Practical Corner: By Rabbi Nesanel Odzer from the Rabbanim of Beis Horaah KLY
Q: I plan on going with my family to Six Flags on Chol Hamoed Sukkos, and we have a two- or three-hour drive. May we eat bread, cake, or cookies in the car, or must these foods be eaten in a sukkah?
A: The Shulchan Aruch writes that one may not eat more than a kebeitzah (the volume of an egg) of bread outside the sukkah. However, a kebeitzah or less is considered a temporary eating and may be eaten outside the sukkah (Shulchan Aruch O.C. 639:2). Regarding cake, cookies, and other pas haba'ah b'kisnin, when eaten as a meal they require a sukkah. Even when eaten only as a snack, there is a dispute regarding eating more than a kebeitzah, and the Mishnah Berurah records the prevalent practice to be stringent (Mishnah Berurah 639:15-16). There is, however, an exemption for holchei derachim (travelers). The Shulchan Aruch exempts daytime travelers from sukkah (O.C. 640:8). This is based on the halachic principle of teishvu k'ein taduru: one should live in the sukkah in the same manner as he ordinarily lives in his home. Just as during the year a person leaves his home to travel, the Torah did not require him to remain near his sukkah throughout Sukkos. A traveler therefore need not remain hungry until he reaches a sukkah (Mishnah Berurah 640:39-40).
Does this apply to a recreational Chol Hamoed outing? Rav Moshe Feinstein rules that it does not. In his view, holchei derachim refers to travel for business or another genuine need, not a pleasure trip scheduled during Sukkos (Igros Moshe O.C. III:93; E.H. IV:32:8). He compares this to one who folds over a corner of his garment to avoid an obligation of tzitzis: one should not deliberately create circumstances that remove a mitzvah obligation. Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, however, is quoted as being more lenient. Since people ordinarily leave home for recreational outings during the year, teishvu k'ein taduru can apply here as well (Zman Simchaseinu 2:2:4; He'aros, Sukkah 26a). He is also quoted as distinguishing the comparison: folding one's garment can become a regular method of avoiding the mitzvah, while a Chol Hamoed outing is temporary; moreover, the purpose of the trip is not to avoid sukkah, and the exemption arises automatically. Rav Elyashiv is further cited as saying that when Chol Hamoed is the family's only realistic opportunity for such an outing because there is no school, work, or kollel, there is substantial room for leniency.
A second question is whether a relatively short trip qualifies as holchei derachim. Does a two- or three-hour trip suffice? Rav Chaim Kanievsky is quoted as maintaining that a short, one-day outing does not necessarily qualify merely because one has left the city (Hilchos Chag BeChag, ch. 17, n.29). Rav Nissim Karelitz is cited as being more lenient: if one is traveling and wishes to eat while on the road, the exemption can apply (Chut Shani, Suk-kos, ch. 12, se'if katan 9). The widespread custom appears to follow the lenient approach on this latter issue. Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl also ruled to us that one may be lenient and consider such a person a holeich derech. One who wishes to be stringent in accordance with the position attributed to Rav Chaim Kanievsky is certainly praiseworthy.
Summary: Ordinarily, one may not eat more than a kebeitzah of bread outside a sukkah, and one should likewise be careful with significant amounts of cake or cookies. Regarding a recreational Chol Hamoed outing, Rav Moshe Feinstein is stringent, while Rav Elyashiv is quoted as permitting reliance on holchei derachim, particularly when Chol Hamoed is the family's realistic opportunity to take an outing together. Although there is an additional dispute as to whether a relatively short, couple-hour trip is called holchei derachim, there is substantial basis for the prevalent practice to be lenient.
