The Talmud is debating if grains cut for Sukkah roofing have the same ability to contract ritual impurity as grains cut for food.  The Gemara brings a key teaching regarding impurity:

All vessels descend into their status of contracting ritual impurity by means of thought (when the craftsman thinks they are finished). However, they ascend from their status of contracting ritual impurity only by means of a change due to an action (he has to go back and start working on the item again).

Merely changing your mind does not remove the mental label of a finished item, until you actually put more work into the item.  The teaching concludes:

Action negates a status created by action or a status created by thought; thought negates neither a status created by action nor a status created by thought.

If you think you are the way you are, stuck in your rut, then you indeed become stuck.  Merely realizing your life would improve if you changed is not enough. A man must actually get up and change things in action for his new thoughts to have any effect.  Often the first step in self improvement is to take an action, maybe even going to the gym to start getting in shape.  Actions, pursued over time, start to change thought patterns and even your personality.

Jewish wisdom places emphasis on learning and intellectual development.  However, our sages say the main goal is action (Hamaaseh hu haikar, Pirke Avot 1:17).  Simply gaining knowledge does not help if you do not put it into effect in the real world.

Be aware that nowadays many people are selling plans, schemes, or coaching to help you.  The real question to ask about any advice is does this work in practice for your individual situation.

The Talmud starts out by noting that materials with a bad smell are not used for Sukkah construction, since you will not want to stay in the Sukkah.

This reminds us that a man must evaluate if his surroundings are appropriate and allowing him to work towards his chosen mission.

The next piece of Gemara notes that palm shoots and cane stalks that grew together naturally are kosher for the Sukkah roofing.  We normally don’t use branches tied together, since branches tied for storage are invalid.  However, the materials in question were not tied by men, they simply grew up together.

Often a man finds himself with certain friends and hobbies simply because he grew up with these people and activities.  In the absence of outside pressure, a man will keep doing what he has always been doing, and with the same people.

A wise man constantly reevaluates if his friends and pursuits are working in his best interest.  Don’t simply go with the flow, think about if your situation is good for your long term benefit.

A man is often the average of the people he spends the most time with.  Who are those people, and are they helping with your personal growth or not?

Human beings prefer consistency, so when you change yourself they may push back.  A man working to improve may need to untie himself from his original group and tie himself to new people who are favorable to his changes.

Rav Huna hints to this on our Daf, stating that a bundle not made to be moved is not legally considered bundled.  Your peer group should help you grow and move through life, not hold you back.

Our sages have an amazing dispute, arguing over why we dwell in Sukkot during this holiday.  Do we commemorate the supernatural clouds of protection that God placed around the Jewish camp in the wilderness?  Or remember that our ancestors lived in actual physical Sukkot that they built.

We understand that both elements were important, but our sages want to know the primary reason, as this has ramifications for what materials we should use for the Sukkah, and what we should have in mind when performing the commandment.

Naturally, it can be much easier for a man to realize and appreciate his physical accomplishments.  If he attains wealth, his portfolio increasing in value and he can buy a nicer car or house.  If he works hard at the gym, his body changes.  When he puts effort into grooming and stylish wardrobe, people notice this.

Our spiritual and psychological growth is much harder to gauge.  However, this is the key area where we need to work.  Some men have a big bank account and a nice car, but still struggle in key relationships.  Men lift and build muscles, but still feel afraid of their wives or to meet new people.  Some men work hard on an image to cover up insecurities.

This can lead to a lack of congruency, where the man looks successful from the outside but doesn’t seem natural and confident interacting with others.  People assume that a man who appears accomplished is so, and when they find out it is merely appearance this comes off as creepy and fake.

On the other hand, some men are relatively poor and may even be considered ugly, but they succeed, because of how they relate to others and most of all to themselves.

Your main reason for existence is to build your internal life, to determine what you want to accomplish in life and to pursue it.  The physical component of our existence provides you the tools to work on your intellectual development, refining your personality, and clarifying your understanding of interpersonal dynamics.

