[Avodah] KeViAs Seudah, MeZonos HaMotzi

[Akiva Miller via Avodah]

R' Meir G. Rabi wrote:

> Also, although sleeping is ALWAYS KaVuAh, nevertheless no
> Beracha is made even when sleeping the night.

and R' Zev Sero responded:

> Even if you have not already said a bracha in that sukah?!

(sigh...) It seems we go through this every year.

Just about anything one might do in a sukkah is a fulfillment of the
mitzvah. But Chazal singled out one specific act as being particularly
worthy of the bracha Layshev Basukkah. And that act is Seudas Keva. That is
why people often say things like, "Don't say Layshev on eating an apple,"
or "Don't say Layshev on relaxing in the sukkah," or in our case, "Don't
say Layshev on sleeping in the sukkah."

Unfortunately, these sayings are widely misunderstood. One CAN say Layshev
on the mitzvah of living in the sukkah. But eating an apple, or relaxing,
or even sleeping in the sukkah, does not intensify that mitzvah to the next
level. Eating a Seudas Keva DOES intensify the mitzvah.

Therefore, if one enters the sukkah for the mitzvah, and does not plan to
eat a Seudas Keva, since he is unquestionably doing Yeshivas Sukkah, he
does say Layshev, even though he is "merely" eating an apple, or relaxing,
or going to sleep. However, if he enters the sukkah for these purposes, and
he plans to eat a Seudas Keva later on - even much later on - then he
should save the bracha for that point, when he will be doing the more
"intense" (for lack of a better word) form of the mitzvah, and the bracha
will cover the prior time as well.

This is all spelled out in Mishne Brurah 639:46 and 639:48.

The common misunderstanding of these halachos is that we never say Layshev
except for a Seudas Keva, and people think that the Mechaber/Rama 639:8
supports that belief. But MB 46 there explains it differently: There is
indeed a machlokes, and the lenient view says to say Layshev any time one
enters the sukkah (after a hefsek from the previous time). Even if one
plans to eat a Seudas Keva later on, the lenient view says to say Layshev
immediately on entry. The stricter view (which Mechaber/Rama agree is the
actual practice) is to delay the Layshev until later on when he eats his
Seudas Keva. But that is only if there will indeed *be* a Seudas Keva later
on. If there will *not* be a Seudas Keva later on, then he *does* say
Layshev when entering.

An excellent example of this is if one spends some time outside the sukkah
doing some non-sukkah related stuff, so that that there's a hefsek since
his last Layshev. Then he enters the sukkah to go to sleep. He does say
Layshev, but it's not on sleeping in the sukkah - it's on *being* in the
sukkah. Another frequent example is someone who goes to the sukkah between
Mincha and Maariv (whether he is learning or shmoozing is irrelevant);
since Mincha is a hefsek and Maariv is a hefsek and he is not eating in
between, there's no reason not to say Layshev upon entering the Sukkah.

POSTSCRIPT: I was going to change the subject line for this post, to
something more Sukkos-related. But I'm not, because I perceive an important
connection between this post and some of the general Seudah ideas that
we've been discussing lately.

For example, let's take a look at the middle of MB 639:46: <<< The minhag
of the whole world follows those poskim who hold that we never say Layshev
except when eating. Even if they sit in the sukkah for an hour before
eating, they don't say Layshev, because they hold that it is all covered by
the bracha that they'll say later on, when eating, because that's the ikar
and it covers the sleeping and the relaxing and the learning, which are all
tafel to it. >>>

I'm sure there are many who will pounce on the words "we never say Layshev
except when eating", but I think they fail to notice that the MB is
presuming a meal later on.

This is an important point, very relevant to what we've been saying about
how the role of bread has changed in modern society. There used to be a
presumption that every meal would have bread as its focus, and THAT'S why
people got into the habit of not saying Layshev when they entered the
sukkah: "I'll say Layshev later on, with my Hamotzi."

Akiva Miller
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