Shiur summary (draft from the recording)
Chassan's Pitur and Osek BeMitzvah
חתן והשושבינין
Sukkah 25b · Wednesday, December 31, 2025
The sugya
The shiur learns Rav's statement that the chassan, shushvinin and bnei chuppah are patur from sukkah all seven days. It covers the Gemara's back-and-forth on why they cannot combine sukkah, seudah and chuppah, the machlokes Abaye and Rava (yichud vs. tza'ar chassan), and R' Zeira's account. It then learns the braisa exempting them from tefillah and tefillin but obligating them in krias shema, with Rashi's reasons and R' Shila's dissent. The shiur ends with R' Chananya ben Akavya's braisa about those busy with meleches shamayim, which follows R' Yosi HaGlili that ha'osek bemitzvah patur min hamitzvah.
Step by step (shakla v’tarya)
- ChazarahIntro: the Gemara insists that chuppah, seudah and sukkah go together and cannot be separated. R' Zeira later says he managed both and was happier for it.
- GemaraR' Abba bar Zavda amar Rav: the chassan, the shushvinin (groomsmen) and all bnei chuppah are patur from sukkah all seven days. The reason is that they need to be b'simcha.
- KashaLet them eat in the sukkah and rejoice in the sukkah.
- TeirutzEin simcha ela b'chuppah: the chuppah must be part of it.
- KashaThen separate it: eat in the sukkah and rejoice in the chuppah.
- TeirutzNo; the simcha has to be in the same place as the rest (exact wording unclear in recording).
- KashaThe strongest question: make the chuppah in the sukkah, and then sukkah, chuppah and simcha are all in one place.
- TeirutzThe setting is not conducive, and two reasons are given.
- ShitahAbaye: because of yichud. If the sukkah area was not busy enough, people could be left in yichud with the kallah.
- ShitahRava: because of tza'ar chassan. The sukkah is very open, and the chassan would be bothered not having privacy with his wife.
- MachlokesNafka mina: a place where people commonly go in and out. There is no yichud problem, since there is enough hustle and bustle and the kallah won't be left alone. Tza'ar chassan still applies, since it is an exposed area.
- The RebbiThe Rebbi suggests the chuppah had side rooms where the chassan could be with his wife, then rejoin everyone.
- The RebbiThe issue is not the seudah or eating part but the simcha, i.e. the dancing part.
- GemaraR' Zeira: I ate in the sukkah and rejoiced at the chuppah, and all the more my heart was happy because I did both.
- A question was raised whether R' Zeira is arguing (halacha) or only saying he managed to work it out. The Rebbi says he saw it brought down both ways.
- The RebbiR' Zeira was speaking as a chassan himself, so all the more so for everybody else.
- GemaraLine 37, a braisa (Tanu Rabbanan): the chassan, shushvinin and all bnei chuppah are patur from tefillah and from tefillin, and chayav in krias shema.
- RashiRashi gives three different reasons, none really connected to osek bemitzvah. Tefillah requires kavanah, which they lack. Krias shema is essentially the first pasuk, so they can manage to be mechavein. They are patur from tefillin because they were drunk the seven days.
- MachlokesMishum R' Shila amru: the chassan is patur, but the shushvinin and bnei chuppah are chayav. After discussion: the machlokes is only about krias shema. Tanna Kamma: even the chassan must get himself together and say the first part of krias shema. R' Shila: the chassan is patur even from that, and everyone else is chayav.
- The RebbiThe Rebbi: the tirda reasoning is only R' Shila's. The Tanna Kamma holds the tirda would not exempt the chassan from krias shema, since it is just one pasuk.
- The RebbiThis part of the sugya is not osek bemitzvah but separate reasons. Tefillah: can't have kavanah. Tefillin: drunk. Krias shema: can have kavanah. The Rebbi says the confusion is warranted.
- GemaraBraisa (26a, line 2), R' Chananya ben Akavya: kosvei sefarim, tefillin and mezuzos. The Rebbi notes this is why the sofer is called sofer STaM: Sefer Torah, Tefillin, Mezuzos.
- GemaraIncluded are the sofrim themselves, their tagarim (merchants) and the merchants of their merchants, i.e. middlemen.
- GemaraV'chol ha'oskin bimleches shamayim, l'asuyei mochrei techeiles. This includes those selling tzitzis, basically a store selling mitzvah items.
- GemaraThey are patur from krias shema, tefillah and tefillin, and from all the mitzvos in the Torah.
- MaskanaThis is l'kayem divrei R' Yosi HaGlili, who says ha'osek bemitzvah patur min hamitzvah.
- The RebbiWhy specify krias shema, tefillah and tefillin if they are patur from all mitzvos? Only because those three had just been discussed.
- ChazarahSummary: the first part (chassan and krias shema, tefillah, tefillin) was not osek bemitzvah but other reasons. Here, by meleches shamayim, it is osek bemitzvah.
Kashas
- Let the chassan eat and rejoice in the sukkah.
- Eat in the sukkah and rejoice in the chuppah separately.
- Make the chuppah inside the sukkah so everything is in one place.
- Is R' Zeira arguing on Rav, or just saying he managed?
- If patur from all mitzvos, why does the braisa specify krias shema, tefillah and tefillin?
Teirutzim
- Ein simcha ela b'chuppah.
- The simcha must be together in one place with the rest (exact wording unclear in recording).
- Abaye: concern of yichud with the kallah.
- Rava: tza'ar chassan from lack of privacy in an open place.
- The Rebbi saw it brought down both ways.
- Only because those three were just discussed.
Rashi & Tosafos
- Rashi: Patur from tefillah because it requires kavanah, which the chassan and bnei chuppah lack.
- Rashi: Chayav in krias shema since the mitzvah is essentially the first pasuk, and one can be mechavein for that.
- Rashi: Patur from tefillin because they were drunk the seven days.
Mareh mekomos
- R' Yosi HaGlili: ha'osek bemitzvah patur min hamitzvah. This is the basis of R' Chananya ben Akavya's braisa.
The Rebbi’s chiddushim
- Chuppos likely had side rooms where the chassan could have privacy with his wife and then rejoin.
- The conflict is over the simcha/dancing, not the eating.
- R' Zeira spoke as a chassan, so certainly others can do both.
- Only R' Shila uses tirda to exempt the chassan from krias shema. The Tanna Kamma says one pasuk is manageable.
- The chassan's exemptions from tefillah and tefillin are separate reasons, not osek bemitzvah.
- STaM is roshei teivos of Sefer Torah, Tefillin, Mezuzos.
- Krias shema, tefillah and tefillin are singled out in the braisa only because they were just discussed.
Unclear in recording
- The exact answer to 'eat in sukkah, rejoice in chuppah'.
- A comment about removing tefillin to use the bathroom.
- A question about the source of the krias shema pitur (b'shivtecha b'veisecha) and whether the Tanna Kamma argues on it.
- A question comparing to a sinking boat (tirda d'reshus).
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.