Eating in the Sukkah: Difference between revisions

# While sitting in the Sukkah, it’s preferable to have intent that one will fulfill the mitzvah of Sukkah, and that Hashem commanded us to sit in Sukkot in commemoration for the clouds of glory.<ref> There is a dispute in Gemara Sukkah 11b the Sukkot we sit in are in commemoration of actual succot that Bnei Yisrael sat in in the desert or the Ananei Hakavod (clouds of glory) that God gave us for protection. The Tur 625 writes that the Sukkot are in commemoration of the Ananei Hakavod and we sit in the Succa specifically in the winter (instead of when Bnei Yisrael left Eygpt) to show that even though the norm is to move back into your house for the winter, we move outside to fulfill G-d’s will. The Bach there says that the fact that the Tur wrote this indicates that one hasn't fulfilled one's mitzva completely if one didn’t have the reason in mind since the pasuk gives us a reason. Chazon Ovadyah (Sukkot pg 97) quotes the pri megadim (A"A Intro to Siman 625) as saying that this is only the in order to do the mitzvah in it's best way, however, after the fact even without the intent one has still fulfilled one's obligation because even though mitzvot need kavana this is just the reason for the mitzva. Chazon Ovadyah and Mishna Berura (625:1) agree that this is the halacha. However, Bikkurei Yaakov (625:3) disagrees and says you aren’t yotzei at all. Moadim UZmanim (vol 1 pg 169) writes that although the Kavanna doesn’t take away the mitzvah however, one still looses the separate mitzvah of having kavanah.</ref>