contrary, he is happy and eats and drinks more than usual.

When does the above apply? When he lets blood only in order to protect his health,21 and he does not feel sick at all. If, however, he feels sick (because of letting blood) and it is slightly chilly, he is exempt from [dwelling in] the sukkah.

Initially, however, it is preferable not to let blood during the festival if it is possible to do so beforehand or to postpone doing so until after the festival, for one should not cause himself discomfort that may exempt him from the obligation [to dwell in] the sukkah. For this reason, it is forbidden for a person to imbibe a diarrhetic agent during Sukkos if he could undergo [this treatment] before or after [the festival]. If he transgressed and imbibed [such a substance], he is exempt [from dwelling in] the sukkah, because the cold is difficult for him to bear.

9 If the lamps illuminating one’s sukkah went out on Friday night during the festival,22 and he has a lamp burning in his home, he may leave the sukkah and eat at home where the lamp is burning, for it is uncomfortable to eat in the dark without a lamp.

Even if he has a friend who has a lamp in his sukkah, we do not obligate the person whose lamp went out to bring his meal to his friend’s sukkah so that he can eat by the light of the lamp. [The rationale is that] to eat in a friend’s sukkah is also uncomfortable, for a man finds pleasure only in his own domain.

Nevertheless, if he can go to his friend’s sukkah without much difficulty, no leniency should be taken regarding this matter, for the above reason does not fully qualify as a discomfort that should exempt him from the obligation [to dwell] in the sukkah.

10 It is permitted to hang a cloth or sheet on the sides of a sukkah on Shabbos or on Yom-Tov23 to protect the candles from being extinguished by the wind. This does not constitute [a transgression of] the prohibition against constructing a tent24 on Shabbos and on Yom-Tov, because a partition25 is not considered a tent, as stated in sec. 315[:3].26 It is, however, forbidden to hang [such an object] under the s’chach,27 even when — if this is not done — it will be impossible to eat in the sukkah at all, because the wind will extinguish the candles on Friday night. For [the observance of] the mitzvah of sukkah does not override any prohibition, even a prohibition of Rabbinic origin,28 for the reason explained [in] sec. 586[:22].29

It is, however, permitted to spread [such an object] on the s’chach if it would be impossible otherwise to eat in the sukkah (see Magen Avraham 629[:25]). The rationale is that there is no tent at all, because there is not a handbreadth of space between the sheet and the s’chach beneath it. If, however, one is not certain that if he does not spread out a sheet he will not be able to eat in the sukkah, it is forbidden to spread out a sheet even on a weekday, whether below or above the s’chach, for the reason explained at the end of sec. 629.30

11 A person who suffers discomfort is exempt from the obligation [to dwell] in the sukkah only if he feels discomfort from a factor that ordinarily causes people discomfort. If he feels discomfort because of something that ordinarily does not cause people discomfort, his feelings are [halachically] insignificant because of those of the majority.

[An exception applies when one] is known to be delicate.31 [He is exempt from the obligation to dwell in the sukkah] if he feels discomfort from a cause that makes all delicate people feel uncomfortable. One may not, however, claim to be delicate [and thus be exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah] unless this is known to be his nature.

12 A person who sleeps in the sukkah in a canopy bed which has a roof at least a handbreadth wide and which is at least ten handbreadths high does not fulfill his obligation.32 Nevertheless, if there are mosquitoes in the sukkah that annoy him, it is preferable that he sleep in such a canopy bed than outside the sukkah,¹⁶ for there is [an opinion] that allows one outright to sleep in such a bed, even if there are no mosquitoes.33 Though the halachah does not follow this opinion, [it can be relied on when one would otherwise leave the sukkah].

13 A mourner is obligated [to dwell] in the sukkah,34 even on the first day [of mourning]. It is distressing35 for him to dwell in the sukkah, for a mourner desires to be alone,36 [so that he can] be preoccupied with his pain and mourning. He is nevertheless obligated to dwell in the sukkah, and to remove the mourning from his heart so that he will not feel any discomfort from dwelling in the sukkah.

If, however, he cannot clear his heart from mourning, because the deceased was very dear to him, and he feels discomfort in the sukkah because he cannot be preoccupied with his mourning as he would be at home where he would sit alone, he is exempt from dwelling in the sukkah.

14 The festive meal celebrating a circumcision and the festive meal held in honor of a woman who gave birth (as was the custom in former times37) must be held in a sukkah,38 even though the space is restricted and people will not be able to celebrate appropriately. Nevertheless, [the festive meal should be held] in a sukkah and those people who are held back by the constrictions [of space] should not participate in this feast.

Though the festive meal celebrating a circumcision is considered a festive meal associated with a mitzvah,39 it is not a mitzvah of such standing that it should override the mitzvah of [eating in] the sukkah, which is a positive commandment of Scriptural authority.

15 [The following laws apply when] a person travels on a journey during Sukkos.¹⁶ If he eats and sleeps in open places, in areas where there is no settlement at all, he does not have to take the trouble of building a sukkah. Even if he dwells in one place in a field throughout the holiday and he has the potential to make a sukkah in this place, he is still not required to take the trouble [of making a sukkah] there.40 Instead, if a sukkah that was made for shade is available in the place where he was camping, he should dwell in it. If not, he may eat, drink, and sleep in an open space, for a sukkah is like the home in which he lives throughout the year, and a person will not establish his dwelling in a place where there is no settlement whatever.

