Shiur summary (draft from the recording)
Avel: Tefillin, Sukkah, and Mitztaer
אבל חייב בסוכה
Sukkah 25b · from line 9 · Monday, December 29, 2025
The sugya
The shiur reviews the tzricha: why both the pasuk (krias shema) and the braisa (korban Pesach) are needed as sources for osek b'mitzvah patur min hamitzvah. It then learns the 'gufa' on statements of R' Abba bar Zavda amar Rav. An avel is chayav in all mitzvos except tefillin, learned from Yechezkel, and only on the first day. An avel is chayav in sukkah and is not patur as a mitztaer, because his pain is self-inflicted and he must settle his mind.
Step by step (shakla v’tarya)
- ChazarahReview: the Gemara has a pasuk and a braisa as sources for osek b'mitzvah patur min hamitzvah. Why are both needed?
- TeirutzLine 9, tzricha: both sources are needed.
- TeirutzHad we only the braisa about korban Pesach, one could say they were patur because the zman chiyuv of Pesach had not yet come. So we need the pasuk about krias shema, where the zman has arrived.
- TeirutzHad we only krias shema, one could say he may be preoccupied because there is no kares. Korban Pesach carries kares, so that source is needed too.
- The Gemara now returns to statements of R' Abba bar Zavda amar Rav that were mentioned briefly earlier, to discuss them in more detail.
- Line 13, gufa: this term introduces a closer look at a statement the Gemara cited in passing earlier.
- GemaraAn avel is chayav in all mitzvos in the Torah except tefillin, because tefillin are called pe'er (adornment).
- Ra'ayahSource: Hashem told Yechezkel, whose wife had died, 'pe'ercha chavosh alecha', meaning wear your tefillin. 'You' are obligated, so everyone else is patur.
- Maskana'At hu d'michayavas, aval kulei alma patrei': only Yechezkel had to wear tefillin; every other avel is patur.
- GemaraLine 18, v'hani mili: an avel is patur from tefillin only on the first day of shiva.
- Ra'ayahThe pasuk about mourning says 've'achrisa k'yom mar', like a bitter day. 'Yom' is singular, so aveilus in this respect is only one day.
- A student raised onein. The Rebbi said that is a different halacha: an onein is patur because he is busy with the arrangements.
- GemaraLine 19: R' Abba bar Zavda amar Rav, an avel is chayav in sukkah.
- KashaPshita: isn't that obvious?
- TeirutzMahu d'teima: since R' Abba bar Zavda also said (line 21) that a mitztaer is patur from sukkah, one might think the avel is also a mitztaer and should be patur.
- MaskanaKamashmalan: the mitztaer ptur applies only to tza'ara d'mimeila, pain that comes on its own from the conditions of the sukkah.
- TeirutzHere, the avel himself is the one causing his own pain. He must settle his mind (l'yasuvei daitei), so he is chayav.
Kashas
- Why does the Gemara need both the pasuk (krias shema) and the braisa (korban Pesach) for osek b'mitzvah?
- Avel chayav b'sukkah: pshita?
Teirutzim
- Tzricha. Pesach alone might be limited to before the zman chiyuv. Krias shema alone might be because there is no kares.
- Without the statement, one would think the avel is patur as a mitztaer.
- Mitztaer is patur only for pain d'mimeila. The avel causes his own pain and should settle his mind.
Mareh mekomos
- Pasuk in Yechezkel, 'pe'ercha chavosh alecha': the source that an avel is patur from tefillin.
- Pasuk 've'achrisa k'yom mar': the source that the ptur from tefillin applies only on the first day.
- R' Abba bar Zavda amar Rav, mitztaer patur min hasukkah (line 21): the basis for the hava amina.
The Rebbi’s chiddushim
- The Gemara records the conversation in the beis medrash. When something is invoked in the discussion, it is later taken up and discussed, which is what 'gufa' does.
- The Rebbi suggests Hashem's command to Yechezkel was a foreshadowing just before the Churban. Mourning practices apply when there are people to comfort the mourner, and here no one would be comforted. Parts of this are unclear in recording.
- The hava amina: let's have mercy on the avel and let him be comfortable, since he is also a mitztaer.
- Tza'ara d'mimeila means pain arising automatically from the physical conditions of the sukkah, such as very humid weather or rain.
- Pain one causes oneself does not exempt. One cannot claim it would be easier in a recliner or at a perfect 68 degrees with air conditioning.
Unclear in recording
- A student asked whether everyone else is patur from tefillin or not allowed to wear them; the answer is unclear in recording.
- A question about whether the source is that tefillin are pe'er or the inference from Yechezkel; unclear in recording.
- Discussion about how we pasken, whether an avel wears tefillin only from after the first day; unclear in recording.
- A remark that someone 'changes it to Rabba' regarding the author of mitztaer patur; unclear in recording.
- An explanation of the hava amina relating to being in prime condition or preoccupied for the mitzvah; unclear in recording.
- Discussion of someone whose relative died on Yom Tov/Yom Kippur and whether he is an onein; unclear in recording.
- A personal anecdote about an avel wearing tefillin and a minyan; 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.