The Talmud concludes the topic of canopies within a Sukkah.  We learn that there was a special canopy made for the bed of newlyweds.  This was for privacy as well as elegance.  Often ancient houses lacked extra rooms, so curtains and canopies were used as dividers.  It was understood that newlyweds required extra privacy, so a special low canopy was made over the marital bed.  If a couple was married just before the holiday of Sukkot (we cannot marry during the holiday) then they would sleep under such a canopy inside the Sukkah.

We live in an age in which sexuality is commercialized and publicized.  However, be cautious of following this trend and discussing your own intimacy.  A woman who felt comfortable with you may become very uncomfortable after learning that you told other people what happened privately under your shared “canopy”.  It should go without saying that a man should never interfere with the intimate life of another man or spread gossip about this critical area of life.

Today was also Tisha bAv, a day of fasting and mourning commemorating the destruction of the Temples.  The Temple was the replacement for the Tabernacle (Mishkan), which was the portable tent used as a Temple in the wilderness.  On the topic of Sukkah, Rabbi Yehuda states that since the Sukkah is a “fixed tent”, then erecting a temporary, flimsy tent underneath it would not block the effect of being inside the Sukkah.

Today we can understand the words of Rabbi Yehuda in a deeper way.  Our temporary tents, meaning our synagogues and institutions today, do not nullify the real need for our permanent tent, the Temple in Jerusalem.  May it be rebuilt speedily.

Today we examine sleeping under a canopy or tent inside a Sukkah.  If the canopy is significant, then it blocks the effect of being inside the Sukkah, since you are under what is legally a tent, a separate domain.  We learn that a short canopy draped over only two posts which lacks a roof does not block you from being in the Sukkah.

Shmuel teaches that this lesser canopy also does not separate your head from your body.  This comes up if a person is lying in bed naked under a canopy, and wants to stick his head out of the canopy to recite the Shema or verses from the Bible.  We do not recite any holy verses naked, but if this canopy is a valid tent, then by sticking out your head, you put it into a different zone than your body and may recite.

Often men do not realize that they are a combination of body and soul (or mind, intellect, ego if you like).  A wise man works with both.  When engaging in high level intellectual or spiritual pursuits, it is important to prevent the body from pulling you out of focus.  Judaism does not promote asceticism, we eat, sleep and make love.  A man needs to take care of his body, but to understand that he is more than just a body.

When you begin a mentally demanding task, do something with your body first.  Then the body won’t be calling for your valuable attention.

The Talmud cites a critical Mishnah debating if an “old” Sukkah is kosher to use on the holiday.  If you constructed your Sukkah specifically for the holiday, even an older one is valid.  The dispute is over a booth built for shade without your indicating it would also be for the holiday.

When you did so within 30 days of Sukkot, it can be argued that you were thinking about the holiday already.  Rashi comments here that our ancient custom is to learn the laws of Sukkah for 30 days prior to the holiday.  The rabbis would teach the rules publicly during this season.  Therefore if a man builds a booth during this period, even if he didn’t say anything we assume it was for the holiday.

While we do have free will, many of our decisions are made based on what we learn or what we get exposed to.  It takes a lot of mental energy to keep many concepts in your mind, so typically we act on the most recent thing we have heard.

Use this to your benefit by identifying useful concepts and reviewing them before you will need to employ them.  For example, a man who is shy could read an article or view a video on the benefits of eye contact before a date.  With the information fresh in his mind, he will find it easier to use eye contact.

The Talmud yesterday taught a ruling that a circular Sukkah is not valid for performance of the commandment of dwelling in a Sukkah, and today brings competing rulings that a circular Sukkah is valid provided it has the proper size.  This poses a geometrical challenge as the minimum size for a Kosher Sukkah was given for a square area.

Rabbi Yochanon teaches that a round Sukkah in which 24 men can sit around the circumference meets the size requirement.  The Gemara first assumes each man sits in one amah (a unit about 21-24 inches), so the perimeter is 24 amot.  After checking the math of circling the square, our sages conclude that it works better to say that three men sit in two amot.

The first lesson here is to check your math – especially regarding your finances and expenses.  Don’t make purchases and assume it will work out, see where your money is actually going and crunch the numbers.

