Updated as of Wed., Oct 7 - Halachos of Sukkos - Written by Shalom Aryeh Greenfield & Reviewed by Rav Moshe Heinemann

By BJLife Newsroom
Posted on 10/07/20

Updated - Oct. 7, 2020 - Shaking of the Lulav

Baltimore, MD _ Oct. 2, 2020 - Halachos of Sukkos - Reviewed by Rav Moshe Heinemann שליט"א

Written by Shalom Aryeh Greenfield  

Click here for a printable copy                   

Table of Contents

ערב סוכות. א

Living in the סוכה. א

ד' מינים. ב

סוכה. ג

Davening. ג

הושענות. ג

תפילת גשם and משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם. ד

הושענא רבה. ה

הושענות. ה

שמחת תורה. ו

הקפות. ו

קריאת התורה. ז

ערב סוכות

• Giving blood: One may not donate blood or be tested for antibodies on ערב סוכות[1].

Living in the סוכה

There is a מצוה for one to eat, drink and sleep in the סוכה throughout סוכות[2].

Exceptions:

• חולה: Someone who is a חולה is פטור from סוכה[3]. If it is not good for one’s health to sleep in the סוכה then he is פטור from sleeping there[4]. If a חולה would not sleep as well in the סוכה as he would sleep in a room inside the house, he should ask a שאלה[5]. If the cold is detrimental to a person’s health, and wearing a coat will not sufficiently warm him, he does not need to eat there.
• משמשים של חולה: One who is taking care of a חולה is פטור from the סוכה if he is needed to be available at the time that he is eating or sleeping[6].

Traveler: If one is traveling during סוכות he may eat or sleep outside of the סוכה as is necessary for his traveling[7] even if he is traveling for pleasure[8].

Candles: We eat our שבת and יום טוב סעודות near the light of the שבת or יום טוב candles[9].

• Bringing them in after the סעודה: If one is worried that his silver candlesticks may be stolen from his סוכה he can bring them in after the סעודה if it is not שבת. If it is שבת one may not move the candlesticks back inside.
• Lighting inside: If one can walk directly from the room where the candles are into the סוכה, he may light in that room. If not, even if one has a window allowing him to see from his סוכה into the room where the candles are, he may not light there.
• Other candles: If one is more comfortable, he may use tea lights for הדלקת נרות in his סוכה.
• It is a מצוה to tie the לולב together with three הדסים and two ערבות and hold that bundle together with the אתרוג [10].
• שהחיינו: We only say שֶׁהֶחֱיָינוּ on the מצוה of ד' מינים the first time that we do the מצוה on יום טוב. This is generally on the first day of יום טוב. If the first day falls out on שבת, we say שֶׁהֶחֱיָינוּ on the ד' מינים on the second day of יום טוב.
• חציצה: One should remove the rings[11] from their fingers for the time that they are holding the ד' מינים[12]. One may certainly not wear gloves while he is holding the ד' [13]מינים.
• If one was first given the ד' מינים during הלל, he should make a ברכה between פרקים[14].
• סכך – If one uses branches with leaves he must be careful that they will not shrivel too much over יום טוב. If over the course of יום טוב the סכך shrivel so much that there will be more sunlight than shade, then he is not יוצא even on the first day of יום טוב.
• Walls – if one uses canvas or tarpaulin walls, he must be careful that they do not blow back and forth too much in the wind[15]. One must be sure that they do not move back and forth more than three טפחים in any wind which is (at least somewhat) normal in that area. If walls of the סוכה that he has do blow back and forth too much, he should ask a שאלה.
• הושענא למענך: In Shul the חזן says הושענא למענך וכו' four times before walking around for הושענות and everyone walks around the בימה. One who is davening ביחידות does not say this part.
• Time of הושענות: The מנהג בני אשכנז is to lain the תורה after שחרית and then take the ספרי תורה out again after מוסף for הושענות. בני נוסח ספרד say the הושענות right after הלל before laining.
• Holding a ספר תורה:

ד' מינים

סוכה

Davening

הושענות                                                                                                       

The מנהג is for someone to hold a ספר תורה on the בימה while the other people walk around the בימה holding their ד' מינים[16].

