Sukka 13 a, b

What is fit to roof a sukka?  We have already learned that roofing must not be attached to the ground.  We have been taught that roofing must come from the earth, and so we cannot use animal skins as roofing, for example.  Today the rabbis consider a number of other possibilities.

First they discuss what should not be used to roof a sukka.  A plant that emits a foul odour or a plant that will shed its leaves are not fit for use as roofing, for they will cause dweller to exit the sukka.  In this context, the rabbis discuss thorns and shrubs, which leads to the question of binding.  What do we do about plants that are naturally bound together at one end?   Huts that are made of willow branches are both naturally and unnaturally bound.  As these unnatural bindings can be undone after sale, willow branches are deemed fit for the roof of a sukka.

But what about branches that could impart ritual impurity?  To answer this question, the rabbis speak about what can be used as a bitter herb on Pesach.  They also wonder about whether or not  there are handles on these foods.  Steinsaltz shares a note that tells us not to worry; this question will be covered in much more detail in Masechet Okatzin.  I am grateful for this as the discourse on handles is both complex and new to me at this point.  Finally, in this discussion we are told that branches that have less food than wood and leaves are fit to roof a sukka.

Our daf ends by asking what happens when someone cuts down a branch with the intention of using its fruit for food, but then s/he changes her/his mind and wants to use the branch to roof the sukka.  The thought is not enough to negate her/his initial intention.  Instead, an action must be taken to assert that the function of the branch has changed.

This final idea is fascinating to me.  We cannot simply change the meaning of an object by changing how we think of that object.  Instead, a concrete action demonstrates that change.  I wonder how this might be applied to other parts of life.  I understand that I am suggesting that this idea refers to things more mundane than mitzvot.  For example, if I first intend that my car is a thing to take me from point a to point b, I think of it in a particular way.  But if I think of my car as a thing that provides me with safe and comfortable shelter while I travel, the meaning of my car has changed dramatically.  Perhaps if I put a flower in my car, or - more meaningful, for me - if I actually cleaned up my car and took the action of making it a sacred space, the car would truly change, too.