Wenn jemandes Kopf und der größte Teil seines Körpers in der Succah wären und sein Tisch in seinem Haus —Beth Shammai regiert, dass es Pasul ist, und Beth Hillel, dass es Kasher ist. [Die Halacha stimmt mit Beth Shammai überein, ob es sich um eine große Succah handelt und er mit seinem Tisch in seinem Haus am Eingang der Succah sitzt, oder um eine kleine Succah, die seinen Kopf und die meisten von ihm nicht beherbergt Körper— beide sind verboten —ein Dekret, damit er nicht nach seinem Tisch "gezogen" wird.] Beth Hillel sagte zu Beth Shammai: "Ist es nicht passiert, dass die Ältesten von Beth Shammai und die Ältesten von Beth Hillel R. Yochanan b. Hachorani besuchten und ihn fanden mit seinem Kopf und dem größten Teil seines Körpers in der Succah und seinem Tisch im Haus sitzen, und sie sagten nichts zu ihm? " Beth Shammai erwiderte: "Können Sie von dort aus Beweise liefern? Sie sagten ihm tatsächlich: 'Wenn Sie sich so (immer) deportiert haben, haben Sie die Mizwa der Succah in all Ihren Tagen nie erfüllt!'"
Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
ב"ש פוסלין – And the Halakha is according to the School of Shammai, whether in a large Sukkah and he is sitting at the opening of the Sukkah and his table is within the house, whether in a small Sukkah which does not support/squeeze together his head, the majority of his body and his table, everything is prohibited, as a decree lest he is drawn after his table.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Introduction
The main topic of this mishnah is how much of a person’s body must be within the sukkah while he is eating.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
One whose head and the greater part of his body were within the sukkah and his table within the house: Bet Shammai say: it is invalid and Bet Hillel say it valid. If someone has a small sukkah, one that is not capable of fitting his entire body, but only his head and most of his body, Bet Shammai declare the sukkah invalid and Bet Hillel say it is valid. Similarly, if one has a large sukkah, a sukkah sufficient to fit his entire body, but he sat with only his head and most of his body in the sukkah, while the rest of his body was out of the sukkah, he would not have fulfilled his obligation according to Bet Hillel. We should note that the terminology of this mishnah is ambiguous. At first it sounds like the mishnah is discussing where the person sits, regardless of the size of the sukkah. However, the words “valid” and “invalid” at the end of section one describe the validity of the sukkah based on its size. Hence, in my explanation I have tried to incorporate both elements. According to Bet Shammai the sukkah must be large enough to encompass his entire body and he must sit with his whole body in the sukkah. Bet Hillel say that the sukkah need only hold his head and most of his body and when sitting in the sukkah, only his head and most of his body need be inside. The table may be outside of the sukkah.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Bet Hillel said to Bet Shammai: Did it not in fact happen that the elders of Bet Shammai and the elders of Bet Hillel went to visit Rabbi Yohanan ben HaHoroni and found him sitting with his head and the greater part of his body within the sukkah and his table within the house, and they didn’t say anything to him? Bet Shammai said to them: From there [you bring] proof? Indeed they said to him, “If this is your custom, then you have never in your whole life fulfilled the commandment of the sukkah. This story illustrates the argument between Bet Hillel and Bet Shammai. As an aside, we can note from this story and the discussion in 2:1 that space in sukkot might have been tight. This might reflect the reality in the Second Temple period in Jerusalem when many people came to make their pilgrimage. Alternatively, it may reflect the cramped housing and living spaces of 2nd century towns in the land of Israel.