Q&A: Sukkah
Sukkah
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to ask whether the leniency regarding sleeping in the sukkah for a married couple meets the halakhic criteria.
I mean the Rema in siman 639, who permits it because of “you shall dwell as you live,” and also brings another reason based on “and he shall make his wife happy” in the first year.
We are a couple in our first year.
My question is: is this permitted because of “you shall dwell as you live,” in which case it would seem that every married person should always be exempt from the sukkah, since he normally sleeps with his wife every night? That does not seem reasonable to me (or is it?)
If it is only because of the rule of “and he shall make his wife happy,” which is said about the first year, does that apply only when the couple are permitted to one another, or even during a time when they are prohibited to one another?
Thanks in advance
Answer
The reason of “you shall dwell as you live” appears explicitly in the Talmud, Sukkah 28, as a reason to obligate women in sukkah, and it is rejected there (though one could force a distinction). In my view, it does not hold water. Maybe for a couple in their first year there is more room to be lenient. Whether this also applies during a time of prohibition depends on how you feel about it (how significant it is).