Sukkah 34 - August 10, 2 Elul

English Study Guide Sukkah 34

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In the times of the Temple they would surround the altar with aravot, willow branches. There is a debate whether this is derived from a verse or from a halacha l’Moshe m’Sinai. From where do we derive that a tzaftzafa cannot be used as a willow branch for the four minim. How can one tell the difference between an arava and a tzaftzafa? The rabbis list a number of words whose use changed after the destruction of the temple and they also explain what are the halakhic ramifications of those changes. One of the groups of words listed there are the arava and the chalfata (which is tzaftzafa) – what was once called chalfata became arava and what was once called arava is now chalfata. How much of each of the four species need to be taken? And how many of the hadasim need to be not cut off? There are several opinions in the mishna for both those questions and then gemara tries to explain the different opinions. Rav Yehuda says in the name of Shmuel that we hold like Rabbi Tarfon that all three hadasim branches can be cut off. The gemara tries to prove this by bringing a story that Shmuel told the hadas sellers that if they didn’t drop the prices, he would publicly teach that the halakha is like Rabbi Tarfon. The gemara, however, rejects this proof. The mishna lists all the disqualifications of an etrog.