- שלוחי מצוה פטורין מן הסוכה
The next Mishnah states, שלוחי מצוה פטורין מן הסוכה – Those on a mission to do a mitzvah are patur from the mitzvah of succah. Rashi brings the examples of one who is travelling in order to learn Torah, greet his Rebbe or to redeem Jewish captives. The Gemara asks for the source of this principle and brings a Baraisa regarding krias Shema that states, "בשבתך בביתך" – during your sitting in your home; פרט לעוסק במצוה – this excludes one who is occupied with doing a different mitzvah, who is patur from Krias Shema, "ובלכתך בדרך" – and during your going on the way; פרט לחתן – this excludes a chosson, who is preoccupied with this thought pertaining to his performance of a mitzvah. The Baraisa teaches this applies specifically to one marrying a besulah.
The Gemara asks how the passuk implies that העוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה and Rav Huna said: כדרך – The passuk obligates one to recite Shema when “sitting” or “going” only when these activities are comparable to “the way.” מה דרך רשות אף כל רשות לאפוקי האי דבמצוה עסוק – Just as one takes to the way for discretionary purposes so too all situations mentioned in the passuk refer to those involved in a discretionary act, which comes to exclude this person involved in a mitzah.
- Why both sources of Krias Shema and Pesach Sheini were needed to teach about העוסק במצוה
dThe Gemara questions the need to derive העוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה from Krias Shema since it can be learned from the parshah of Pesach Sheini for it was taught in a Baraisa that Rebbe Yitzchak argued that the ones who were tamei were those involved with a meis mitzvah whose seventh day after becoming tamei fell on erev Pesach, "ולא יכלו לעשת הפסח ביום ההוא" – and they were unable to offer the pesach “on that day.” This implies that they would have been able to offer it the next day since their taharah would have been completed. We see from here that within seven days of Pesach, the people were allowed to attend to a meis mitzvah even though that would preclude their performance of a second, more significant mitzvah, that being the korban pesach.
The Gemara answers that both sources are necessary. If the Torah had only taught the principle from Pesach Sheini one might have thought משום דלא מטא זמן חיובא דפסח – it is permissible because the chiyuv of the korban Pesach had not arrived yet when they did the mitzvah of meis mitzvah, but here regarding the time of Krias Shema, when the time of the mitzvah has arrived, one could say there is no exemption. And if it had been learned from Krias Shema, one might have thought it is because there is no issur kares for failure to perform the second mitzvah, whereas in the case of the pesach, when there is an issur kares, one would not be patur.
- אבל חייב בסוכה
Rebbe Abba bar Zavda said in the name of Rav אבל חייב בסוכה – a mourner is chayav in the mitzvah of succah. One might have thought that since Rebbe Abba bar Zavda said in the name of Rav, מצטער פטור מן הסוכה – one who experiences distress is patur from succah, so too a mourner. Rebbe Abba bar Zavda is coming to teach הני מילי צערא דממילא – this applies only when the distress is inherent in the succah, but here איהו דקא מצטער נפשיה – it is he who is causing distress by dwelling on his loss, איבעי ליה ליתובי דעתיה – he is required to calm his mind from his grief and enable himself to perform the mitzvah of dwelling in a succah.