9/25/2026 - Shloimy Zelcer / What to do if it rains tonight

So there is a unique halacha on the first night of Sukkos that does not apply during the rest of Yontif.

During the rest of Sukkos, if a person doesn't want to eat an achilas keva, a regular meal, there's no obligation to eat in the Sukkah.

A person can choose to eat only foods that don't require Sukkah and avoid the obligation altogether.

But the first night is different.

On the first night of Sukkos, there is a mitzvah to eat in the Sukkah, whether a person is hungry or not, whether he feels like eating or not.

There is a chiv to eat a kazayis of bread in the sukkah.

The gemara learns this through gzer shav from Pesach, just like there's a chiv to eat matzah on the first night of Pesach, there's a chiv to eat in the sukkah on the first night of sukkah.

So what happens if it's raining? So normally, dalach is very straightforward.

If it's raining to the point that a person is a mitzvah, a mitzvah is rain.

If it's uncomfortable enough that he would leave his house under similar circumstances, he is exempt from the sukkah.

The question is whether that exemption applies on the first night of sukkahs as well.

Some hold that even if it's raining, the special obligation of the first night remains.

According to this opinion, a person must eat at least a kezias in the sukkah even though he's a mitzvah.

Other Rishayim hold that the regular exemption of mitzvah applies even on the first night.

And therefore, if it's raining sufficiently, he is completely putter from the sukkah.