DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 1.1 MB)
Succot- How to Conduct Oneself in the Sukka; Which Amounts of Food Require a Sukka

Hacham Ovadia Yosef, in his work Hazon Ovadia – Laws of Sukkot (p. 127), discusses the Halachic principle of "Teshevu Ke'en Taduru," which requires that throughout the festival of Sukkot one must treat his Sukka as his home. Accordingly, one should use in the Sukka the same chinaware, glasses and other fine utensils that he normally uses in his home. It is improper to use disposable plates and utensils in the Sukka if one normally does not use disposable goods. Similarly, one should not bring pots and the like into the Sukka. Just as food is normally served to the table in comely serving bowls and platters, so should one bring food to the Sukka in proper serving utensils. And even if there are those who bring pots directly to the table, since they comprise the minority of people, they, too, must bring food to the Sukka in proper serving utensils.

It is forbidden to perform in the Sukka any activity that might seem degrading to the Sukka, such as washing dishes and diapering a baby. Hacham Ovadia rules that smoking is permissible in the Sukka, as it does not constitute a degrading activity. (He does not address here the issue of smoking generally and the health hazard it could present.) He further writes that one may wash Netilat Yadayim at the table in the Sukka, just as many people are accustomed to doing at their tables inside the home.

Throughout the festival of Sukkot, it is forbidden to eat bread outside the Sukka, unless one eats a quantity of 2 oz. or less. If one eats more than 2oz, he must eat in the Sukka and recite the Beracha of "Lei'shev Ba'sukka." If one eats 2oz or less of bread and wishes to do so in the Sukka, he does not recite the Beracha of "Lei'shev Ba'sukka." If after eating 2 oz. he decides to eat some more, then he should recite the Beracha even though he intends to eat only a small amount. Since altogether the amount of bread he eats on that occasion amounts to more than 2 oz., he must recite the Beracha. This is the ruling of Hacham Ovadia Yosef (ibid. p. 133).

Other grain products, too, such as cake and pastries, must be eaten in the Sukka if one eats more than 2 oz. In such a case, however, one does not recite the Beracha of "Lei'shev Ba'sukka" unless he partakes of 8 oz. or more of these products.

Summary: Throughout the festival of Sukkot one should use in his Sukka the same kinds of utensils he uses at home, including serving utensils. One may not performing degrading activities in the Sukka such as washing dishes and diapering a child. During Sukkot, one who eats more than 2 oz. of bread or other grain products must do so in the Sukka. He recites the Beracha of "Lei'shev Ba'sukka" if he eats more than 2 oz. of bread, or if he eats 8 oz. or more of other grain products.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
If One is Unsure Whether or Not He Counted the Omer
May One Purchase and Wear New Clothing During the Omer Period?
Sefirat Ha’omer – Training Children in the Misva; The Status of Women Vis-à-vis Counting the Omer
If One Remembers After Sundown That He Had Not Counted the Omer
Sefirat Ha’omer – If the Hazzan Had Missed a Day of Counting
Sefirat Ha’omer – If One Forgot to Count at Night and the Next Day, Until Ben Ha’shemashot
Sefirat Ha’omer – If a Person Missed a Day of Counting
Sefirat HaOmer- Ladies Counting The Omer??
Sefirat Ha'omer – Counting Before the Age of Bar-Misva, and a Boy Who Becomes Bar-Misva during the Omer
The Underlying Reason Behind the Mitzva of Sefirat Ha'omer; the Status of the Mitzva Nowadays
Would it be Permissible to Take a Haircut if the Quarantine Ends During the Omer Period?
Cutting Fingernails, Moving Into a New Home and Hosting a Hanukat Ha’bayit During the Omer
May a Bar Misva Boy and His Father Take a Haircut in Honor of the Occasion During the Omer?
If a Community Rabbi Missed a Day of Sefirat Ha’omer
May a Music Teacher Continue Teaching Music During the Omer Period?
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found