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Welcome to Tractate Succah. (The Mishnah and Talmud give us, in so many cases, the practical and detailed application of verses from the Torah which would otherwise prove elusive. Tractate Succah is a perfect example.)
In a nutshell, this Tractate focuses on four main topics:
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Dwelling in the Succah. The Torah (Leviticus 23:42) tells us “In Succahs you shall dwell for a seven-day period.” This Tractate will elaborate on the following related topics:
- What does it mean to “dwell” in a Succah?
- What are the minimum and maximum sizes for a Succah?
- What are the requirements for kosher S’chach (the roof covering) of a Succah?
- The details of the Succah walls.
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Taking the Lulav/Etrog (the Four Species). The Torah (Leviticus 23:40) tells us that “you shall take for yourselves on the first day [of Succot] the fruit of a beautiful tree, branches of date palms, and a shoot of the plaited tree, and willows of a brook; and you shall rejoice before Hashem, your G-d, for a seven-day period.” Here again, without the Mishnah (and Talmud), the practical application of this verse would be difficult to decipher. This Tractate will elaborate on the following topics:
- What are the actual components of the Lulav/Etrog (the “Four Species”)?
- How exactly does one assemble and “shake” (or wave) the Lulav and Etrog?
- For how many days during the holiday did they wave the Lulav and Etrog in the times of the Temple, and for how many days during the holiday do we wave them today?
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The Aravah Ceremony in the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple). The Aravah (Aravot in the plural) — willow twigs — are a component of the Lulav and Etrog. They also figured into another mitzvah on Succot . . . Each day, the Koheinim (Priests) would take long Aravot, wave them, walk around the Altar, and would stand them against the sides of the Altar. (Fun fact: this Mitzvah is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah, but is part of the category of Mitzvot which were taught to Moses at Sinai and then passed orally from generation to generation [aka “Halacha L’Moshe M’Sinai].)
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The mitzvah of pouring water on the Altar. Every day of Succot, as part of the morning Tamid offering, a Kohein (Priest) would pour a certain amount of spring water into a bowl on the Altar (this mitzvah is called Nisuch HaMayim — the pouring of water — and is also a Halacha L’Moshe M’Sinai). The water was drawn from the famous Shilo’ach Spring near Jerusalem and was accompanied by joyous celebration called “Simchat Beit HaSho’eivah” — the “Joy of the House of the Drawing.” This was no ordinary celebration . . . As the Mishnah teaches, “anyone who did not see this celebration never saw rejoicing in his/her life.”
Excerpted, in large part, from ArtScroll Mishnah Elucidated
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