Shiur summary (draft from the recording)
Osek B'Mitzvah Patur: Tirda D'Mitzvah vs. Reshus
העוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה
Sukkah 25a · Wednesday, December 24, 2025
The sugya
The Mishnah exempts shluchei mitzvah, cholim and their caretakers from sukkah. The Gemara derives the general rule that one busy with a mitzvah is patur from another mitzvah from the pesukim of Shema, which also exempt a chassan. After reviewing yesterday's material, the shiur covered the new lines: why koneis besulah is patur but koneis almanah is chayav (tirda of the be'ilah). This leads to the kasha that anyone who is tarid would then be patur, such as one whose ship sank, which is refuted from an avel, who is chayav in all mitzvos except tefillin. The teirutz is that a chassan has tirda d'mitzvah while an avel has tirda d'reshus.
Step by step (shakla v’tarya)
- MishnahMishnah: shluchei mitzvah are patur from sukkah; cholim and their caretakers are patur from sukkah; one may eat and drink arai outside the sukkah. There are three halachos, and the Gemara discusses the first.
- GemaraGemara: from where do we know that one who is osek b'mitzvah is patur from another mitzvah? From the pasuk in Shema: b'shivtecha b'veisecha excludes the osek b'mitzvah, and b'lechtecha baderech excludes a chassan, who is preoccupied with the mitzvah he must perform.
- Having seen the end of the sugya, the Rebbi noted that it makes more sense to read it the other way: baderech is the mitzvah man who is going to do a mitzvah, and b'veisecha is the chassan, who is preoccupied and not sitting comfortably in his house. He said this will not be needed for the rest of the sugya.
- GemaraLine 16, Mai mashma: Rav Huna says k'derech. Just as going on a derech is reshus (discretionary), so too any reshus is included. This excludes (line 18) the osek b'mitzvah.
- KashaMi lo askinan: perhaps the pasuk is dealing with someone travelling to do a mitzvah, and the Torah still tells him to say krias shema. Who says derech means discretionary?
- TeirutzLine 20: the pasuk should have said b'sheves and b'leches. Writing b'shivtecha and b'lechtecha, with emphasis on 'your', shows that only your own discretionary going obligates you. Going for a mitzvah is patur.
- ChazarahThe above was learned yesterday. Today's learning begins at line 22, focusing on besulah versus almanah.
- KashaLine 22: if so, one who marries an almanah should also be patur. It is also a mitzvah, and he is also preoccupied.
- TeirutzLine 23: koneis besulah is tarid; koneis almanah is lo tarid. Rashi: it is a specific tirda connected with the be'ilah. An almanah was already married, so that tirda does not apply.
- The RebbiThe Rebbi's framing: we are now giving the chassan the ptur not so much because he is doing a mitzvah, but because of his tirda.
- KashaLine 24: v'chol heicha d'tarid, is he also patur? Are we going to hand out permission slips to anyone who is tarid?
- KashaTav'ah sfinaso bayam: his ship sank at sea and he is certainly tarid. Is he also patur? The Rebbi's illustration: someone watching his stocks or Bitcoin crash.
- DechiyahLine 26: v'chi teima, if you say he is indeed patur, R' Abba bar Zavda says in the name of Rav that an avel is chayav in all mitzvos of the Torah except tefillin, because pe'er is said of them.
- Pe'er means radiant or glorious, from Hashem telling Yechezkel 'pe'ercha chavush alecha'. The avel is exempt from tefillin not because he is preoccupied but because an avel, who wears torn clothing, should not look glorified. So even an avel, who is very preoccupied, is chayav in every other mitzvah.
- The RebbiTirda need not be worry about something one is about to do. A stock-market loss that one can do nothing about, or a child who passed away, is still tirda, yet the person is still chayav.
- TeirutzLine 29: hacha tarid tirda d'mitzvah, hasam tarid tirda d'reshus. The chassan's preoccupation is connected to a mitzvah. The avel's is not.
- The RebbiIt is a big chiddush: there is no mitzvah to be sad. Rashi: an avel is chayav to keep the practices of aveilus (washing, shoes), but einu chayav l'hitzta'er.
- The RebbiThe chassan has a mitzvah of be'ilah rishonah, and its tirda is inescapable. An avel, by contrast, can be told: I know you are sad, but get it together, you have to do the mitzvah.
- The RebbiThe avel's tza'ar is reshus. You need not tell him to put on a smile, but there is no mitzvah for him to be preoccupied in his tza'ar.
- ChazarahChazara of lines 22 to 29. Pe'er is like a crown, and an avel does not wear a crown. An avel has the right to be in pain, yet all mitzvos are placed on him.
- MaskanaThe chassan, the man whose ship sank, and the avel fall into three different categories.
Kashas
- Perhaps derech refers to someone going to do a mitzvah, and he is still chayav in krias shema. Who says derech means reshus?
- If a chassan is patur, one who marries an almanah should also be patur, since that too is a mitzvah and he is preoccupied.
- Is anyone who is tarid patur?
- One whose ship sank at sea is tarid. Is he patur too?
- If you say yes, an avel is chayav in all mitzvos except tefillin, even though he is preoccupied.
Teirutzim
- b'shivtecha and b'lechtecha mean your own going, which is reshus, obligates. Going for a mitzvah is patur.
- Koneis besulah is tarid (tirda of the be'ilah). Koneis almanah is not tarid.
- The chassan has tirda d'mitzvah. The avel, and the man whose ship sank, have tirda d'reshus.
Rashi & Tosafos
- Rashi: The chassan's tirda is a specific tirda connected with the be'ilah.
- Rashi: An avel is chayav to keep the practices of aveilus (washing, shoes), but is not chayav to be in pain (einu chayav l'hitzta'er).
Mareh mekomos
- Pasuk in krias shema, b'shivtecha b'veisecha u'v'lechtecha baderech: source for osek b'mitzvah patur and for the ptur of a chassan.
- R' Abba bar Zavda amar Rav: an avel is chayav in all mitzvos except tefillin, because of pe'er.
- Hashem's words to Yechezkel, 'pe'ercha chavush alecha': tefillin are called pe'er.
The Rebbi’s chiddushim
- It makes more sense for baderech to refer to the osek b'mitzvah, who is going to do a mitzvah, and for b'veisecha to refer to the chassan, who is not sitting comfortably in his house.
- We live a discretionary life, and Hashem places mitzvos on us within it. That is the meaning of derech being reshus.
- At this stage the chassan's ptur rests on his tirda rather than on his doing a mitzvah.
- The avel is exempt from tefillin not because of preoccupation but because he should not appear glorified or radiant.
- Tirda includes worry over something one can do nothing about, such as a loss or a death, and still does not exempt.
- There is no mitzvah to be sad. The avel's pain is reshus: he has the right to it but no obligation.
- The chassan's tirda of be'ilah rishonah is inescapable. An avel can be told to get it together and do the mitzvah.
- Chassan, ship and avel are three different categories.
Unclear in recording
- Lines on koneis besulah being patur (and almanah chayav) are garbled.
- Who or what source he cites for reading baderech as the osek b'mitzvah and b'veisecha as the chassan is unclear in recording.
- Exchange about whether the tirda was already known earlier and where Rashi shows it is unclear in recording.
- Remark that 'the girsah switches' and mention of a pasuk ('avu...') is unclear in recording.
- Framing of v'chi teima hacha nami (that we are human and cannot always cope) is partly garbled.
- Part of the Rashi on aveilus ('Bahar is k'voyd') is unclear in recording.
- Who is meant by 'he says' that the chassan must put his mind to it 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.