Sukkah

Beth Shammai say, [The partition may be suspended] from above, and Beth Hillel say, Only from below. R. Judah said, A partition1 should not be [subjected to] greater [restrictions] than the wall between them.2 Rabbah b. Bar Hana said in the name of R. Johanan, R. Judah spoke according to the view of R. Jose3 who said that a hanging partition validates. But in fact it is not so! Neither does R. Judah hold the opinion of R. Jose,4 nor does R. Jose hold the opinion of R. Judah.5 ‘R. Judah does not hold the opinion of R. Jose’, for R. Judah speaks only there with regard to the ‘erub of courtyards,6 which is a Rabbinical injunction, but here, with regard to the Sukkah which is a Pentateuchal commandment, he does not [say so]. ‘Nor does R. Jose hold the opinion of R. Judah,’ for R. Jose speaks only here with regard to the Sukkah which is merely a positive commandment7 but with regard to the Sabbath, the interdiction of which involves stoning, he does not say so.8 And if you will retort9 with regard to the incident which occurred at Sepphoris,10 on whose authority was it done?11 Not on the authority of R. Jose,12 but on that of R. Ishmael son of R. Jose.13 What was this incident? — [That concerning which] when R. Dimi came14 he related that on a certain occasion they forgot to bring a Scroll of the Law15 on the eve of the Sabbath. On the morrow, they stretched sheets over the pillars16 and17 brought the Scroll of the Law and read therein. Can it mean that they [really] spread them out? Whence then did they bring them on the Sabbath?18 — Rather they found sheets [already] spread over the pillars, and therefore they brought the Scroll of the Law and read therein. R. Hisda stated in the name of Abimi, A matting slightly more than four handbreadths [wide] is permitted as a Sukkah wall.19 How does one place it? — One suspends it in the middle less than three [handbreadths] from the ground and less than three from the top,20 and whatever [space] is less than three handbreadths is treated as labud.21 But is not this obvious? — One might have said that we apply the law of labud once, but we do not apply labud twice [to the same wall], therefore he informed us of this. It was objected: A matting slightly more than seven [handbreadths] is permitted as a Sukkah wall!22 — With reference to what was this taught? With reference to a large Sukkah;23 and what does it inform us?24 That walls may be suspended from above downwards in agreement with R. Jose.25 R. Ammi said, A board which is slightly more than four [handbreadths] wide26 is27 permitted for a Sukkah wall when he places it less than three [handbreadths] from the termination of the adjacent wall, since a space less than three [handbreadths] is28 treated as labud.29 What does he inform us? — He informs us this: That the minimum extent of a small Sukkah is seven [handbreadths]. the movement of objects on the Sabbath. was forbidden to carry from the house to the Synagogue on the Sabbath, and they, therefore, adopted the following device. four in the middle leaves a space of less than three on either side. be done is to suspend the mat at a distance of less than three handbreadths from the roof so that its size (being slightly more than seven handbreadths) combines with the space between it and the roof (which is somewhat less than three handbreadths) to constitute (by the rule of labud) a suspended wall of ten handbreadths in height.