Swaying mechitzos: Rav Acha bar Yaakov's rule
The sugya
The Mishnah says a sukkah built between trees, using the trees as walls, is kosher. The Gemara brings Rav Acha bar Yaakov: a mechitza that cannot stand in an ordinary wind is not a mechitza. It challenges him from the Mishnah, from the braisa of pasei bira'os, and from the braisa of a tree spreading over the ground, answering each time that the mechitza was made firm with hutza v'dafna. The shiur ended with the kasha from Rav Huna brei d'Rav Yehoshua, who allows carrying under such a tree only up to beis sa'tayim, and the teirutz that a tree is a dirah shetashmishah la'avir.
Step by step (shakla v’tarya)
- MishnahOne who makes his sukkah between the trees (not on top of them), with the trees serving as its walls: the sukkah is kosher.
- ShitahRav Acha bar Yaakov: any mechitza that cannot stand in an ordinary wind (ruach metzuyah) is not a mechitza. This does not mean it will fall down. It means it sways back and forth. This applies to all halachos, including sukkah.
- KashaOur Mishnah allows trees as walls, yet trees sway back and forth.
- TeirutzWait, this is placeholder
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.