325. John Wilkes Booth: The obligation to dwell in a succah for seven days

A succah is a hut or a booth; we are commanded to “dwell” in one for the seven days of Succos. Nowadays, most people “dwell” by eating their meals in the succah, though many also sleep in it. (All of this is weather permitting. If it rains or there are extreme temperatures, there is no mitzvah to stay in the succah.)

A succah must have three sides (technically, two and a fraction). The walls may be made of any material whatsoever but its roof may not be made of anything that is capable of becoming ritually impure. Therefore, the roof is made of natural vegetable material (reeds or bamboo, for example). There must be more shade than sun in the succah.

The fact that a succah must have two-and-a-fraction walls is interestingly alluded to in the very word “succah,” which is spelled samech-chaf-hei. The letter samech is completely enclosed (four walls, as it were). Chaf is enclosed on three sides and open on one. The letter hei is completely bordered on two sides and only partially bordered on a third side – two and a fraction walls!

The reason for the mitzvah is to remember how God protected the Jews during the Exodus from Egypt. At that time, He shielded them with His “clouds of glory.” There is also an opinion, attributed to Rabbi Akiva in Talmud Succah 11b, that the Jews literally built huts to live in following the Exodus. Such would seem to be the simplest understanding of Leviticus 23:43, that God caused the Jews to dwell in succos. Of course, one could also say that it refers to the place named Succos where God caused the Israelites to camp as per Number 33:5 and elsewhere (not that any major commentator happens to say this). No matter how you understand the meaning of “succos,” the upshot is the same: the Jews enjoyed God’s special Divine Providence when they left Egypt, a fact that is commemorated through this mitzvah.

This mitzvah applies in all times and places. Women are not obligated in it, as it is a positive, time-bound mitzvah, though many women choose to eat in the succah. It is discussed in the first two chapters of the Talmudic tractate of Succah. It is codified in the Shulchan Aruch starting in Orach Chaim 625. This mitzvah is #168 of the 248 positive mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos and #35 of the 77 positive mitzvos that can be observed today in the Chofetz Chaim’s Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar.