Shiur summary (draft from the recording)
Sukkah L'shma: Comparing Sukkah and Tzitzis
לך לשם חובך
Sukkah 9a · Tuesday, July 21, 2026
The sugya
Continuing the machlokes Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel about whether a sukkah must be made l'shem chag. The Gemara works out how each side uses the pesukim: the pasuk needed for Rav Sheshes, and the pasuk of chag hasukkos taaseh lecha. Then it asks on Beis Hillel from Rav Yehuda amar Rav, that tzitzis need tviyah l'shma. The answer: by tzitzis 'lecha' teaches l'shem chovcha, while by sukkah 'lecha' excludes a stolen sukkah, and by tzitzis gezulah is excluded from 'va'asu lahem'.
Step by step (shakla v’tarya)
- KashaBeis Shammai nami mibaei lehu hachi: Beis Shammai should also need the pasuk chag hasukkos shivas yamim l'Hashem for Rav Sheshes's halacha that shem shamayim chal on the sukkah.
- Nobody seems to argue that all seven days there is an issur on the sukkah walls. You cannot take a chip off the sukkah wall and use it for a fire.
- TeirutzLine 15: yes, that is true. Beis Shammai also needs that pasuk.
- GemaraBeis Shammai's reason comes from another pasuk, chag hasukkos taaseh (lecha) shivas yamim. The first three words are rearranged into 'sukkos taaseh chag'. Line 17: we need a sukkah made l'shem chag.
- KashaWhat does Beis Hillel do with this second pasuk? It is not enough to say he does not rearrange it. What does he use it for?
- TeirutzBeis Hillel needs it to teach that one may make a sukkah on chol hamoed.
- ShitahAnd Beis Shammai? He holds like Rabbi Eliezer, who says ein osin sukkah b'chol hamoed.
- ChazarahBack to the Mishnah. Beis Hillel holds a sukkah does not need to be built l'shma; one may simply go into an existing sukkah. The Gemara will now ask on Beis Hillel from tzitzis, where everyone knows there must be an element of l'shma.
- KashaBeis Hillel leis lehu d'Rav Yehuda amar Rav? This is a funny question, since Beis Hillel is a Tanna and Rav Yehuda amar Rav are Amoraim.
- TeirutzFlip it around. It really means: how could Rav Yehuda amar Rav not hold like Beis Hillel?
- GemaraRav Yehuda amar Rav: tzitzis made from kotzin, nimin or gardin are pasul. Kotzin are the knotted or scorched ends of warp threads that snapped. Nimin are embroidery threads. Gardin are the fringes on the side of a garment.
- The RebbiThe point is that in all these cases the strings came about unintentionally, not the normal way. Normally one builds the beged and then puts on tzitzis with intention.
- GemaraTzitzis made from sisin, the leftover balls of yarn, are kosher. That yarn was meant for the beged, and one now makes tzitzis from it with intention.
- MachlokesLine 24: when Rav Yehuda said this before Shmuel, Shmuel said even sisin are pasul, because we need tviyah (spinning) l'shma, for the sake of tzitzis.
- ChazarahThe first three cases are pasul according to both Rav and Shmuel. Sisin are kosher according to Rav and pasul according to Shmuel.
- KashaLine 26: hachi nami, nibaei sukkah asuyah l'shma. Why does Beis Hillel not hold of this l'shma requirement?
- TeirutzLine 27: shani hasam. By tzitzis the pasuk says gedilim taaseh lecha, and 'lecha' means l'shem chovcha, for the sake of your obligation.
- KashaLine 28: by sukkah it also says chag hasukkos taaseh lecha. 'Lecha' there should likewise mean l'shem chovcha.
- TeirutzLine 29: that pasuk is needed to exclude a stolen sukkah.
- KashaBy tzitzis too, 'lecha' should be needed to exclude a stolen beged.
- TeirutzThere, another pasuk is written: va'asu lahem, meaning mishelahem, from their own. So stolen tzitzis are excluded from that pasuk.
- MaskanaChart: by sukkah, the word 'lecha' covers gezulah. By tzitzis, 'lecha' teaches l'shma, and gezulah comes from mishelahem.
Kashas
- Beis Shammai should also need the pasuk chag hasukkos shivas yamim l'Hashem for Rav Sheshes.
- What does Beis Hillel do with the pasuk chag hasukkos taaseh lecha?
- Where does Beis Shammai learn the din of making a sukkah on chol hamoed?
- Does Beis Hillel not hold of Rav Yehuda amar Rav, that tzitzis need l'shma?
- By sukkah it also says taaseh lecha, so 'lecha' should mean l'shem chovcha there too.
- By tzitzis, 'lecha' should also be needed to exclude gezulah.
Teirutzim
- Yes, Beis Shammai also needs it. His source for l'shem chag is the other pasuk, read as 'sukkos taaseh chag'.
- Beis Hillel uses it to teach that one may make a sukkah on chol hamoed.
- Beis Shammai holds like Rabbi Eliezer, that ein osin sukkah b'chol hamoed.
- Shani hasam: by tzitzis, gedilim taaseh lecha means lecha l'shem chovcha.
- By sukkah, 'lecha' is needed to exclude a stolen sukkah.
- By tzitzis, gezulah is excluded from va'asu lahem, meaning mishelahem.
Mareh mekomos
- Chag hasukkos shivas yamim l'Hashem: Rav Sheshes's source that shem shamayim chal on the sukkah and the atzei sukkah are assur.
- Chag hasukkos taaseh lecha shivas yamim: Beis Shammai's source for sukkah l'shem chag, and Beis Hillel's source for making a sukkah on chol hamoed.
- Rabbi Eliezer: ein osin sukkah b'chol hamoed.
- Rav Yehuda amar Rav, and Shmuel, on tzitzis made from kotzin, nimin, gardin and sisin.
- Gedilim taaseh lecha (in Devarim, one of the parshiyos of tzitzis): lecha l'shem chovcha.
- Va'asu lahem tzitzis (Parshas Shelach, the pasuk said in krias shema): mishelahem, excluding stolen tzitzis.
The Rebbi’s chiddushim
- The question 'Beis Hillel leis lehu d'Rav Yehuda amar Rav' is strange, since a Tanna is being asked on from Amoraim. It must be read the other way around: how could Rav Yehuda amar Rav not hold like Beis Hillel? It seems the statement was universally accepted.
- Kotzin, nimin and gardin are all one concept: strings that came about unintentionally rather than being made as tzitzis with intention.
- The tzitzis are two parts, the garment and the strings. The pasuk that tzitzis need not be long, just enough to grasp. The number of wrappings is al pi Kabbalah. As long as a string is not snapped, the tzitzis are kosher.
- The Gemara draws a comparison between sukkah and tzitzis: by sukkah it says chag hasukkos taaseh lecha, and by tzitzis it says va'asu lahem tzitzis.
- Even though a mitzvah haba'ah b'aveirah is anyway not good, the pasuk teaches a separate exclusion for a stolen sukkah. This may apply even b'shogeg, for example taking wood from a neighbor's pile by mistake: one is not yotzei.
Unclear in recording
- The exact wording of the Rebbi's point at this spot is unclear in recording.
- Review remark about a sukkah within a sukkah, and that a sukkah of rakbash or gambach 'has to be a sukkah let's say' (perhaps l'tzel). Unclear in recording.
- Discussion with talmidim about the pictures of torn threads and whether there is enough length. Unclear in recording.
- A talmid's question about someone who goes to the mitzvah and doesn't pay, and the reply. 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.