Shiur summary (draft from the recording)
R' Eliezer Never Said What He Didn't Hear
מעשה ברבי אליעזר
Sukkah 28a · Wednesday, February 4, 2026
The sugya
The shiur first reviews the story of R' Eliezer in the sukkah of Yochanan b'R' Ilai. It covers the Gemara's kashas (leaving his own sukkah, leaving home on Yom Tov, and resolving the shaila from pekak hachalon) and their teirutzim (a different regel, it was Shabbos, and the distinction of mevatel). It then begins the Aggadeta: R' Eliezer was asked 30 halachos in hilchos sukkah and answered only those he had heard. When challenged, he listed his midos to show that he never said anything he did not hear from his Rebbe.
Step by step (shakla v’tarya)
- ChazarahReview: R' Eliezer was in the sukkah of R' Yochanan, who wanted to spread a sheet over it for shade. R' Eliezer kept switching the topic.
- KashaHow could R' Eliezer leave his own sukkah, when he holds that one may not go from sukkah to sukkah?
- TeirutzRegel acher hava: it was a different Yom Tov, not Sukkos.
- The RebbiThis also explains why spreading the sheet was a shaila about Shabbos and not about schach. On Sukkos, as learned in the first perek, one may not simply spread a sheet over the schach.
- RashiRashi says it was Atzeres, so it could have been Shavuos.
- KashaR' Eliezer said he praises the lazy people who do not leave their homes on Yom Tov, based on the pasuk brought earlier. So how did he leave home?
- TeirutzIt was Shabbos. They were sitting in the place where the sukkah would stand, such as a porch with the sukkah frame. That is why the question about the sheet came up.
- ChazarahR' Eliezer did not answer, because he had never heard it from his Rebbe.
- KashaLet him resolve the shaila from his own words in the Mishnah of pekak hachalon (the window shutter).
- MachlokesIn that Mishnah, R' Eliezer holds that if the shutter is tied and hanging, one may close the window with it, and if not, one may not, because that would be adding to the building. Chachamim permit it either way.
- The Rebbi compared this to patio umbrellas: if partially open, one may continue opening it. He said some stroller shailos are similar.
- TeirutzHasam hu d'mevatel: there the shutter is absorbed, swallowed up into the wall, so it is a real adding to the building. Here the sheet sits visibly on top of the sukkah frame and is not swallowed up, so the Mishnah is no proof.
- MaskanaTherefore R' Eliezer did not want to pasken, since he had not heard it from his Rebbe.
- The Gemara now moves into Aggadeta, emphasizing that R' Eliezer never said anything he did not hear from his Rebbe.
- GemaraTanu Rabbanan: R' Eliezer shavas in the Galil Ha'elyon. The Rebbi says it was Shabbos, since we already know it could not be Yom Tov. They asked him 30 halachos in hilchos sukkah.
- The RebbiThis is no surprise. The previous daf was built on R' Eliezer's shitos, and sukkah was one of his specialties.
- GemaraLine 4: for 12 he said 'shamati' (I heard), and for 18 he said 'lo shamati'. There is a comma after 'shamati'.
- The RebbiThe lashon is 'shamati', not 'I know': I heard the psak from my Rebbe and will tell it to you.
- MachlokesR' Yosi b'R' Yehuda says chiluf hadevarim: 18 he said he heard, and 12 he said he did not hear.
- The RebbiIt was not a question of what he knew; he probably knew all 30. They walked away with a clear psak on 12 or 18, depending on the version.
- GemaraThey said to him: 'kol devarecha einan ela mipi hashmua?' In effect: why be such a stickler, you are a great talmid chacham who knows these halachos.
- RashiRashi: b'tmiha. The statement is to be read with wonder, as a question.
- The RebbiMashal: 'I owe you money' is a statement. Add a question mark and it means I do not owe you money. Here it could be read either way, but it seems they meant it as a question.
- ChazarahThe Rebbi noted that the Gemara itself asked something similar when it said R' Eliezer had already said something like this (the pekak hachalon Mishnah).
