Q&A: Eating in a Restaurant on Sukkot
Eating in a Restaurant on Sukkot
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I previously saw that the Rabbi took the straightforward reading of the Talmudic passage about “travelers on the road,” and the view of most halakhic decisors, that according to the basic law, someone who goes out hiking on Sukkot is exempt from sitting in a sukkah and may even eat a full meal outside the sukkah. The medieval authorities explain that this is based on “You shall dwell” — “as you ordinarily live.” This is unlike the view of the author of Igrot Moshe (Orach Chayim 2:93), who held that the leniency applies only if one went out for a real need, such as business.
However, according to the Rabbi’s view and that of most halakhic decisors, is it permitted to go eat in a restaurant without a sukkah? After all, all year round a person does not refrain from leaving his home and eating a full meal outside it in a restaurant. And if a person wants to eat in his garden (even literally right next to his sukkah), that too should be permitted, since people also do that all year round, no?
Likewise, one can wonder about the practical application of the Jewish law that even casual sleep is forbidden outside the sukkah, since nowadays (at the very least) people do not refrain from “resting their head” while traveling and the like outside their homes, even to sleep a proper sleep.
And indeed, this is what Igrot Moshe wondered about (see there — “Use your own reasoning…”), and from this he brought support for his approach that the exemption for travelers applies only to going out for a genuine need.
So according to our view, what is there to say?
Answer
Indeed, all of these should be permitted. Regarding the garden, I am not sure, because it may be that on the festival the sukkah is supposed to serve as his garden as well.
As for casual sleep, that is only a rabbinic obligation, lest one drift into regular sleep. So remove casual sleep from the discussion here.
Discussion on Answer
In my opinion, according to the law it is permitted. About the garden I’m more hesitant. In practice, though, that has not been the custom, and perhaps there is reason to be stringent because of the custom.
How do you personally conduct yourself? In restaurants or at events, do you eat outside the sukkah?
I do not eat outside the sukkah, except in cases where I’m out and there is no sukkah. I haven’t been at events, but regarding events, in my opinion there is the same uncertainty as with the garden. I now thought that perhaps restaurants also have such an aspect of uncertainty. And of course there is also the custom. In short, I don’t rule it out, but personally I do not do it.
Just to note that casual sleep is not a decree; the Talmud says that there is no fixed measure for sleep.
That is a dispute among Amoraim on 26a. And the halakhic decisors also disagreed about it. In any case, even according to Rava, who says there is no casual sleep, it is permitted to doze outside the sukkah, because casual sleep is sleep that is enough to relieve one’s tiredness. What they forbade as “casual” is only a kind of casual sleep that people normally do only at home. See here: https://ph.yhb.org.il/plus/13-03-07/
Therefore, according to everyone, dozing outside is permitted.
However, one could argue that specifically the decisors who are lenient in accordance with Rav Ashi would be stringent here and forbid even dozing (rabbinically), lest one fall asleep. But in my humble opinion there is no obligation to be concerned for that. And as for Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s proof — which was our topic here — in my humble opinion it is not a valid proof.
Why only “should be” — why isn’t it actually permitted in practice?