16 However, when he reaches an inhabited place, even if it is inhabited by non-Jews, and desires to eat and sleep there, he is obligated to build a sukkah and enter it to eat and sleep.⁴⁰

When does the above apply? When one has the opportunity to build a sukkah during the interval between the time he arrived at that settlement and the time at which travelers in a comparable situation eat and sleep. I.e., if he travels during the day and spends the night in a settlement, [travelers in his situation] eat and sleep at the beginning of the night so that they can rise early in the morning to resume their journey; [hence,] if he has enough time to build a sukkah before the above-described time for eating and sleeping, [he is obligated to build a sukkah].

[Different rules apply if] one reaches a settlement near the time at which travelers in his situation eat and sleep. If he must take the trouble to build a sukkah before the time at which travelers similar to himself eat and sleep, his journey will be delayed and he will not be able to rise early the next morning and continue traveling. [Hence] he is not required to take the trouble to build a sukkah, but may eat and sleep in a house. Needless to say, when one does not desire to tarry in the settlement at all, but only to eat and sleep and quickly resume his journey, he is not required to take the trouble of building a sukkah, because this will delay his journey.41

[The above applies] even if one is traveling for his own mundane affairs.42 Nevertheless, he is not obligated to regard the sukkah as his permanent dwelling during Sukkos more than he regards his home as his permanent dwelling throughout the year. Just as throughout the year he sometimes leaves his home and undertakes a journey, so, too, he is permitted to leave his sukkah and undertake a journey. And just as occasionally, when he is traveling throughout the year, he does not eat indoors so that his journey will not be delayed, so, too, he is permitted [at this time] to eat and sleep outside the sukkah so that his journey will not be delayed.

17 People who travel to villages to collect debts, and [usually] stay overnight in the village, are obligated by law to build a sukkah there, because they abide in each village for a long time. Hence, if they do not build a sukkah there, they are forbidden to eat and sleep [in the village], but must return to their homes every night to eat and sleep in a sukkah.

18 The above [laws] apply to a person who travels for his own mundane affairs. When, by contrast, one travels to [fulfill] a mitzvah43 — e.g., to meet his Torah teacher,44 to redeem captives, or the like — and he reaches a settlement before he performs the mitzvah, he is not required to take the trouble to build a sukkah. [Moreover,] even if there is an existing sukkah there, if it is not readily accessible to him he does not have to take the trouble and seek after it, but is permitted to eat and sleep in a house.

[The rationale is that] whenever a person is not in his own home and is preoccupied with the mitzvah and how it should be carried out, he is considered as being occupied with the performance of a mitzvah. And whenever one is involved in the performance of one mitzvah, he does not have to seek out another mitzvah while he is occupied in the performance of the first.45 Though he can fulfill both mitzvos without delaying or hindering the mitzvah which he is occupied with, the Torah exempted him from taking the trouble to seek out a different mitzvah, as explained in sec. 38[:7].

When, by contrast, no trouble is involved in seeking out a sukkah, such as when there is an accessible sukkah at hand, he is obligated to enter it to eat and sleep. If he cannot eat and sleep as well in a sukkah as he could in a house and thus will be weary on the following day for lack of sleep and will not be able to carry out the mitzvah appropriately, he is exempt from sleeping in the sukkah.

19 A city’s day-guards, i.e., those who patrol the city limits all day long to protect it from attacking troops,46 are exempt from [the mitzvah of] sukkah throughout the day,¹⁶ and may eat outside a sukkah. Even if there is a sukkah ready for them, they are not required to enter it to eat if doing so will [even temporarily] prevent them from guarding. At night they are obligated [to observe the mitzvah of] sukkah, for at that time they are not guarding the city.

If they are on guard at night, but not by day, they are exempt [from the mitzvah of sukkah] at night but are obligated by day.

20 People who guard gardens and orchards and remain there by day and by night are exempt from [the mitzvah of] sukkah¹⁶ both by day and by night. Even if they remain in one place throughout all the days of the festival, they are not required to build a sukkah there, because if a guard makes a sukkah in one place, a thief will know that the guard has a fixed place and will attempt to steal from another place. Thus the sukkah makes his guarding worthless. [Now,] the Torah has obligated him to build a sukkah [to serve him as a dwelling place] only to the extent that his home is his dwelling place. Since [this person] would leave his home to protect himself from financial loss, he is not required to dwell in the sukkah when doing so would cause him financial loss.

If, however, a person is guarding a grainheap, in which instance he is able to guard the entire grainheap while remaining in his fixed place, he is obligated to make himself a sukkah at his fixed place, for this will not entail any loss. Though this sukkah will be distant from the city, and thus he will not be able to bring all of the utensils that he uses at home, this does not exempt him from [the obligation to dwell in] the sukkah,47 because this inconvenience does not arise from the sukkah. Even if he would not build a sukkah here, [while guarding the grainheap,] he would likewise not use [all] the utensils in his home.

21 Similar [laws apply] with regard to people who sit in stores throughout the day. Even if they live outside the city, far from their stores in the city, they are obligated to build a sukkah near their stores to eat. It is forbidden for them to eat inside the store. If they cannot make a sukkah near the store, they must return home to eat within the sukkah.48

22 If Jews are hired by a non-Jew on Sukkos to make [kosher] wine in his vineyard, they are exempt from [the mitzvah of] sukkah both by day and by night, because they are required to guard the wine at all times from being touched by the non-Jew.49

[Different rules apply] if there is no need for them to guard [the wine] continuously; for example, the wine was already made in a kosher manner and was placed in the non-Jew’s courtyard, in which instance a Jew need not sit there and guard it at all times. It is sufficient merely for him to dwell in this courtyard, as stated in Yoreh Deah, sec. 131.50 In such a situation he must make a sukkah in this courtyard, and dwell in it throughout all the days of the festival.