Referring respectfully TB Sukkah 20

With today’s daf TB Sukkah 20 we finish the first chapter of our massekhet and begin the second. The first chapter concludes with a discussion of different kinds of mats and whether they are kosher for sakhakh. Remember that kosher sakhakh cannot become ritually unready (טמא). A mat that was constructed for the purpose of sitting, leaning, or reclining upon can become ritually unready (טומאת מדרס-tum’at madras-imparted by treading upon it) if a zav, zava (a man or woman who has a seminal emission), nidah (a woman who has a menstrual flow), and a woman who was given birth. Otherwise only a wooden object that has a receptacle i.e. an area in which it can contain other objects can become ritually unready, as opposed to a flat board.

Basically whether these mats are kosher sakhakh depends on the intention of the mat maker. If the intention was to make a mat, usually of reed like material or woven goat hair or horsehair was for reclining, then one may not use it for sakhakh. But if the same mat was constructed for the purpose of sakhakh, one may use it because it is neither intended to be used to recline upon nor has a receptacle. If the mat has an upturned ridge around its edge, a receptacle is created and this kind of mat is ineligible to become sakhakh.

Besides teaching us a bit of interesting Jewish history, Reish Lakish shows respect for his rebbe, Rabbi Ḥiyya, when he defines the term ḥotzalot as mats. “as Reish Lakish said: I am the atonement for Rabbi Ḥiyya and his sons, as initially, when some of the Torah laws were forgotten from the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael, Ezra ascended from Babylonia and reestablished the forgotten laws. Parts of the Torah were again forgotten in Eretz Yisrael, and Hillel the Babylonian ascended and reestablished the forgotten sections. When parts of the Torah were again forgotten in Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Ḥiyya and his sons ascended and reestablished the forgotten sections. This expression of deference toward Rabbi Ḥiyya introduces the halakha that Reish Lakish is citing in his name. And so said Rabbi Ḥiyya and his sons: Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis did not disagree concerning the soft mats of Usha, that they can become ritually impure, even with impurity imparted by treading, as those mats are produced for the purpose of lying upon them. And they also agreed concerning the coarse mats of Tiberias, that they are ritually pure, as these are produced exclusively for use in partitions and for roofing.” (Sefaria.org translation) See the rest of the Gemara to learn where Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis disagree.

Reish Lakish says his corrections by suffering by the hand of the Holy One should be accounted for Rabbi Ḥiyya’s in favor not as an atonement for him. Rashi says this it is the way one should speak respectfully when quoting his deceased parent or rebbe. Rashi also notes that the entire Torah wasn’t forgotten, but only certain halakhot. Sages like Ezra, Hillel, and Rabbi Ḥiyya and his sons either remembered the correct tradition or were able to reconstruct it.