Q&A: Falling Asleep During a Sermon Outside the Sukkah
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Falling Asleep During a Sermon Outside the Sukkah
Question
Someone is forced to listen to a sermon between Mincha and Ma’ariv in the synagogue, and it is clear to him that he will fall asleep because of the sermon—what should he do?
Is he obligated to go back to the sukkah at his home and then return again for Ma’ariv, or, since his practice all year round is to pray both services together, may he stay and fall asleep there involuntarily?
Answer
There is no problem. He can fall asleep in the synagogue just as he does all year round. “You shall dwell as you normally live.”
Discussion on Answer
Correct, but logically there is room to argue that our synagogue has the status of a study hall. It’s hard not to doze off during the standard sermons given there.
There is also an additional issue here from the standpoint of the holiness of the synagogue, since it is forbidden to sleep in a synagogue even a temporary sleep (dozing). I found a quote from Peninei Halakha:
And so too they permitted those who study to doze a bit in the study hall. And even though in a synagogue it is forbidden to sleep or even doze, nevertheless in a study hall they permitted it, since the students are there all day, and it is impossible that they should not doze a little.