In his Mishneh Torah, the Rambam enumerates the mitzvah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah (Dwelling in a Sukkah) in the koseres (introductory list of mitzvos) of Hilchos Sukkah. However, quite oddly, the Rambam dedicates the first several perakim (chapters) of Hilchos Sukkah to the details of a sukkah's construction and possible invalidations, failing to even note the basic mitzvah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah in the text until the second half of Hilchos Sukkah. (6:8) This is very atypical of the Rambam, who usually begins each set of halachos by presenting a general statement about the mitzvah to be addressed; in Hilchos Sukkah, such a statement is nowhere to be found until the latter half of the piece. (Even when the Rambam finally delineates the mitzvah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah, he does so rather passively, without directly proclaiming it as a mitzvah; he merely writes, 'How does one fulfill Yeshiva B'Sukkah?' instead of his usual, 'There is a Biblical requirement/mitzvah to...'.)

Furthermore, the Rambam groups Hilchos Sukkah with Hilchos Shofar and Hilchos Lulav, such that the section of the Mishneh Torah in which Hilchos Sukkah is featured is called Hilchos Shofar V'Sukkah V'Lulav. Although the Rambam is wont to group together various sets of halachos into one larger section when they are clearly related (as he does with Hilchos Sefer Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzah), one must question the placement of Hilchos Shofar with Hilchos Sukkah; how are they at all connected?

We find throughout the Torah, as is highlighted in the berachah of Shofaros recited on Rosh Hashanah, that the shofar heralds or accompanies Hashra'as Ha-Shechinah (the manifestation of God's Presence). 'And the sound of the shofar became increasingly strong; Moshe would speak and God would reply...' (Sh'mos 19:19); 'God emerges with the teru'ah (shofar blow); Hashem (is revealed) with the sound of the shofar' (Tehillim 47:6); 'And God will appear to them...and Hashem will sound the shofar' (Zechariah 9:14-15). The sukkah is also associated with God's Presence, as it recalls the supernatural Ananei Ha-Kavod (Clouds of Glory) or the fragile, Divinely-protected huts, in which our ancestors were sheltered by Hashem in the Midbar (Sinai Desert), where they lived in the veil of the Shechinah. We similarly find in our liturgy that the sukkah is described as an abode of God's Presence and is compared with the Beis Ha-Mikdash, which is the primary locus of Hashra'as Ha-Shechinah.

Based on the above, we can answer our second question: Hilchos Shofar and Hilchos Sukkah are joined into one section of the Mishneh Torah because shofar and sukkah both reflect the concept of Hashra'as Ha-Shechinah.

We can likewise now answer our first question. The reason that the Rambam omits any mention of the mitzvah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah until more than halfway into Hilchos Sukkah, whereupon he describes it passively, is because he does not view Yeshiva B'Sukkah as a tangible, action-defined mitzvah. The Rambam does not hold that the essence of the mitzvah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah is to do the technical acts of eating, drinking and sleeping in the sukkah. The essence of Yeshiva B'Sukkah is not per se an act at all; rather, the mitzvah is the experience of dwelling in the sukkah, not the raw acts one performs while there. In other words, the Rambam maintains that one fulfills Yeshiva B'Sukkah by being in a state of Yeshiva B'Sukkah, such that one is based in the sukkah and experiences it as his home; the technical acts of eating, drinking and sleeping in the sukkah are merely a reflection of this state of existence. It is for this reason that the mitzvah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah is most notably absent from the first half of Hilchos Sukkah and it is presented later on in a passive manner, as the reality is that the mitzvah is not essentially defined as an act at all. Yeshiva B'Sukkah is unusual and totally different in that it is an existential experience.