This teaching also shows us that people can be comfortable sitting quite close together.  We conclude that the 24 men are each taking up only about 15 inches, so they are sitting in contact side by side.  Often in modern America we default to giving other people extra space.  Sometimes this is appropriate or medically indicated, but we should be aware that people can be comfortable with less space.

In other places, especially in Europe and South America, people are accustomed to more casual touching and closeness during conversation.  Often friends are greeted with hugs or a kiss on the cheek, and converse in close proximity.  Human beings naturally value close contact to people they are familiar with.  America, founded by Puritans, is the outlier with the default to large amounts of personal space.

If you already have some comfort with another person, and the circumstances allow it, try to stay physically closer.  This may mean sitting side by side instead of on opposite sides of the table.  You can gauge how friendly this person is towards you by how they respond to your efforts to enhance closeness.

The Talmud notes that a short wall which is considered valid for the third wall of the Sukkah also counts as a partition to form an enclosure on the Sabbath.  On the Sabbath we do not carry in a public space unless it is enclosed by three partitions, and normally those must be more closed than open.  This means if the “wall” is made up of vertical boards with a small gap in between them, it will be valid as long as the space is filled more by boards than air.

However, the third wall of the Sukkah can form a wall even when there is more airspace than solid material.  Our sages explain that during the holiday of Sukkot, this wall also counts to allow carrying items within the Sukkah on the Sabbath.  Even though on a normal Sabbath this partition would not be valid, since it forms a legal “wall” for the Sukkah, it is also a legal wall for the Sabbath.

Some people also have different sets of rules for different circumstances.  It goes without saying that people do not apply the same standards or boundaries for all people, for friends and enemies equally.

Be aware that some people will break rules for those that they like, and may also make extra rules for someone that they want to control or manipulate.  To figure out what is going on, examine if this person has consistent standards for other people.  If someone says “I normally would not try this…” it implies they are breaking their normal rules for you.  On the other hand, a person who declines your requests but says “I have a hard time saying no” in another context is making extra rules just for you.  This shows what the person thinks of you.

We are learning if the Sukkah requires three full walls and one short wall, or just two full walls and a short wall. Rabbi Shimon requires three full walls, and the Talmud explores why he disagrees with the other Rabbis.  Our sages note that the Bible says the word Sukkah three times (Leviticus 23:42-43).  Since there are no extra words in the Bible, this repetition is for a reason.

The Gemara suggests that Rabbi Shimon uses all three mentions of the word to derive that the Sukkah needs three full walls, while the others use the first mention of Sukkah for the commandment itself, and the two extra mentions to require two full walls.  Rabbi Shimon uses the first time a concept is introduced to learn more about that concept, not just to meet it.

Rabbi Shimon’s approach is great practical advice.  When you meet someone, don’t simply meet them, but learn something deeper about him or her.  Don’t waste the first meeting on just getting a name and maybe a number.  Get some insight into this person, and figure out if you want to spend more time and energy with them.

Young men may see an attractive woman and approach her to get her name and number.  If that is your only goal, you are not learning enough from the first meeting.  Try to get more information, not just a number.  That way you don’t waste you effort on someone who looked good at the time but was not really appropriate for you.

The Talmud is examining the source for the minimum height of a Sukkah, ten handbreadths.  We learn from the Ark of the Covenant, which was nine tall plus the border around the top, for a total of ten handbreadths.

The Gemara asks why we don’t compare the border on top of the Ark to larger items, which would make the total height even greater.  Our sages apply the famous dictum “tafasta meruba lo tafasta” meaning we don’t learn from a large or extreme case, only from a normal case.

This doctrine of tafasta applies to people as well.  Without evidence otherwise, you can safely assume that people behave is fairly predictible patterns in line with their past behavior.  Most people are not outliers on the extreme ends of the distribution.

If you study people generally and what motivates their actions, you can use your knowledge to get along better with specific people in your own life.

This wisdom also reminds us that pointing out that one individual is an exception to the rule only tends to prove the rule.