Le donne, i servi e i minori sono esenti dalla (mitzvah di) succah, [in fase di scrittura (Levitico 23:42): "Ogni cittadino in Israele siederà in successione" —escludere le donne che, sebbene siano obbligate a mangiare la matzah la prima notte di Pesach, non sono obbligate a (la mitzvah di) succah la prima notte del festival.] Un minore che non ha bisogno di sua madre è obbligato nella (mitzvah di) succah. [Se si sveglia dal sonno e non chiama "Madre, Madre", è considerato "non bisognoso di sua madre" e la mitzvah è vincolante per lui; in caso contrario, è esente. Questa è l'alachah. E questo è il caso solo se continua a chiamare sua madre e non si ferma finché non viene. Ma se chiama una volta e poi si ferma, non viene considerato "bisognoso di sua madre".] Una volta, quando la nuora di Shammai il maggiore ha partorito, ha scavato una parte del soffitto e ha posto lo schach sul letto per conto del bambino.
Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
נשים ועבדים וקטנים כו' – as it states in the Bible (Leviticus 23:42): “all citizens in Israel [shall live in booths],” excluding the women, for even though they are obligated in the eating of Matzah on the first night of Passover, they are not obligated in [dwelling in] the Sukkah on the first night of the Holiday.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Introduction
Most of this mishnah is concerned with the obligation of children to observe the commandment of dwelling in the sukkah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
קטן שאינו צריך לאמו – all who stir from their sleep and do not cry out: “Mommy, Mommy,” he doesn’t need his mother and is obligated [in dwelling in the Sukkah] but younger than this, he is exempt. Ands such is the Halakha. But specifically when he cries out and repeats it and is not silent until his mother comes to him, he is called someone who needs his mother; but if he cries out one time and then is silent, he doesn’t need his mother.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Women, slaves and minors are exempt from the [commandment] of the sukkah. A minor who no longer relies on his mother is obligated in the [commandment] of the sukkah. Dwelling in the sukkah is a positive time-bound commandment, similar to hearing the shofar. As such, women and slaves are exempt. Children are also exempt, as long as they rely on their mothers and need to be with them most of the time. According to the Talmud, a child who wakes up in the middle of the night and still cries for his mother is not obligated to dwell in the sukkah. Such a child sleeps where his mother sleeps outside of the sukkah. But if he wakes up and doesn't need his mother, then he is obligated to sleep in the sukkah.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
It happened that the daughter-in-law of Shammai the elder gave birth and he opened up the ceiling and put skhakh on top of the bed[posts] on behalf of the minor. In this fascinating story, Shammai the elder opens up a hole in the roof of his house so that his newborn grandson can sleep in the sukkah. Shammai obviously disagrees with the halakhah in the previous section. Shammai the elder is also known to have made his son fast on Yom Kippur, far before he would have understood the meaning of fasting. It seems that Shammai’s concept of commandment is not that one must perform an act with intent in order to affect one’s inner life (what we call “kavvanah”), rather the act must be performed regardless of whether one understands what one is doing. Children must perform mitzvot despite the fact the fact that they clearly don’t understand what they are doing.
