Q&A: One Who Is Distressed Is Exempt from the Sukkah
One Who Is Distressed Is Exempt from the Sukkah
Question
Festive greetings.
After a brief look into the later authorities (Acharonim), it seemed to me that the exemption of someone who is distressed in the sukkah applies specifically when the distress is due to consequences of the sukkah itself, in terms of its location—if there is noise in the area, excessive cold, a bad smell, and the like.
My question is: if a person sleeps in his sukkah together with other people, and for example people snore and disturb his sleep, or make strange noises and the like, would that count as distress such that he would be exempt from the sukkah?
Happy holiday.
Answer
In my opinion, yes. On the contrary, if the problem is due to the sukkah itself, then perhaps the sukkah is invalid, and it is not merely a personal exemption.
According to the Shulchan Arukh, if the sukkah was made in a place that would cause distress, then the sukkah is valid, but he does not have the exemption of someone who is distressed.
And according to the Rema, the sukkah is invalid,
to the best of my knowledge.