[Avodah] Dimensions of a circular sukkah

[Kenneth Miller]

To summarize prior posts: I asked about a circular sukkah, whose diameter is about 9.35831 tefachim, yet meets the criterion of a circumference of 29.4 tefachim. R' Micha Berger responded that it would be kosher while circular,, but not if the walls were flattened internally, because then they'd be only 6.61732 tefachim wide. This surprised me, because the sukkah was unable to contain a 7x7 square even while it was circular.

R' Micha explained his logic:

> Yes, because we hold a circular circle doesn't need to be large
> enough to circumscribe a square sukkah. We hold it's needs to
> be large enough to *approximately* circumscribe one.
> To help you accept that approximation (without involving my
> philosophy of halakhah):
> In terms of area, your minimal 29.4 tef circumference sukkah has
> an area of just under 68.8 tef^2, still MUCH larger than the
> minimal 49 tef^2 area of a square one. And in terms of diameter,
> the diameter of just under 9.36 tef is still larger than the
> minimum length or width.
> It is only the idea that a Sukkah must fully contain a length
> and width at the same time (and thus a 7 tef x 7 tef square)
> that is approximate.

This makes a certain amount of sense, if I'm understanding it right. I think what you're saying is that Chazal require 7 tefachim of width, and also 7 tefachim of length, but they don't really care about the four corners so much. In a 7x7 square, the sides are each 3.5 tefachim from the center, but the corners are 4.9497 tefachim away, and that's far more than might be required.

For the record, do any poskim discuss a sukkah which was found to measure 6.5 by 8 tefachim (52 sq.tef.)? Or is our circle to only exception allowed to the Lo Plug about requiring a 7x7 square, as opposed to a minimum area of 49 sq.tef.?

Akiva Miller
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