Page 240 - Chayei Adam LAYOUT sivan 5782

Chayei Adam - K’lal 146 - Laws of the Succah

they should not realize that they are standing there to serve as a wall, as it is
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forbidden to construct a wall on Shabbos. One must also be careful not to make
walls of panels on Shabbos or yom tov, even if they are not tied with a proper
knot, because it is nevertheless forbidden to construct a partition on Shabbos or
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yom tov. We must warn the village dwellers about this.

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]8[ There are six things which invalidate the s'chach: (1) something which is
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susceptible to tumah; (2) if it doesn’t grow from the ground; (3) if it is still
attached to the ground; (4) if it [results in] more sun than shade; (5) ‘taaseh v’lo
min ha’asui’ [meaning] that one must make it, and not that it is [already]
made; (6) if it is above twenty amos. Therefore, the s'chach must be made of
something which grew from the ground and is not susceptible to tumah, as it
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says “You shall make yourself the festival of Succos for seven days, when you
gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your winepress”. The posuk
doesn’t intend to tell us when to make [Succos] because the Torah already writes
[that it is on] the fifteenth of the month. [Rather] Chazal have a tradition that the
intention of the posuk is to teach us what to make the s'chach from, [meaning]
from that which is gathered from the threshing floor and the winepress, meaning
the straws, and branches which grow from the ground and are not susceptible to
tumah. Certainly, it doesn’t mean the grains and wine itself which are food and
are susceptible to tumah, for if that were the case, it should say ‘when you gather
your grains and vines’. Rather, the posuk refers to the waste product of the grains
and wine, meaning that which is gathered from them, i.e. the refuse. 51

םדו רשב
46. The gemara allows one to create an 47. Adding any material or animal to
enclosure by surrounding an area with people. construct a succah on yom tov is considered
However on Shabbos and yom tov, the people building, which is prohibited. If however, the
employed in constructing this mechitza should succah is kosher, and one merely adds
not realize that they are being put into place temporarily to the structure in order to
for this purpose. המ Animals may not be used as enclose it, such as on its fourth open side, it is
a mechitza on Shabbos or yom tov, because considered adding to an existing temporary
they serve like panels of wood or stones and structure and is therefore permitted (Poskim).
ומ
putting them into place is akin to constructing
a wall. 48. See below where the Chayei Adam

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