The Talmud on Dwelling in Booths

b. Sukkah 23a

Rabban Gamaliel holds: [In order to fulfill the mitzvah of] sukkah, we require a permanent residence. [ . . . ] R. Akiva holds: [In order to fulfill the mitzvah of] sukkah, we require a temporary residence. [ . . . ]

b. Yoma 10b

R. Judah [conforms] to his [standard line of] reasoning, as he said: [In order to fulfill the commandment of] sukkah, we require a [well-built] permanent residence. [A permanent residence is] obligated in [the commandment of] mezuzah. The rabbis [conform] to their [standard line of] reasoning, as they say: [In order to fulfill the commandment of] sukkah, we require a temporary residence, [not a full-fledged house].

b. Betsah 30b

[In the case of a sukkah that] one roofed in accordance with its halakhah, and decorated it with embroidered [clothes] and with patterned sheets, and hung on it nuts, almonds, peaches, pomegranates, and vines of grapes [and glass containers filled with] wine, oil, and flour, and wreaths of ears of corn [for decoration], it is prohibited to derive benefit [from any of these] until the conclusion of the last festival day.

b. Sukkah 27a

What is the rationale [for the opinion] of R. Eliezer, [who mandates eating fourteen meals in the sukkah? He derives his opinion from the verse: In sukkot] shall you reside (Leviticus 23:42), [which the sages interpreted to mean: Reside] as you dwell [in your permanent home. Therefore,] just as [in one’s] dwelling [one typically eats] one [meal] during the day and one [meal] at night, so too, in a sukkah [one eats] one [meal] during the day and one [meal] at night.

And [how do] the rabbis [interpret that verse? They explain that a sukkah is] like a [permanent] dwelling. Just as [in one’s] dwelling, if one desires [to eat], he eats, and if one does not desire [to do so], he does not eat, so too, [in the] sukkah, if one desires [to eat], he eats, and if one does not desire [to do so], he does not eat.