September 28, 2023|י"ג תשרי ה' אלפים תשפ"ד From Yom Kippur to Sukkot: The Stringencies of Snacking in the Sukkah By Rabbi Jonathan Muskat

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large tray of apples. The nun posted a sign on the bread tray, "Take only one. God is watching." Further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. One child whispered to another, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."  As we prepare for the holiday of Sukkot, before I call on Katie Alper to deliver the keynote drasha this morning, I want to share with you a brief thought about cookies and apples – snacks – in the context of the sukkah. 

 

In the 4^th mishna of the 2^nd chapter of Masekhet Sukkah, the mishna states ochlin v’shotin arai chutz l’sukkah – we eat and drink temporary-type foods, snacks, outside the sukkah.  Then, in the very next mishna, we read maaseh.  There was a story, v’hei’vi’u lo l’Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai lit’om et hatavshil u’Rabban Gamliel shnei kotavot ud’li shel mayim. They brought to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai a cooked food and they brought to Rabban Gamliel two dates and a pitcher of water and v’amru he’elum l’sukkah – and they said bring them to the sukkah.  Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and Rabban Gamliel wanted to eat these foods in a sukkah; however, u’ch’she’natnu lo l’Rabbi Tzadok ochel pachot mikabeitza n’talo bamappah v’akhalo chutz l’sukkah – when they gave Rabbi Tzadok food that was less than the size of an egg, he ate it outside the sukkah.  So the mishna tells us a halacha all snacks may be eaten outside the sukkah and then it tells us that two Rabbis didn’t follow the halakha and one Rabbi did.  This is very strange.

 

What, then, is the message here?  There is a halacha but you can choose to follow it or not follow it?  A few mishnayot later, in the 8^th Mishnah of the 2^nd chapter, we learn that women and children are exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah and then we have a story maaseh v’yaldah kalato shel Shammai hazaken u’picheit et ha’maazivah v’sikeikh el gabei hamittah bishvil katan.  There was a story where the daughter-in-law of Shammai gave birth and Shammai made a sukkah for this newborn baby, for this young child. Again, the halacha says a child is exempt and Shammai disregards that halacha.

 

How do we understand the relationship between the stories and the halacha in both of these instances?  A halacha followed by a story where someone seemingly disregarded the halacha.  The Ran explains that in the first story, Rabban Gamliel and Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai are teaching everyone that you can be strict and eat snacks inside the sukkah.  Why would you think that you can’t eat snacks in the sukkah?  Because maybe your behavior would be classified as “yuhara,” as giving off the appearance of being overly pious.  Rabban Gamliel and Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai assure us that it’s okay to be strict here.  After seeing what his colleagues did, Rabbi Tzaddok responded by saying that it’s okay to be lenient.  You are not considered someone who is lax in mitzvah observance if you eat snacks outside the sukkah.  Being lenient here is completely legitimate.

 

Perhaps when we examine the story of Shammai building a sukkah for his young child in a similar manner. Shammai was teaching us that one may be stringent and build a sukkah for a young child and you are not considered arrogant for doing so.

 

But why do we have these stories on Sukkot?  Why specifically in this context do we find a halacha that allows you to do something and then we have stories which tell you that you are permitted to be more stringent but it’s completely okay not to be stringent?  It seems that the halakha of sukkah is very elastic in this regard.  It is completely legitimate to be stringent and it completely legitimate not to be stringent.

 

I think that the reason for this is that we will celebrate this holiday following Yom Kippur.  On Yom Kippur, we are spiritually energized to do more.  We want to be better Jews.  We want to do more mitzvoth.  We leave Yom Kippur committed to be better and do better.  Maybe we had such a great Yom Kippur that we emerge from Yom Kippur wanting to have Yom Kippur all the time.  We want this spiritual high to never end.  We want that lingering chumra feeling of Yom Kippur to continue and Rabban Gamliel and Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai say, “It’s a great thing.  Keep it up, nothing wrong!”  But Rabbi Tzadok cautions us, “Just remember, don’t look down on those who are less stringent!  If you want to snack outside the sukkah, it’s completely legitimate.”

 

This teen takeover Shabbat and this Shabbat when parents and children are davening together is a continuation of Yom Kippur and it’s a wonderful thing, how we are creating another immersive spiritual experience and we should continue to find more and more of these in our lives. It’s wonderful to continue the passion of a Yom Kippur as we proceed into Sukkot.  However, but let us all keep in mind what Rabbi Tzadok told us.  Don’t confuse stringency with the baseline halacha and don’t look down on those who may not be as stringent as you.  As we begin the holiday of Sukkot tomorrow, let us continue to be passionate and let our passion be the source of inclusion and not exclusion.