שלום בין האדם והטבע בחג הסוכות

Howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of the LORD seven days; on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year; it is a statute for ever in your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Thou shalt keep the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and from thy winepress. And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose; because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the work of thy hands, and thou shalt be altogether joyful.

And it is a choice [fulfillment of the] commandment to bunch the palm branch (lulav), the myrtle and the willow, to make the three of them into one bunch. And when he lifts it up to fulfill [the commandment] with them, he recites the blessing, "about the taking of the lulav" — since all of them are adjacent to it. And afterwards, he takes this bunch in his right [hand] and the citron in his left [hand]. And he takes them in the way of their growth — such that their [stems] are downwards and their heads are upwards towards the [sky].

Women, slaves and minors are exempt from the [commandment of dwelling in a] sukkah. One whose genitalia are covered by a layer of skin (and, so, undetermined) and one who has genitalia of both sexes are obligated based on the doubt [about their sex]. And likewise is one who is half a slave and half a free person obligated. A minor who does not [still] require his mother — which is [like a five-year old] like a six-year old — is obligated in the [commandment of dwelling in a] sukkah by the words of the Scribes (rabbinically), in order to educate them in the commandments. Sick people and those serving them are exempt from the sukkah — and not just a sick person in danger, but even one whose head feels unwell or his eye feels unwell. One who is indisposed is exempt from the sukkah — he, but not those serving him. And what is [the criteria by which one is determined to be] indisposed? That is one who is not able to sleep in the sukkah because of the wind, or because of the flies and the fleas and that which is similar to them or because of the smell. A mourner is obligated [to dwell] in the sukkah. But a groom, the groomsmen and all the members of the [wedding party] are exempt from the sukkah all seven days of the feast [connected to the wedding]. Agents [designated to fulfill] a commandment are exempt from the sukkah — whether during the day or during the night. Those walking on a journey during the day are exempt from the sukkah during the day, but obligated during the night. Those walking on a journey during the night are exempt from the sukkah during the night, but obligated during the day. Guardians of a city during the day are exempt from the sukkah during the day, but obligated during the night. Guardians of a city during the night are exempt from the sukkah during the night, but obligated during the day. Guardians of gardens and orchards are exempt during the day and during the night. For if [such a] guardian makes a sukkah, the thief will know that the guardian has a set place and will come and steal from another place. How is the commandment of dwelling in the sukkah? That one eat, drink and live in in the sukkah all of the seven days — both during the day and during the night — in the same way that he lives at home during the other days of the year. And all seven days of Sukkot, one renders his house temporary, and his sukkah permanent; as it is stated (Leviticus 23:42), "In huts shall you dwell seven days." How is that? [If he has] beautiful vessels and beautiful bedding, [they are brought] into the sukkah. And drinking vessels, such as jugs and cups, [are also brought] into the sukkah. But eating vessels, such as pot and pans are [kept] out of the sukkah. And a candelabra [is brought] into the sukkah. But if the sukkah was small, he places it out of the sukkah. We eat, drink and sleep in a sukkah all seven [days] — whether during the day or during the night. And it forbidden to eat a meal outside the sukkah all seven [days], unless it is a casual meal — a kabeitsah or less or a bit more (of bread). One may not sleep outside the sukkah, even [for] a brief nap. But it is permissible to drink water and to eat fruits outside the sukkah. However one who is stringent upon himself and does not drink even water outside the sukkah is surely praiseworthy. Eating on the night of the first holiday in the sukkah is an obligation. Even if one ate a kazayit of bread, he has fulfilled his obligation. From then on, it is optional: [If] he wants to a eat a meal, he must dine in the sukkah; [but if] he wants to just eat fruits or parched grain all seven [days] outside the sukkah, he may eat [like that. It is] like the law of eating matsa on Passover. [In a