Q & A YOM TOV HOLIDAYS
SUCCOS
Am I allowed to kill a bee or fly in the Sukkah or in my house on Yom tov?
The prevailing opinion is that you should do
whatever you can to chase an insect away, by hand or non-lethal spray.
- If it is possible to capture it in your hand & release it outside the house or sukkah
that would also be permitted. - There is one source that does permit killing an insect if it is very irritating & bothersome. (Mordechai mentioned in Tur O.C. 316).
- If the insect is life threatening (e.g. mosquito/ Nile Virus ) you are certainly permitted to kill it. (Shmiras Shabbes 25)
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If the Sukkah causes discomfort, like it's too cold,
are we exempt from the mitzvahs of eating & sleeping in the Sukkah?
- Yes, because the commandment of living in a Sukkah is to dwell in the Sukkah for 7
days the same way you dwell in your house the rest of the year. - (Mishna Berura 640:13)
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For every mitzvah there is a blessing.
Why do we not say a blessing when we build the Succos?
- While building the sukkah is a mitzvah, the mitzvah is not concluded until you actually
dwell in it during Succas. - Thus building the succah warrants no blessing of its own.
- Rather, the Shehecheyanu that you will recite when making Kiddushon the first night of Succos not only marks the joyous onset of the holiday but is also in celebration of your succah.
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What is the minimum length of a lulav?
Its spine must be at least 4 tefachim (halachic handbreadths)
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How do I get to the hospital if I go into labor on Yom Tov?
- It is permitted to perform all melachos (work) that are required for getting you to the hospital. The general custom is that the husband drives the wife to the hospital.
- In principle it is also permitted to perform other melachos, where the lady in birth requires
or craves something that will sooth or calm her (Shabbos 128; Shulchan Aruch 330:1). - If the mother in question is adamant that she needs her mother with her, too, the mother can also come.
- The general rule is that one should act in the same way as one would act on a weekday
(328:3) based on the concept of pikuach nefesh (danger to life) & therefore shouldn't
be relied on light-headedly. - Only if the lady giving birth insists that
she requires something or where it is clear that without
it she will be significantly disturbed, is it permitted to do this. - If a melachah (work) must be performed, one should do so by means of a non-Jew or
a shinui (an unusual way of doing it) when this is possible.
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Is it permitted on Yom Tov to carry garbage from our house
to our outdoor garbage cans?
- Some Rabbis consider the removal of trash from the house a legitimate Yom Tov need,
since leaving it in the house causes unpleasantness which detracts from the enjoyment
of Yom Tov. - Harav Y.Y. Kanievsky (Orchos Rabbeinu, vol. 2, Yom Tov, 6)
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Is carrying a house key permitted on Yom Tov?
All authorities agree that carrying on Yom Tov is permitted
when the object being carried is needed on Yom Tov
- It is permitted to carry food from one house to another, to wear a watch, to carry a
handkerchief or to carry a raincoat in case of rain. Harav S.Z. Auerbach Shmiras
Shabbos K'hilchasah 19 note, note 7, Harav Y.S. Elyashiv) (Mevaksheh Torah,
Yom Tov, pg. 269.Shabbos
- It is permitted to take a baby outside for a stroll, to carry a Sefer Torah or another sefer for
the purpose of studying it, to carry a lulav on Sukkos or a shofar on Rosh Hashanah or to
carry any object which will be used to fulfill a mitzvah which should be fulfilled that day. - It is also permitted to bring someone a gift, even if the item will not be used on Yom Tov.
- All of these are considered positive, constructive purposes & are permitted on Yom Tov.
Shulchan Aruch Harav 589:2; Ighros Moshe O.C. 3:94; Az Nidberu 13.38. Shaarei
Teshuva 589:1 quoting Sha'agas Aryeh 106; Mishnah Berurah 516:12, 14; This is
permitted even if one could have just as easily carried the object before Yom Tov;
Mishnah Berurah 498:10.
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