- GemaraHe answered: hizkaktuni, you are forcing and pressuring me to say something I did not hear from my Rebbe.
- The RebbiThe rest of the amud lists R' Eliezer's midos. This is not just praise; it proves that he never says anything he did not hear from his Rebbe.
- GemaraMimai lo kidmani adam b'beis hamedrash: all my days, nobody came before me. So if my Rebbe said anything, I was there.
- GemaraHe never slept in the beis medrash, neither sheinas keva (a full sleep) nor sheinas arai (a nap).
- The RebbiTalmidei chachamim who live in the beis medrash may sleep or eat there. R' Eliezer did not, so as not to miss a word.
- GemaraHe never left someone in the beis medrash and went out before him. He was the first one there and the last one to leave.
- GemaraLo sachti sichas chulin: he never spoke about mundane matters, for example no politics in the beis medrash.
- MaskanaThe whole list leads to the last item: he never said anything he did not hear from his Rebbe, me'olam.
- The RebbiIn effect he was saying: what do you want from me, this is what I live for. It has nothing to do with how much Torah he knew.
- ChazarahQuick review of the Braisa from line two, with punctuation (for example, a comma after 'mimai').
- The RebbiIt is called chulin, like chullin animals that have nothing to do with korbanos.
Kashas
- How could R' Eliezer leave his own sukkah, if he holds ein yotzin mi'sukkah l'sukkah?
- How could he leave his home, if he praises the atzlanim who do not leave their homes on Yom Tov?
- Why not resolve the shaila about the sheet from R' Eliezer's own shita in pekak hachalon?
- Kol devarecha einan ela mipi hashmua? Why not answer the halachos you clearly know?
Teirutzim
- It was a different regel, not Sukkos. According to Rashi it was Atzeres.
- It was Shabbos. They were sitting where the sukkah frame stood.
- Hasam hu d'mevatel: the shutter is swallowed into the wall. Here the sheet is visibly on top and not absorbed into the sukkah frame.
- Hizkaktuni: you are forcing me to say what I did not hear from my Rebbe. He then lists his midos to show that he never does so.
Rashi & Tosafos
- Rashi: The other regel was Atzeres, which could be Shavuos.
- Rashi: Mipi hashmua: read b'tmiha, as a question of wonder.
Mareh mekomos
- The Gemara in the first perek: on Sukkos one may not simply spread a sheet over the schach.
- Mishnah of pekak hachalon: the machlokes between R' Eliezer and Chachamim about a window shutter that is or is not tied and hanging.
The Rebbi’s chiddushim
- Answering that it was a different regel also explains why the shaila was about Shabbos and not about schach.
- Patio umbrellas and strollers: if already partially open, one may continue opening.
- Mevatel is best understood as swallowed up or absorbed by the wall, which makes it a real adding to the building.
- 'Shamati' does not mean 'I know' but 'I heard the psak from my Rebbe'.
- He probably knew all 30 halachos; the issue was only what he had heard.
- Mashal of 'I owe you money' with and without a question mark, illustrating Rashi's b'tmiha.
- The list of midos is brought to prove that he never said anything not heard from his Rebbe, not merely as praise.
- Being first in the beis medrash meant that whatever his Rebbe said, he was there to hear it.
- Sichas chulin relates to chullin, animals that have nothing to do with korbanos.
Unclear in recording
- The opening reference to the date is unclear in recording.
- A reference to another Mishnah about 'oil and vineyard' and closing up gaps is unclear in recording.
- Something said about the halachos being 'something wrong before' is unclear in recording.
- The remark that 'loi is like maybe he wouldn't say it's us' is unclear in recording.
- A list of R' Eliezer's shitos from the previous daf (names of Mishnayos) is unclear in recording, as is a mention of Rabbi Meir.
- An earlier place where 'sichas chulin' was learned (sounds like 'Mandafka, Bezem and Aleph') is unclear in recording.
- A discussion with talmidim about who R' Eliezer's Rebbe was, and whether Yochanan b'R' Ilai was his talmid, is largely unclear in recording. The Rebbi said they would get to it later in the amud.
- The ending of the explanation of the word chulin 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.