case of] one who had his head and the majority [of his body] in the sukkah, but his table was inside his house or outside the sukkah, and he eats: It is surely forbidden, and it is as if his table was inside the sukkah. [This is] a decree lest one be pulled after his sukkah. And [this is so] even in a large sukkah. One reads inside the sukkah all seven [days]. But when he [seeks to] comprehend and be exacting [upon the text], he may comprehend [it] outside the sukkah so that his mind will be settled. One who prays [does whatever] he wants — he prays in the sukkah or outside of the sukkah. [If] rain fell — [someone in the sukkah] may surely enter the house. From when is it permissible to evacuate [it]? From when [enough] drops fell into the sukkah, that were they to fall inside a cooked food, it would no longer be fit [to eat] — even a cooked food of beans (which goes bad quickly). [If] one was eating in the sukkah and rain fell, so he entered his house; and [then] the rain stopped — we do not obligate him to return to the sukkah (that whole night) until he finishes his meal. [If] one was sleeping [in the sukkah] and rain fell, so he entered his house; and [then] the rain stopped — we do not burden him to return to the sukkah that whole night; but he may rather sleep in his house until the dawn arises. [When] one finished eating on the seventh day in the morning — he may not undo his sukkah. But he may bring down his vessels and evacuate them from the time of the afternoon prayer and onward. [If] he does not have a place to evacuate [his vessels] (like when the sukkah is in his house), he should reduce it four [handbreadths] by four. And if he needs to dine during the rest of the day, he needs to eat in the sukkah — since its commandment is for all seven [days]. Every time one enters to dwell in the sukkah all seven [days], he recites the blessing, "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to dwell in the sukkah." And on the night of the first holiday, he recites a blessing over the sukkah and afterwards [a blessing] over the time; and he arranges all of the blessings over a cup [of wine]. It comes out that he recites Kiddush standing up, and recites the blessing, "to dwell (or sit) in the sukkah" and sits; and afterwards recites the blessing over the time. And the custom of my teachers and the rabbis of Spain was like this, to recite Kiddush on the night of the first holiday of the festival of Sukkot standing up, as we have explained. At this time — when we make two holidays — we must sit in the sukkah eight days. And on the eighth day — which is [also] the first holiday of Shemini Atseret (the eighth day festival) — we sit in it, but we do not recite the blessing, "to dwell in the sukkah." And likewise, one whose genitalia are covered by a layer of skin (and, so, undetermined) and one who has genitalia of both sexes never recite the blessing, "to dwell in the sukkah" — since they are obligated based on the doubt [about their sex]. And we do not recite a blessing [when performance of a commandment is based on] a doubt. [When] one finished eating on the eighth day, he brings down his vessels and evacuates [the sukkah]. [In a case in which] one does not have room to bring down his vessels: If it was a small sukkah, he brings a candelabra into it; and if it was a big sukkah, he brings pots and pans and that which is similar to them into it — in order to take note that it is disqualified, and that its commandment has already finished. But since it is a holiday, he may not reduce it and disqualify it [in that way]. [In a case of] one who did not make a sukkah (before the festival) — whether inadvertently or volitionally — he must make a sukkah during the intermediate days of the festival. He may even make a sukkah at the end of the seventh day — for its commandment is all seven [days]. The wood of the sukkah — whether the wood of the panels or whether the wood of the skhakh — is forbidden all eight days of the festival. We may not benefit from them for something else all eight days, because the sukkah is designated (muktseh) all of the seventh day until twilight — and since it is [also] designated at twilight of the eighth day (the twilight being the transition from the seventh day to the eighth day), it is designated for the whole day. And it is likewise forbidden all eight [days] to supply from foods and drinks suspended in the sukkah in order to beautify it. But if one stipulated about them at the time that he suspended them and said, "I am not separating from them the entire twilight (of the first night)," he may surely supply from them at any time that he wants. For he surely did not designate them; so the sanctity of the sukkah did not rest upon them and they were not considered [to be] like it.