Chumash
What day is Sukkot (month and day)?
15th of Tishrei
According to R' Eliezer in the Mishnah, how many meals does one need to eat over Sukkot?
14 - 1 per night, 1 per day, for 7 days equals (we won't tell Ms. Provenzano!) 14 meals.
According to the Shulchan Aruch, is melachah (work) on Chol Hamoed allowed?
Some is mutar (permitted, allowed).
Some is assur (forbidden).
Ask your LOR (Local Orthodox Rabbi)...
I might be Local, I teach at an Orthodox school, and my semicha says I am a Rabbi. But I ain't yo family's Rabbi, I'm your Rebbi... go ask YOUR FAMILY'S LOR!!
לְאֶכוֹל
To eat
How many korbanot are there over Sukkot?
70 - one for each nation of the World
According to the Chachamim in the Mishnah, how many meals does one need to eat in the sukkah over Sukkot?
Just one... the first night.
The rest of Sukkot is assur to fast, but you can eat other foods like fruits and nuts outside of the sukkah (if you wanna be a "borei-nefashos-nick!)
What does the pasuk אֵלֶה מְוֹעַדֵי ה׳ teach us?
Well... it can't be teaching us about the first or last day of Sukkot, because we already have pasukim for that. So...
it must be teaching us certain melachah (work) on Chol HaMoed is forbidden.
חִיְוּב
Obligation... some mitzvot I am required to do, like eating a kezayit of bread in the Sukkah on the 15th of Tishrei!
What is Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah?
The 8th Day of Assembly. Sukkot was a holiday for all of the nations of the World. Hashem says "stay one more day with Me in the Beit Hamikdash!". This was the day for Klal Yisrael, where we celebrate with the Torah-the tie between Hashem to the Jewish People.
What is the reason the Chachamim hold you only need one meal in the Sukkah the entire Sukkot?
A gezeirah shavah (equal law) learned from Pesach. Just like you have to eat a kazayit/kebeitzah (olive/egg size) of matzah Seder night on the 15th of Nissan, you need to eat kazayit/kebeitzah of bread in the Sukkah on the 15th of Tishrei.
What does the Mishnah Berurah require you to do on Chol HaMoed?
Eat fancy food, drink special drinks, and wear nice (clean) clothes.
Get it clear... Chol HaMoed is not Chol (a weekday), it is a Yom Tov!
מְלָאְכָה
Work, as described by the Torah that is assur on Shabbat and Yom Tov... learned from the 39 Melachot in the Mishkan in the desert.
How many days is Sukkot?
7 days... some in chutz l'aretz eat in the Sukkah without a beracha on Shemini Atzeret "just in case" it is still the 7th day of Sukkot.
When does the Shulchan Aruch require you to eat in the Sukkah? Is there a way to get out of eating in the Sukkah?
You need to eat a kazayit/kebeitzah (olive/egg) of bread the first night (or first two nights in Chutz L'Aretz).
Past that, you could eat fruits or nuts (a borei-nefashos-nick) the entire Sukkot and eat outside of the Sukkah... like the Chachamim in the Mishnah.
You are also patur from the Sukkah if it is raining, exceedingly cold, or otherwise uncomfortable.
What is the pasuk ָוְשָׂמַחְתָ בְחַגֶיך referring to?
Yom Tov and Chol HaMoed... Chol Hamoed is a Chag.
Meal
סְעוּדָה
Why is Sukkot after Yom Kippur? Doesn't it make more sense right after Pesach when Hashem took care of us in the desert?
-2 answers, 250 points per answer
1. Everyone wants to go outside after Pesach when the weather gets warmer, but we build our Sukkot after Yom Kippur when it starts to get cold to show we're only going into the Sukkah for the mitzvah... because G-d said so!
2. After G-d forgives us on Yom Kippur, we enter under His Cloud of Glory. We really are under this all year, but we feel it more right after Yom Kippur.
What Halacha does the Gra learn from Hilchot Pesach? How does this Halacha apply to Sukkot?
The Gra says even though there is a mitzvat aseh (positive command) to eat matzah the first night of Pesach, there is a "mitzvah b'almah" (general mitzvah, not required, but we get extra credit) to eat matzah the rest of Pesach, because the Torah says שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תְֹאכלְוּ מַצָוֹת. The Gemara understands this as a warning to stay away from Chametz, but the Gra understands it as informing us of a mitzvah b'alma to eat matzah all 7 days.
The Mishnah Berurah says this might apply to Sukkot as well. We are only commanded to eat bread in the Sukkah on the first night, but there would be a mitzvah b'almah to eat bread in the Sukkah the rest of Sukkot.
What food should I eat lechatchila on Chol Hamoed?
Lechatchila means "the best case scenario"... sometimes Rabbi Forgosh doesn't have time to eat this!
Bread... this is the main food to fulfill the Torah's definition of eating.
Because, when the Torah says ָוְאָכַלְתָ וְשְׂבָעְתָ וּבֵרַכְת instructing us to wash and bentch, the Rabbis understand this as going on bread. Most people start and fix their meals on bread.
Nice thing to do, but not required
מִצְָוָה בְעַלמָא