319. Might as Well Put Your Feet Up: The prohibition against performing labor on Succos

As with all the Festivals, there is a positive command to refrain from labor on the first day of Succos and a negative injunction against performing same. As we have likewise stated, Yom Tov is different from Shabbos in that necessary food preparation is permitted.

We have also said before that the reason we do not perform acts of labor on these days is to free us from our workday activities in order to contemplate the lessons of the holidays. Succos is a day on which we recognize God’s special providence over Israel.

This mitzvah applies to both men and women in all times and places. It is discussed in the Talmud in the tractates of Beitza (8a-9a) and Makkos (21b-22a). It is codified in the Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim 495. This mitzvah is #327 of the 365 negative mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos and #153 of the 194 negative mitzvos that can be observed today in the Chofetz Chaim’s Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar.