Shiur summary (draft from the recording)
Rabbanan d'Kisrei; two huts of craftsmen
שתי סוכות של יוצרים
Sukkah 8b · Thursday, July 9, 2026
The sugya
The shiur finishes the sukkah-circumference calculation with the cheshbon of Rabbanan d'Kisrei, which the Gemara rejects. It then learns R' Levi in the name of R' Meir about two huts of craftsmen, one inside the other. The inner one is not a sukkah and is chayav in mezuzah; the outer one is a sukkah and patur from mezuzah. The Gemara asks why the outer one is not chayav as a beis sha'ar, and answers that it is not kavua, which Rashi explains as meaning the whole setup is not permanent.
Step by step (shakla v’tarya)
- GemaraRabbanan d'Kisrei (or Dayanei d'Kisrei) offer a different calculation to reach 24 people sitting around the circumference of a round sukkah, as originally wanted.
- ShitahA circle drawn inside a square: the square is a quarter more. A square drawn inside a circle: the outer measure is half more. With this they reach 8, 16, 24, giving a circle of 24.
- DechiyahThe Gemara says v'lo hi, because we see it is not that much more. In perimeter alone it is not half more, only a little more because of the diagonal, as Menachem drew.
- GemaraR' Levi in the name of R' Meir: two huts of craftsmen (yotzrim, potters), one inside the other.
- Description of the case: the craftsmen live in the inner hut and sell their pottery in the outer one, bringing the wares inside at night. It is like the Druze stalls on the side of the road. It is one large room with a dividing wall.
- GemaraThe inner one is not a sukkah and is chayav in mezuzah.
- The RebbiThese are two sides of one coin. If it is not a sukkah, it is his regular residence, and so it is chayav in mezuzah.
- The RebbiHe lives there all year and changes nothing for Sukkos. He cannot simply wake up and declare his bedroom with schach to be his sukkah.
- RashiRashi is hinting to the machlokes Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel later on, about whether a sukkah must be built l'shem Sukkos. Even according to the view that it need not be, something new must still happen, such as putting up schach in a built-in sukkah.
- GemaraThe outer one, used all year only to display his pottery, is a sukkah and is patur from mezuzah.
- RashiRashi: the outer one is always patur from mezuzah, all year round, even though he uses it. It is only a temporary place: wares out in the morning, taken in at night.
- A talmid suggested that it works because his actions change: he moves his living quarters. The Rebbi said this could be, but he had not yet looked into it.
- KashaV'amai: let the outer one be like a beis sha'ar (vestibule) of the inner one, and be chayav in mezuzah.
- TeirutzMishum d'lo kavua: because it is not permanent.
- RashiRashi learns that the whole setup is not permanent, neither the inside nor the outside. It is like an encampment.
- The RebbiThe inner one still cannot be used as a sukkah, since he always sleeps there whenever he sets up. The outer one, normally just for his pots and wares, can be designated as a sukkah.
- The RebbiThis applies only where the huts were already set up, for example in August. If a month before Sukkos he sets it up with the intention that the whole thing be his sukkah, that would work. There may be a question of 30 days before Sukkos (sukkah yeshanah), to be discussed when the Mishnah comes.
- The RebbiHe may use the outer room as a sukkah because now he is changing something. His usage shows something: in August he ate and slept inside, and now he moves outside.
- ChazarahReview of R' Levi's statement. The picture looks like one hut, but imagine the top has two different bamboo mats.
- ChazarahReview of the kasha (why not treat the outer one as a beis sha'ar) and the teirutz (it is not a permanent setup, since he is a travelling craftsman).
Kashas
- On Rabbanan d'Kisrei: we see that a square around a circle is not half more.
- Why is the outer hut not chayav in mezuzah as a beis sha'ar of the inner one, like the entryway of an apartment building (assuming it is 4x4)?
Teirutzim
- Mishum d'lo kavua: the setup is not permanent.
Rashi & Tosafos
- Rashi: Hints to the later machlokes Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel on building a sukkah l'shem Sukkos. Even without that requirement, something new must be done.
- Rashi: The outer hut is always patur from mezuzah, all year, since it is only a temporary place for wares.
- Rashi: D'lo kavua means the whole encampment is not permanent, both inside and outside.
- Rashi: His change in usage (moving from inside to outside) shows something.
Mareh mekomos
- The later machlokes Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel about whether a sukkah must be built l'shem Sukkos, which Rashi hints to here.
- The coming Mishnah of sukkah yeshanah, relevant to setting up 30 days before Sukkos.
The Rebbi’s chiddushim
- Not a sukkah and chayav in mezuzah are two sides of one coin: both mean it is his regular residence.
- One cannot turn an unchanged year-round dwelling into a sukkah just by declaring it. Something must change.
- The kasha is compared to the entryway of apartment buildings on Ocean Avenue, which have a mezuzah.
- If he set it up shortly before Sukkos with intention for a sukkah, the whole thing could be his sukkah. The halacha here is only where it was set up long before.
- The outer room works because his use changes: he moves his eating and sleeping outside.
Unclear in recording
- The exact diagonal figure mentioned (5.6) is unclear.
- A remark about flipping their usage is unclear.
- A remark about the inner hut being up for more than 30 days is unclear.
- The explanation of why a beis sha'ar requires permanence is unclear.
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.