Gluten-Free in the Sukkah
During the Yom Tov of Succos, we move out of our homes, and into the sukkah. The Torah commands us to “sit in the sukkah for seven days” (Vayikra 23;42), which sounds like the mitzvah demands that one must fully live in the sukkah over the Yom Tov. In fact, the Gemara in Sukkah ( 28b) says that one should sit, eat, sleep, and stroll in the Sukkah. Essentially, we are commanded to do all of our daily routine in the sukkah. In some ways, this allows for exemptions from being in the sukkah at all times, for just as one will leave their house to go to work, take a family trip, etc., so too, one is allowed (accounting for the Halachos of Chol Hamoed and the sensitivities of leaving the sukkah) to eat snacks outside of the sukkah.
As with all mitzvos, Chazal instituted a bracha to be recited immediately prior to beginning the mitzvah. So, just as we make a bracha on Shofar, Tallis, Tefillin, Mezuza, and Matzah, we also must make a bracha before beginning the mitzvah of Sukkah. As we just explained, the mitzvah is to do everything in the sukkah, starting with nightfall of the first night of Sukkos and concluding at the end of 7 days. Accordingly, it would seem that one should make a bracha every time one enters the sukkah, regardless of what one plans to do in the sukkah. However, this is a machlokes Rishonim. Tosfos says that one should only make a bracha when planning to eat a significant amount, while the Rambam holds that one should make a bracha anytime one enters the sukkah. The Mechaber and Rama both rule like Tosfos.
The definition of a significant amount of food is generally defined in Halacha as a kezayis of Mezonos. If someone maintains a gluten-free diet, can they make the bracha according to Tosfos? According to the Mishna Berura, Tosfos only said that one should make a bracha when eating when the person plans to eat that day. However, someone who is fasting on Sukkos should sit in the sukkah and make the bracha without eating (this is due to the technicalities of Tosfos, which are beyond the scope of this essay). However, the Maamar Mordechai disagrees and rules that according to Tosfos, the bracha was only instituted for someone who eats, and someone who plans on fasting should not make the bracha at all. Seemingly, the same machlokes would apply in the case of a gluten-free diet. However, R’ Shlomo Zalman ruled that one who maintains a gluten-free diet year round can consider their meal a “seudas keva” and can make a bracha when eating in the sukkah.
Adapted from medicalhalacha.org