Why you haven’t seen a sukkah taller than 40 feet TB Sukkah 2

 Today we begin a brand-new massekhet with daf TB Sukkah 2. There are two major mitzvot associated with the holiday of Sukkot. The first is dwelling in the sukkah and the second concerns the four species, the palm, the myrtle, the willow, and the etrog.

Rashi makes clear that the special roof (סכך-sekhakh) of the sukkah is the essential element that makes a sukkah a sukkah. In Hebrew you can see how the two words are linked, סוכה and סכך.The first chapter begins the discussion concerning three laws of a sukkah, the maximum and minimum height of the sukkah and how much sunlight the sekhakh allows in. “A sukka, i.e., its roofing, which is the main and most crucial element of the mitzva, that is more than twenty cubits high is unfit. Rabbi Yehuda deems it fit. Similarly, a sukka that is not even ten handbreadths high, and one that does not have three walls, and one whose sunlight that passes through its roofing is greater than its shade are unfit.” (Sefaria.org translation) If we say that the cubit is approximately 2 feet than the maximum height of a sukkah will be 40 feet or four stories high. If we say that a handbreadth is approximately 4 inches than the minimum height of the sukkah will be 3’4”.

Three amoraim suggest three different reasons why the maximum height of a sukkah connect exceed 20 cubits.

“Rabba said that it is derived as the verse states: “So that your future generations will know that I caused the children of Israel to reside in sukkot when I took them out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 23:43). In a sukka up to twenty cubits high, even without a concerted effort, a person is aware that he is residing in a sukka. His eye catches sight of the roofing, evoking the sukka and its associated mitzvot. However, in a sukka that is more than twenty cubits high, a person is not aware that he is residing in a sukka because his eye does not involuntarily catch sight of the roof, as at that height, without a concerted effort one would not notice the roofing.” (Sefaria.org translation) According to the midrash God provided the Jewish people His clouds of glory (ענני כבוד) to protect them from the harsh elements of the wilderness. Rabba says that the purpose of dwelling in the sukkah is to have an awareness of God’s protecting love. When we look up, we shall remember His clouds of glory.

“Rabbi Zeira said that it is derived from here: The verse states: “And there shall be a sukka for shade in the daytime from the heat, and for refuge and cover from storm and from rain” (Isaiah 4:6). In a sukka up to twenty cubits high, a person is sitting in the shade of the sukka, i.e., the shade of the roofing; in a sukka that is more than twenty cubits high, a person is not sitting in the shade of the roofing of the sukka but rather in the shade of the walls of the sukka, as their considerable height provides constant shade, rendering the shade of the roofing irrelevant.” (Sefaria.org translation)

“Rava said that the halakha is derived from here: “In sukkot shall you reside seven days” (Leviticus 23:42). The Torah said: For the entire seven days, emerge from the permanent residence in which you reside year round and reside in a temporary residence, the sukka. In constructing a sukka up to twenty cubits high, a person can render his residence a temporary residence, as up to that height one can construct a structure that is not sturdy; however, in constructing a sukka above twenty cubits high, one cannot render his residence a temporary residence; rather, he must construct a sturdy permanent residence, which is unfit for use as a sukka.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Which explanation do you like best?