All seven days (of the festival), one makes his succah permanent and his house temporary, [e.g., If he has beautiful vessels and spreads, he brings them into the succah.] If it rains, when is it permitted to leave (the succah)? When the mikpeh gets spoiled. [Any dish which is neither soft nor hard but stiff (kafui) is called "mikpeh." Most men shun such food, which with (the addition of) a little water is entirely spoiled. And a mikpeh of pounded beans spoils more quickly in a rain than other mikpoth. If there were enough rain to spoil a mikpeh of this kind (were it there), he may leave immediately.] They offered an analogy for this. To what may this be compared? A servant comes to pour a cup (of wine) for his master, and he [the master] dashes the (contents of the) jug in his face, [this, by way of saying: "I do not want your service!" Here, too, the rain shows that the Master is not favorably disposed to His servants' deeds.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
סוכתו קבע – if he has nice vessels and nice dining couches, he brings them up into the Sukkah.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Introduction
This is the final mishnah in tractate Sukkah which deals with the topic of the sukkah. It discusses some of the essential rules of how and when one must live in the sukkah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
משתסרח המקפה – when the stiff dish (of grist, oil and onions) becomes spoiled, every cooked food that is neither soft nor hard but rather the formation of coagulated substance is called a stiff dish. But most people detest a cooked dish like this, and a little bit of water ruins it completely. And the stiff dish of pounded beans hastens to become ruined in rain more than other stiff dishes, and if rain fell until if he had before him a stiff dish of pounded beans, it would become ruined, and it is permitted to leave [the Sukkah] immediately.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
All seven days [of the festival] a man must make the sukkah his permanent residence and his house his temporary residence. The essential commandment of the sukkah is that one should live in it during Sukkot as one lives in a permanent home the rest of the year. In the time of the Mishnah and Talmud this meant that one would sleep and eat in the sukkah. It also meant that they would bring their regular belongings, beds, mattresses, pillows, blankets, etc. out into the Sukkah. Today it means that any activity that one can do with comfort in the sukkah, should be done there. It means inviting over company and sitting there instead of inside in the living room. It means playing games with the children in the sukkah. It means reading there, if the lights are good enough. It means striving to spend as much time in the sukkah as possible and not turning it into just a dining room.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
ושפך לו - his master a pitcher on the face of the servant, that is to say, I have no use for your service, even here, these rains show that the Holy One, blessed be He does not accept their deeds with favor.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
If rain fell, when may one be permitted to leave it? When the porridge becomes spoiled. They made a parable. To what can this be compared? To a slave who comes to fill the cup for his master, and he poured a pitcher over his face. Nevertheless, one is not commanded to sit in the sukkah if it is raining. Once the rain is heavy enough to drip through the skhakh and ruin the porridge (a thick soup-like mixture) then one may leave the sukkah, indeed one should leave the sukkah. Just as one would not sit inside his house underneath a leak, so too one should not sit outside in the sukkah while it is raining. The mishnah now illustrates this as a parable. The Jew who has made a sukkah is like a slave who has prepared something with which to serve his master. Instead of accepting the water (the sukkah) the master (God) pours a pitcher of water (the rain) over the slave’s face. This parable is fascinating for its simplicity and intricacy. The sukkah is in its essence a prayer for rain after all, Sukkot is the beginning of the rainy season. Yet we don’t want rain while sitting in the sukkah. Hence early rain is perceived as an insult and not as a blessing. We can see from the parable just how sensitive the issue of rain was, and still is, to those living in the land of Israel.
