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Mishna: If one covers his sukkah with iron rods or the long boards of his bed. If there is space - equal in width to that of the rods or bed boards - between them [covered with kosher schach], it is kosher.

Summary

Challenge: Is this mishna a refutation of Rav Huna brei d’Rav Yehoshua?

We learned: If the area of the breaches are equivalent to the area of the walls: Rav Papa: They’re valid walls. Rav Huna brei d’Rav Yehoshua: They’re not valid walls.

Resolution: Rav Huna brei d’Rav Yehoshua can explain our mishna: The spaces are equal in width, plus some wiggle room to enable moving the rods in and out.

Challenge: But it is possible to be exact, so wiggle room is not required. So why would the case of our mishna be kosher schach?

Rabbi Ami: In our mishna the schach is increased* over more than just a space equivalent to the iron rods; the space is actually more than the rods.

Rava: In our mishna, the kosher schach crisscrosses the rods perpendicularly. Although in aggregate, the empty spaces are equivalent to the rods, still since the entire sukkah is covered, the rods are battel.

(In both answers there is more schach than rods).

__________

• Tosfos: It is not the gemara’s style to answer in such a manner [it disregards the challenge and returns to the prior understanding that there is some extra space]. Rav Ami’s answer should be understood “the schach is increased, covering more than just the amount of space equivalent to the iron rods.” Although the space between the rods is precisely equivalent to the space occupied by the rods, still since there is more schach, the rods become battel. However, this explanation is faulty because there is actually no reason for the rods to become battel. Rabeinu Tam has a different girsa in the question that Rabbi Ami is coming to answer. According to Rabeinu Tam the question should be: “It is impossible to be exact”. Accordingly the answer will be that he intentionally increases the amount of space in between the rods.