In this light, we can readily understand the crux of the machlokes between the Rambam and Rabbeinu Tam regarding the recital of the berachah Leisheiv B'Sukkah (To Dwell in the Sukkah). The Rambam rules that one must recite Leisheiv B'Sukkah whenever he enters the sukkah (Hilchos Sukkah 6:12), whereas Rabbeinu Tam maintains that one only recites the berachah when having a meal, as eating is the primary act performed in the sukkah, and all other acts performed in the sukkah are covered by the Leisheiv B'Sukkah recited at the meal. (Tur Orach Chaim 639)

Rabbeinu Tam seems to opine that Leisheiv B'Sukkah, reflective of the nature of the mitzvah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah, relates to specific actions which constitute Yeshiva B'Sukkah. Thus, Chazal (the Sages) established that the berachah be recited on eating, which is the primary action involved with Yeshiva B'Sukkah. The Rambam, however, does not define the mitzvah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah by actions; rather, the mitzvah is a state of existence and an experience. Thus, he rules that any entry to the sukkah mandates the recital of Leisheiv B'Sukkah, as one experiences the sukkah upon entry for any purpose.

Similarly may we understand the machlokes of the Rambam and the Rosh pertaining to rain on the first night of Sukkos, when one is Biblically required to eat bread in a sukkah. The Rambam rules that one is exempt from eating in a sukkah on the first night of the yom tov in the event of rain (Hilchos Sukkah 6:10 - see there for details), whereas the Rosh holds that one must eat a k'zayis of bread in the sukkah on the first night of Sukkos irrespective of rain. (Remo in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 639:7) One can postulate that the Rambam's view of the mitzvah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah precludes eating in rain on all occasions, as one must dwell in the sukkah as one dwells in his home (the axiom of 'Taishvu k'ain taduru'), and all activities in the sukkah are mere manifestations of such dwelling; since one does not eat under a leaking roof in his home, there is no mitzvah to do so in a sukkah, as such is not a normal dwelling experience. On the other hand, the Rosh maintains that Yeshiva B'Sukkah is comprised of specific actions, and the concept of experiencing dwelling in a sukkah as one would do in one's home (Taishvu k'ain taduru) is a stipulation, not the essence of the mitzvah, and it can therefore be dispensed of under certain conditions. *

On a philosophical level, let us attain an added perspective of Yeshiva B'Sukkah, as per the Rambam's approach. Unlike the mitzvos of Pesach, such as Achilas Pesach, Matzah u’Maror (Eating the Pesach sacrifice, matzah and maror), which are actions that are designed to recall what transpired in relation to our ancestors in Mitzrayim and their departure therefrom, Yeshiva B’Sukkah – according to the Rambam – is an experience, not a commemorative action. It thus constitutes a fulfillment oriented to the present. Not only should we be sure to fulfill the technically-required actions of Yeshiva B'Sukkah, but we should also internalize the current experience of living in the sukkah and appreciate an existence in the veil of the Shechinah. Our observance of Sukkos should be one of a new frame of mind, attempting to capture and relive a present experience of life in a state of Hashra'as Ha-Shechinah. When we depart from the sukkah at the conclusion of yom tov, let us carry forth the sukkah experience and attitude to our life routines, realizing and bearing in mind that although we may not live in a locus of perceptible Hashra'as Ha-Shechinah, we are indeed under the supervision and protection of Hashem, whose glory and Presence fill the universe and Who peers into our world and guides it in ways we cannot fathom.

* In other words, Rabbeinu Tam agrees that the achilah on lail rishon relates to Mitzvas Yeshiva B'Sukkah, but that the Yeshiva B'Sukkah character is forfeited because of the gezeirah shavah of tes-vav tes-vav, which requires a ma'aseh achilah, leaving a raw ma'aseh achilah as the mitzvah. In other words, since Yeshiva B'Sukkah is defined by raw actions (according to Rabbeinu Tam), and these raw actions together constitute and become a kiyyum of Yeshiva B'Sukkah, the achilah of Yeshiva B'Sukkah rightfully reverts back to a mere chiyuv achilah once the gezeirah shavah from Pesach is applied, stripping the Yeshiva B'Sukkah quality from the achilah.