The plague of mice in Bnei Brak: In preparation for the holiday of Sukkot, when tens of thousands descend and build their sukkahs in the courtyards of their homes for the entire seven days of the holiday, a widespread controversy has arisen among the great rabbis and the mu'tzim - is it possible to build a sukkah in the courtyard, and eat and sleep in it, when there is a fear that at any moment a mouse or rat will enter and scare everyone, since the law says that one who regrets is exempt from the sukkah.
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Rabbis had already expressed their opinions here and there, but the unsatisfied avrechim sent the question to Rabbi Zilberstein's desk.
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His answer was brought by his grandson, Rabbi Chaim Melin, in the 'Sheach Yitzhak' line, which presents current and fascinating questions that have reached his desk every day.
And this was Rabbi Zilberstein's response:
At the beginning of his remarks, he noted that he had been asked in the past by a new immigrant from Russia who had built a sukkah in the yard, and discovered that a poisonous snake was roaming around in the yard - and everyone fled, but he wanted to sit in the sukkah and recite a blessing over it, because he had been in the army in Russia and there he was taught to fight and not to be afraid of snakes. The rabbi replied that since the Sages said (Yevamot 12:1) that a person should not live with a snake in the same household, then it is not a dwelling at all, and in a sukkah where it is said, "Sit as if it were a dwelling," it is impossible to fulfill the mitzvah when there is a poisonous snake roaming around, and he is forbidden to recite a blessing over this sukkah, because the blessing is nullified.
But the Rabbi concluded that this ruling was not stated regarding mice, but rather it depends on the degree of his fear: if he is afraid of mice, then he is sorry and does not fulfill his obligation, but if he is not afraid and does not recoil or worry - then he fulfills his obligation.
Rabbi Zilberstein also discussed a man who himself is not afraid of mice, but his wife and children are - and ruled that if this is truly the case, then it is impossible to build a sukkah there, and in our time, women and children are very afraid and shy away from mice, and for them, the exemption from the sukkah is regrettable.
The rabbi concluded that it was necessary to study whether it was possible to build a sukkah in a place where mice would enter the sukkah.
Let us recall that a few months ago, Rabbi Zilberstein urged that the yards of houses and buildings be kept clean, and that no waste or garbage be left behind, and that it is a desecration of God that the cities of the Torah people look like this, and this is one of the main reasons for the proliferation of rats and mice.
