Shiur summary (draft from the recording)
Sleeping Under a Bed in the Sukkah
הישן תחת המטה
Sukkah 20b · the Mishnah · Tuesday, October 21, 2025
The sugya
The shiur learned the opening Mishnah of the perek: one who sleeps under a bed in a sukkah. The Tanna Kamma says he is not yotzei. R' Yehudah disagrees, based on the custom of sleeping under the bed in front of the Zekeinim, who said nothing. R' Shimon's story of Tevi, the eved of Rabban Gamliel, shows that he holds like the Tanna Kamma. The Rebbi translated word by word, re-read the Mishnah with its punctuation, summarised it, and sent the chabura to chazer it b'chavrusa.
Step by step (shakla v’tarya)
- MishnahThe new Mishnah deals with someone sleeping under a bed in a sukkah, and whether he is yotzei.
- Someone sleeping under a bed in a sukkah is not really under the sukkah, he is under the bed.
- Sleeping is an integral part of the mitzvah of sukkah: eating, sleeping and drinking.
- ShitahTanna Kamma: lo yatza yedei chovaso. He has not exited his obligation and is still chayav.
- MachlokesR' Yehudah dissents. The Rebbi notes it is not a straight-up machlokes, since the Mishnah presents it through stories of what happened.
- ShitahR' Yehudah: it was our custom to sleep under the bed before the Zekeinim, and they said nothing to us. So it is obviously permitted, otherwise they would have objected.
- R' Shimon gives a third opinion that is really not a third one: his story shows whom he aligns with.
- MishnahR' Shimon: there was a story with Tevi, the eved of Rabban Gamliel, who used to sleep under the bed.
- Tevi was a famous, very learned eved, mentioned in different stories all over Shas. He was an eved Kenaani, not a Jewish slave.
- MishnahRabban Gamliel said to the Zekeinim: Do you see Tevi my eved? He is a talmid chacham and knows that avadim are patur from sukkah, so he sleeps under the bed.
- The RebbiAn eved Kenaani is obligated only in mitzvos that women are chayav in. Sukkah is a mitzvas aseh shehazman grama, so women are patur, and so is an eved Kenaani.
- MaskanaUlefi darkeinu lamadnu (according to this story we learn): one who sleeps under a bed is not yotzei, like the Tanna Kamma.
- Ra'ayahSince Rabban Gamliel praised his eved for sleeping under the bed because he knew he was patur, only Tevi was allowed to. Anyone else who sleeps under the bed is not yotzei the mitzvah of sukkah.
- Clarification: Rabban Gamliel is the one praising, not Tevi. R' Yehudah is the one who argues and says it is permitted.
- ChazarahThe Rebbi re-read the Mishnah without translating, marking the commas and periods line by line.
- ChazarahSummary: the Tanna Kamma says not yotzei; R' Yehudah says we used to do it; Rabban Gamliel's words show only Tevi could, because he is patur, so the halacha is like the Tanna Kamma.
- The chabura is to chazer the Mishnah b'chavrusa, each one saying it once while the other listens.
The Rebbi’s chiddushim
- Wordplay: 'yashan' also means old. When you go to sleep, that is how you grow old.
- Mashal for R' Yehudah's proof from the Zekeinim's silence: on the first day of school, if a child takes out a toy and the Rebbi says nothing, it means playing with toys is allowed.
- Possible reading of the story (the opening words are unclear in recording): Tevi could have slept in the sukkah, but there was a room issue and not everyone fit. So he slept under the bed to leave room for the others.
- Here 'darkeinu' means 'according to this story'; derech literally means a way.
- Saying the words many times and reading them well comes first; the understanding will follow.
Unclear in recording
- The words naming which Mishnah he is lining are unclear in recording.
- The opening of the remark about Tevi possibly being able to sleep in the sukkah is unclear in recording.
- Part of the discussion of what the story proves is unclear in recording. He first misspoke ('slept under the sukkah') and corrected himself, and some of the lines around it are garbled.
Drafted from the recording of the shiur, for chazarah. Torah terms follow the Rebbi’s own words; anything that could not be made out is marked “unclear in recording”. Tap a time to hear that point. Corrections welcome.