Sukkah 7 – Two walls and a half

The sukkah is a temporary dwelling, and it only needs three walls. The third wall can be as small as one handbreadth. How do we know this? The words “sukkot” - meaning multiple sukkahs, are mentioned three times in the Torah. In two cases, the letter “o” (vav) is missing! This gives us a count of sukkahs (2), plus sukkah (1), plus another sukkah (1), a total of four. However, the first mention is needed for the simple meaning of the word – to live in a sukkah. Thus, we have a hint that a sukkah needs to have only three walls. In addition, we have another rule that God taught to Moses – that the third wall can be as narrow as a handbreadth.

All this assumes that we take the written text of the Torah as definitive. There is another point of view, however. In it, that the definitive is how the words are pronounced in the synagogues when the Torah is read. The word is always pronounced “sukkot” - that is, plural. The first three mentions are needed for their simple meaning, but the remaining two extra words – each pronounced as “sukkot” (2) give us four walls. The last fourth wall can be only a handbreadth.

The Talmud gives three more possible explanations for the argument whether sukkah needs to have three or four walls – in one all believe in the writing, in another – all believe in the pronunciation, and in the third – it does not depend on this distinction at all.

Art: White Walls By Karl Briullov