Sukka 11 a, b

The rabbis think their way through whether or not a covered bed beneath a sukka invalidates the sukka.   They discuss different types of coverings/netting and different heights.  Whether or not the cover blocks the roofing is important, as is a height of less than 10 handbreadths.  The bed can be temporary or permanent, however, and the sukka might still be fit.

We learn in a new Mishna about grapevines, gourd vines and ivy.  The sukka is unfit if the plants are placed and then the roof is placed, and the amount of other roof is smaller than the roof with vines.  However, the sukka is fit if the fit roofing covers more than the unfit roofing.  It is also fit if the vines are cut; we are not allowed to use plants that are still attached to the ground.  

In their attempts to understand the meaning and timing of cutting the vines, the rabbis argue about the tzitzit, the ritual fringes on our prayer shawls.  When should the fringes be cut? What if they are cut earlier/later in the process?  How can this help us understand the preparation of our sukkot?

From here, our Sages consider other preparations for Sukkot.  They examine how and why the lulav is gathered and tied together.  Our daf ends with a move back toward the question of the construction of sukkot.  The rabbis remember that we construct sukkot based on a verse that speaks of the cloud that descends on us as our dwellings   Perhaps the Israelites did not sleep in sukkot at all; perhaps they used the cover of that cloud.  We begin a conversation about the construction of sukkot as an interpretation in itself.

Similar to learning Yoma in December and January, it is strange to learn Sukkot in February.  I feel as though I should be taking notes on "how to".  But I am not learning Talmud primarily to better understand halachot.  I am learning Talmud to better understand the reasoning behind halachot.  Hopefully, these blogs will help me to find the daf that will be most helpful when I am looking for halachic information.