Shiur summary (draft from the recording)
R' Yehuda: an ohel must be man-made
מאי טעמא דרבי יהודה
Sukkah 20b line 16 – 21a line 4 · Thursday, October 23, 2025
The sugya
The Gemara asks on the Mishnah of sleeping under a bed: the bed is not 10 tefachim. Shmuel answers that it was a bed of 10 tefachim. The Gemara then brings the Mishnah in Ohalos, where R' Yehuda holds that an ohel not made by man is not an ohel. It explains his source as a gezeirah shavah of 'ohel ohel' from the Mishkan. The Rabbanan instead learn a ribuy from the repeated word 'ohel'. The shiur ended with discussion of why the Rabbanan bring a ribuy rather than simply rejecting the gezeirah shavah.
Step by step (shakla v’tarya)
- KashaOn the Mishnah, the Gemara asks what is wrong with sleeping under a bed. A bed is not 10 tefachim, and without 10 tefachim it should not be a problem.
- TeirutzShmuel answers: it was a bed of 10 tefachim. That is high enough to concern the Tanna Kamma and R' Shimon, yet R' Yehuda still said it is not a problem.
- MishnahMishnah in Ohalos: a gap counts as an ohel over tumah. Examples are a hole carved out by water, by rodents, or eaten out by salt, a pile of stones, or a pile of beams. That is the shita of the Tanna Kamma.
- ShitahR' Yehuda: any ohel not made by man is not an ohel. As said yesterday, it must be man-made and intentional.
- There is no question on sukkah yet; it will take a full amud. For now we see that R' Yehuda is lenient about ohel, just as in sukkah he allows sleeping under a bed of 10 tefachim.
- GemaraThe Gemara asks: what is R' Yehuda's reason?
- The Rebbi'Yalif' means he derives it from the text, not from an arbitrary reason. It is a gezeirah shavah.
- GemaraHe learns 'ohel ohel' from the Mishkan, which was also an ohel. Here, regarding tumah, it says 'zos hatorah adam ki yamus b'ohel'. There it says 'vayifros es ha'ohel al hamishkan'.
- MaskanaJust as there the ohel was made by a man (Moshe Rabbeinu), so too here an ohel for tumah must be made by a man.
- ShitahThe Rabbanan learn 'ohel ohel ohel riba'. The word ohel appears many times in the pesukim of tumah, so we must be inclusive. Any gap counts, not only something man-made.
- A suggestion was raised: perhaps the Rabbanan do not accept the gezeirah shavah, since a gezeirah shavah needs a single word on each side, not one word there and four here. The Rebbi called it a good point.
- The RebbiWhy didn't the Gemara just say the Rabbanan do not hold of the gezeirah shavah? Because they are not merely disagreeing; they bring a ribuy, which is perhaps more powerful than the gezeirah shavah.
- ChazarahThe Torah did not need to repeat ohel so many times. This teaches that for tumah any kind of tent counts: big, small, man-made, animal-made, or rodent-made, with no limitation.
Kashas
- Why should sleeping under a bed be a problem? A bed is not 10 tefachim.
- What is R' Yehuda's reason that an ohel must be man-made?
- Why doesn't the Gemara simply say the Rabbanan don't hold of the gezeirah shavah?
Teirutzim
- Shmuel: the case is a bed of 10 tefachim.
- R' Yehuda learns a gezeirah shavah of 'ohel ohel' from the Mishkan: just as there it was made by a man, so too here.
- The Rabbanan learn 'ohel ohel ohel riba': the repetition includes every kind of ohel.
- The Rabbanan bring a ribuy, which is stronger than the gezeirah shavah; they are not just disagreeing with it.
Mareh mekomos
- Mishnah in Ohalos: hole made by water, rodents or salt, pile of stones, or pile of beams is an ohel over tumah. R' Yehuda: not made by man, not an ohel.
- The 13 middos of R' Yishmael, said every day, include gezeirah shavah. A gezeirah shavah cannot be made up.
- Bamidbar, Parshas Parah: 'zos hatorah adam ki yamus b'ohel'. This is the ohel regarding tumah.
- Parshas Pekudei, setting up of the Mishkan: 'vayifros es ha'ohel al hamishkan'. Moshe Rabbeinu spread the curtains on top.
The Rebbi’s chiddushim
- R' Yehuda's leniency about ohel in tumah parallels his leniency in sukkah regarding a bed of 10 tefachim.
- An ohel conveys tumah and joins tumah together, so calling something an ohel has many halachic ramifications, including some leniencies.
- The Mishkan was an ohel: it had no permanent roof and was set up like a camp.
- The ohel spread on the Mishkan refers to the top covering of curtains and layers, the final stage of setting it up.
- Put quotes around 'ohel ohel' to show it is a textual derivation.
Unclear in recording
- Discussion with talmidim about whether a gezeirah shavah must be received from one's rebbe, and whether the Rabbanan hold of it. Largely unclear in recording.
- Reference to the pasuk number in Parshas Parah is unclear in recording.
- Description of which covering was last on the Mishkan is unclear in recording.
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.