Monday, October 13, 2008

Sukkah q&a

Chag Sameach Rebbe, I hope you enjoy Succot and may we all be in Yerushalaim to see the Beit HaMikdash bm"b. Also, my cousin raised a question; we sepcifically sit in a succah now becasue it's nots so nice at as opposed to nissan when it is nice out. But when it rains, which is a norm for this time of year, it is a siman rah and we are patur from sitting in the succah. So why do we celebrate Succot now at the beginning fo the rainy season if we are putting orselves at risk of encountering this siman rah?


It's a good question, to which I never really paid any attention. I think that the logic is that the lack of rain is thus clearly indicative of Hashgocho, as would not be the case at another time of year.

KT, GYT!
YGB

7 comments:

  1. Why do you think SO many people (even here in CA!) simply don't sleep in the sukkah?
    For many, it is not even a thought, they just don't!
    On the east coast I can understand becasue it's feezing sometimes, but don't people go camping in the woods when it is just as cold?
    I never understood this.
    Maybe people have been influenced by Chabad too much :)?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beis Hamikdash was destroyed WHY AGAIN?oh right"SINAS CHINAM"

    ReplyDelete
  3. They don't sleep there because they only find the Sukkah spiritual when they're awake? ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am just going to Share some stories and Torah I heard over Succos:
    1) The Griz was Around Chassidim and one of them stole his Mirror from his Tefillin because it says in The Teshuvos Divrie Chaim who ever has one is a Boor(: uneducated person) The GRIZ told the Chassid he wanted his Mirror and he will prove that even the Divrie Chaim would agree with him. He quoted this story: The Divrie Chaim was sitting in the Sukkah and it started to rain and he continued eating in the Sukkah, it came time to sleep and he was going to do that in the Sukkah to so finally one of the Chassidim asks him How is it you are going to sleeping the Sukkah does it not say a person who sleeps in the Sukkah when it rains is a HEDYIT(:a simpleton) so the Divrie Chaim answered let me be a HEDYIT as long as I am sitting in the Shade of the Shechina says the same for me let me be a Boor as long as I know I have Placed my tefillin correctly.
    2) The Netziv being the Ohav Eretz Yisroel he was on a Shemittah Year had an Esrog from Eretz Yisroel which he made the Bracha on, he told Reb Chaim Brisker about Reb Chaim said He was unsure if it was the Proper thing to make a Bracha on such an Esrog in A Shemittah Year (like this One) [This was Pre OTZER BEIS DIN I believe] It is said that the Netziv came to his door at 4 AM and told him he could Prove he was correct in making the Bracha on the Shemittah Esrog so the Brisker Rov told wait I have yet to Make Birchas Hatorah Yet to which the Netziv said how Unfortunate it is that you will be the Leader of the Next generation and at 4 AM you have yet to make A Birchas Hatorah
    (If anyone knows today what the Brisker's use for Esrogim I would highly appreciate it)
    3)And now a Simcha s torah story its funny and sad at the same time but there is something to learn from Sipurie Tzaddikim so I will give it over The Noda B'Yehuda once had a Chassid come to his shul and By CHOSSON TORAH so that the Noda B'Yehuda not get it as he was outspoken against them. After the Noda B'Yehuda said to the crowd don’t worry it is the Minhag by the Chassidim that the Chosson does not know the Kallah (the first two stories are from Tallile Oros the last I heard from a rav in shul)

    ReplyDelete
  5. What exactly is the "wife heter" ? Its the #1 reason people dont sleep in the sukkah here. Did noone have wives for the last 3300 years? Who is supposed to sleep in the sukkah? Only bachurim?

    ReplyDelete
  6. There is no specific passuk that says "sleep in the succah," rather, it is an activity which is part of daily life. Such activities, if they are normally done in the house, and can be carried out in a normal way in the succah, must be performed in the succah. Sleeping is in this category.

    Therefore, one could say that sleeping in your room, and not the succah is defined as "keeping your wife company," and not sleeping. And since keeping your wife company can't be done in the succah (b/c she isn't sleping there), it doesn't have to be done there.

    This, I assume, is only reasonable if there is a pressing need to keep one's wife company (she will have trouble falling asleep if you aren't there, there is a newborn sleeping in the room etc...).

    I think that with all these teishvu issues,hachacham einav b'rosho is the key.

    ReplyDelete
  7. maybe they darshin that as it says "basukos teshvu," it refers only to literal sitting as opposed to "shichvu." Don't take this literally.

    ReplyDelete