• If a מנין does not have a ספר תורה: If a מנין is davening outside or in a room where they do not have an ארון קודש, they walk around the place where the תורה was lained even though no ספר תורה is there. They do not bring a ספר תורה there in order to walk around it[17].
  • נוסח ספרד is נוהג to say הושענות immediately after הלל right before laining. If they want to bring the ספר תורה out before starting הושענות they may do so. נוסח אשכנז should not change.
  • If the מנין has an ארון קודש to keep the ספר תורה in, the ספר תורה is brought out before davening. They can use the ספר תורה as they would at a regular מנין. (They only bring out a ספר תורה that they will be laining from.)
• Who walks around the בימה: The מנהג is for every man who has the ד' מינים[18] to walk around the בימה holding his ד' מינים. The only exceptions are someone in אבילות and those holding a ספר תורה on the בימה[19]. One who has the ד' מינים and does not want to walk around or is in אבילות should hold a ספר תורה[20] or should walk out before הושענות[21].
• When to walk around the בימה:  We walk around the בימה once while הושענות are being said, repeating each phrase[22] after the חזן. We finish as the חזן finishes the individual הושענות. We say למען אמיתך standing by our seats.
• Shifts: In most Shuls everyone slowly walks around the Shul as הושענות are said. If a Shul prefers, they may arrange to walk around in shifts. A (few) individual(s) at a time to make a complete rotation while a few words of הושענות are said. After each group finishes, the next group goes around[23]. It should be arranged in a way that הושענות are completed once when all of the rotations are complete.
• Around the outside of the building: If a מנין prefers, they may walk around the outside of a building as this includes walking around the [24]בימה.
  • Around the בימה without a ספר תורה: The מנין walks around the בימה when saying הושענות even if they do not have a [25]ספר תורה. They should not transport a ספר תורה from a different room for the purpose of הושענות.
  • Direction to walk around: We walk around from North to West to South to East[26] (counter-clockwise).
  • Without a מנין: One who is davening without a מנין says הושענות without walking[27]. He does not say הושענא למענך וכו' right before the הושענות[28].
  • We begin saying משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם on שמיני עצרת. Before שמונה עשרה of מוסף the גבאי announces, "משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם"[29]. If the גבאי did not announce "משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם" then one does not start saying it until the חזן says תפילת גשם.
  • Davening ביחידות: One who davens ביחידות before the time that the גבאי makes this announcement does not say משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם. One who davens ביחידות after the time that the גבאי makes this announcement says משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם. One starts saying משיב הרוח when the מנין that he usually davens at says תפילת גשם. At the Agudah of Baltimore this occurs at about 12:00.
  • Canceled מנין: If the מנין that one normally davens at is canceled (due to health concerns), one should start saying משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם based on רוב מנינים in town[30].
    • תפילת גשם: During חזרת הש"ץ of מוסף the חזן says תפילת גשם. One who is davening without a מנין may say תפילת גשם.

תפילת גשם and משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם

הושענא רבה

הושענות

הושענות are done similarly to the rest of סוכות. However, on הושענא רבה we circle around the בימה seven times[31].

חביטת הערבה

Before saying תענה אמונים we put down the ד' מינים and pick up a bundle of five ערבות[32]. We say קול מבשר three times. Then, we beat the ערבות on the floor (or on stairs) five times[33] hard enough to knock off a couple leaves[34]. If leaves come off, fine, if not the מנהג is to also beat it on a chair leg to remove leaves if the chair will not be damaged. One is יוצא even if no leaves come off.

Reusing the הושענות: It is preferable for each person to have their own הושענות, but בדיעבד one may use השענות that were already used [35].

Which parts of davening are most important: הושענא רבה is a very important day for davening. If a woman is home to supervise her young children and is unable to say the entire davening, certain things are more important to be said. The order of importance is as follows[36]:

1. ברכת השחר: She should say ברכת השחר beginning with על נטילת ידים throughהגומל  which is at the end of המעביר שנה. For a woman, this can be said any time before שקיעה.
2. שמע: She should make sure to say the first פסוק of שמע and ברוך שם. For a woman, this can be said any time during the day but preferably before סוף זמן קריאת שמע.
3. שמונה עשרה : She should say שחרית, מוסף and מנחה.
4. חביטת הערבה: She says קול מבשר מבשר ואומר, klaps, and then say the יהי רצון.
5. הושענות : There is no need for woman davening by herself to say it. (There is an ענין for a man davening by himself to say the הושענות.)

שמחת תורה

• Moving a ספר תורה: In general, a ספר תורה should not be moved around to use at different [37]מנינים. The people should come to where the ספר תורה is. They may not move it just for dancing[38].
• Exception: בדיעבד, if a מנין of people need to hear laining and it is not practical for them to go to where the ספר תורה is to lain there, the ספר תורה may be brought to them[39]. Once they are bringing it to lain, they may dance with it until they lain.

הקפות

The מנהג is for the men to sing & dance around the בימה with all of the ספרי תורה[40]. Each time someone leads the ציבור holding a ספר תורה, saying אנא ה' with certain תפילות, and walking around the בימה.

• One who is davening ביחידות is not required to dance or add תפילות for שמחת תורה[41].
• Number of times around the בימה: We are נוהג to dance around the בימה seven times with the ספר תורה[42]. For each הקפה they should say the appropriate verses (אלקי הרוחות, בוחן לבבות, כו').
• Without a בימה: If the ציבור is davening inside but dancing outside such as in their parking lot, they can dance even though it is not around where they lain.
• Dancing around the Shul building: The ציבור may dance around the building as this includes the בימה[43].
  • On שמחת תורה we lain from three ספרי תורה.
  • If a מנין only has two ספרי תורה, they lain וזאת הברכה from the first one and בראשית from the second one. While they are using the second ספר תורה and saying מי שבירך, they roll the first one from וזאת הברכה to פרשת פנחס to use it for the מפטיר[44]. If they did not yet roll the first one and it is time for מפטיר, they roll the second one[45].
    • If a מנין has one ספר תורה on a day that laining is from two פרשיות: Sometimes we lain from the תורה in two places. Usually we lain from two ספרי תורה to avoid טירחא דצבורא. However, if a מנין has only one ספר תורה and needs to read from two places, they say חצי קדיש and then roll the ספר תורה even though the ציבור is waiting[46].

קריאת התורה

קול הנערים:

קול הנערים is meant as a חינוך for boys to prepare them for when they are old enough for עליות.

• Girls, as well as boys under six have no place coming up for קול הנערים[47].
• Social distancing: If a מנין wants to maintain social distancing during קול הנערים they may have every boy join his father and go up whenever his father gets an עלייה. Alternatively, when called up for קול הנערים they may remain by their own seat and go under their father’s טלית.