Today’s daf Sukkah 13 describes two plants which could be kosher sekhakh according to the Torah because they grow from the ground and are not subject to become tamei, ritually unready, because they are not food; however, the rabbis invalidate them. They are wormwood (שְׁווֹצְרֵ) and shrubs (הִיגֵי).
“Since their odor (of
the wormwood-gg) grows offensive over time, one abandons the sukka and
exits. It is inappropriate to establish a sukka in which it is
impossible to remain…Since their
leaves (of
the shrubs-gg) fall over time and
they are apt to fall into the food and disturb those in the sukka, one
abandons the sukka and exits.” (Sefaria.org translation)
We leave our permanent
dwelling on Sukkot and move into our temporary sukkah. The rabbis invalidate
those things that would make our sukkah undesirable to dwell therein. Obviously
nobody will want to remain in a sukkah that really smells bad nor where leaves
would continually fall into your food and ruin it. There is a halakhic difference
between wormwood and shrubs when it comes to the sukkah. One still would not be
permitted to use the wormwood for the walls of the sukkah because of the smell.
One would be permitted to use shrubs for the walls for the sukkah because no
one cares if the leaves fall on the ground and not in our food.
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