Sukkos 5785 – Sukkos Shiur
Sukkos 5785
A Sukkah That Has Space for Only One Person: A Child Who Has Reached the Age of Chinuch or an Adult Guest
While learning the sugya, the talmidim posed the following question: What should be done if someone has a guest on the first night of Sukkos and also has a son who has reached the age of chinuch? If there is not enough space in the Sukkah for both the guest and his young son to sleep, which one should be given priority? Should the guest sleep in the Sukkah, thus enabling him to fulfill the Torah commandment of sleeping in the Sukkah, even if it means the father cannot fulfill the commandment of chinuch for his son? Or should the father prioritize his son’s chinuch, allowing him to sleep in the Sukkah while the guest would be considered anus (exempt because it is against his will) since there is no space?
Similarly, we should consider the case when a father has two sons—one who is bar mitzvah age and another who has reached the age of chinuch—but there is only room for one of them in the Sukkah. Should he prioritize his younger son to fulfill the mitzvah of chinuch, or should the bar mitzvah son take precedence?
I. Arvus vs. Chinuch
The Mishnah Berurah (655, Shaar Hatziyun 5) states that due to the concept of arvus (mutual responsibility), we are commanded to ensure that our fellow Jew performs the mitzvos of the Torah. Even though a father is not obligated to be mechanech (educate) his guest in mitzvos, he bears a general responsibility of arvus. Conversely, Chazal imposed a rabbinic obligation on the father to educate his son, as seen in the Mishnah in Sukkah (28a):
“A minor who no longer needs his mother is obligated in Sukkah.”
The Mishnah Berurah (640:5) rules that one may not feed a minor outside the Sukkah, even another person’s child, or instruct them to eat outside the Sukkah. The concept of arvus is of Torah origin, whereas the mitzvah of chinuch is a rabbinic obligation. Since chinuch is m’drabanan, arvus, which is a Torah-level mitzvah, takes precedence.
II. Comparing Obligations
The consensus is that the mitzvah of chinuch is a rabbinic obligation, whereas ensuring an adult has the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of sleeping in the Sukkah is a Torah-level obligation. This principle can be derived from the Gemara in Sotah (21a), which states that every Jew is responsible for ensuring that others observe all the mitzvos.
However, Rav Nissim Karelitz zt”l (Chut Shani, Hilchos Sukkah, p. 255) argues that we should consider which outcome results in greater fulfillment of mitzvos. Since arvus enables the adult to perform a Torah-level mitzvah, and chinuch only results in a rabbinic obligation, the Torah-level mitzvah takes precedence.
III. Precedents and Rulings
Several leading Poskim, including Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l and Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l, have ruled that the mitzvah of chinuch takes precedence over arvus in certain cases. For instance, in the case of two sons—one bar mitzvah and one below the age of chinuch—Rav Elyashiv ruled that the younger son should take precedence because of the father’s primary obligation to be mechanech his child.
IV. Additional Considerations
The obligation of chinuch may even take precedence when no monetary expenditure is required, as the Sukkah is already prepared, and the question is merely who should occupy the available space. The mitzvah of arvus generally applies after one has fulfilled their own obligations, including chinuch, making it clear that chinuch is a personal obligation upon the father, whereas arvus is a general obligation upon every Jew.
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