[Avodah] Mitsvat Sukkah is almost unique

[Chana Luntz]

> On Wed, Oct 03, 2007 at 08:51:29AM +0200, Esther and Aryeh 
> Frimer wrote:
> > I believe it was Rav Kook ZT"L who noted that Sukkah and 
> >Yishuv Eretz Yisrael are the only Mitzvot which one fulfills even
with the mud on
> > ones shoes.

And then:


> REMT Writes: "I have seen it written in the name of the Vilner Gaon  
> that the only two mitzvos encompassing the entire body are 
> sukkah and  yishuv Eretz Yisrael, with which he associated the pasuk
"Vayhi  
> v'shaleim --sukko um'onaso b'Tziyon."  When I heard R. Riskin quote  
> that in a public lecture many years ago, one woman in the audience  
> called out:  "what about mikvah?"  R. Riskin then added that to his  
> list.


I would note that, whatever else there may be to be discussed, that
these two formulations are quite different, and may account for some of
the discrepancy.  After all, while there may be much to say regarding
whether mikvah is a mitzvah in and of itself, thus fulfilling the
criteria of being a mitzvah that encompasses the entire body, there is
no question that it is not, at least l'chatchila, fulfilled "even with
the mud on one's shoes" (whether the mud not to mention the shoes might
be considered a chatziza sufficient to be me'akev is, of course, a
different question).

Shabbat Shalom

Chana