Sukkah Building Regulations
The Laws of Yom Tov, Vol. 2
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It’s that time of year again. The temperature is dropping, and the huts are popping up around the neighborhood. The most common design consists of 4 walls, a door, and a bamboo roof. Although relatively primitive, a long list of rules and regulations govern its design and construction process. Building codes normally exist to ensure safety. However, the Sukkah is not just a physical structure, it is also spiritual. The laws of Sukkah, described in Talmud and codified in Shulchan Aruch, are to ensure it fulfills its spiritual purpose, providing us with a unique connection with G-d.
As I was reviewing the laws, I came up with an interesting trivia question. When placing the schach [roof] on your Sukkah, you will typically start on one end and continue filling in the empty space until you get to the other end. A woven bamboo mat is a common example. Place the mat above one wall and roll it out until it reaches the opposite wall. There is a case where you can roll out the schach from side A to side B, and the Sukkah will be perfectly kosher. But if you start from side B and roll out the mat to side A, the Sukkah will be פסול [invalid]. The same is true with any type of schach which is positioned piece by piece from one end to the other. If you start on one end it is kosher, but if you start on the opposite end, it is not. What is the case?
If you would like to try to think of the answer on your own, don’t read any further. But I must warn you, it is not a simple solution. Here is a hint, if you are familiar with the following two concepts: דופן עקומה and תעשה ולא מן העשוי.
Still not sure? Let’s start from the beginning:
דופן עקומה
Every Sukkah requires at least three walls. A fourth wall is not required, but it is helpful if one is disqualified during the holiday when there is a prohibition to fix it.[1] If you start with only three walls, and one becomes disqualified, you will be stuck. There are many ways a wall can be disqualified. There are various size and structural requirements, as described in Shulchan Aruch [או"ח ס' תרל]. Another factor is the type of roof which is adjacent to it, or the lack thereof. If there is a gap of 3 טפחים [12 inches] in the schach along the entire length of a wall, that wall is not considered to be part of the Sukkah, and you will be left with only two walls. For example, if the wind blows your schach mat 12 inches away from the wall, the wall is invalidated. It can be fixed by putting the schach back in place, but it is forbidden to fix it on Yom Tov. [It is advisable to place extra bamboo pieces or branches on top of the mat to help avoid this problem.]
Another scenario that will disqualify a wall is improper schach [סכך פסול]. For example, let’s say your Sukkah is 10 ft x 10 ft, but your bamboo mat is only 8x8, leaving you with a gap of 2 feet on 2 sides. Or, if you position the mat in the exact center, you will have a 1-foot gap on all 4 sides. A gap of 12 inches or more is problematic, and you are left with only 2 valid walls in the first case, and none in the second case. The ideal is to fill in the space with sticks and branches, or anything that grows from the ground. But if that is not possible, you can fill in the space with any material, even sheets of metal or plastic. Although you may not eat or sleep directly under the סכך פסול, it saves the wall from being disqualified. This is based on דופן עקומה, literally translated as a bent wall. This unique rule [הלכה למשה מסיני] states that we view the wall as if it extends at a 90-degree angle, and the metal or plastic roof becomes part of the adjacent wall. This can be used if the invalid material is less than 4 cubits wide [8 feet (or 6 feet, depending on the opinion)]. In our case, 1 or 2 feet is well within range, and all 4 walls are valid. The reason this is significant is because normally, 4 טפחים [16 inches] or more of סכך פסול invalidates a Sukkah. For example, if you have a 2-foot strip of metal down the center of the Sukkah, more than 8 feet from either side, it splits the Sukkah into 2. If you only have 3 walls, and the strip runs from the middle wall to the opening, the Sukkah is invalid because you are left with only 2 walls on either side of the strip.
But if the strip of metal is less than 8 feet of the wall, the Sukkah is kosher. 8 feet of the roof are viewed as part of the third wall. You may eat anywhere under the 12-foot section of bamboo, but you may not eat under the metal or the 6 feet of bamboo, since the entire 8-foot section of the roof is a necessary part of the third wall.[2]
The same is true if the 6 feet of bamboo is replaced with metal. All 8 feet of metal are deemed part of the third wall, and the Sukkah is kosher with 3 valid walls.
תעשה ולא מן העשוי
חג הסכת תעשה לך שבעת ימים [דברים טז:יג] – You shall make the festival of Succos for seven days. The Talmud [סוכה יא:] derives from the word תעשה – you shall make, that when one builds a Sukkah, it must be completed through a direct action, not indirectly. There are several examples of an indirect action which are problematic. The primary example is digging out a large pile of hay.[3] I call this the primary example because it qualifies according to all opinions, a rare occurrence in Judaism. As we will see, the other examples are debatable. In this case, a pile of hay was dumped on the ground. Then, a hole was dug out from the side creating an empty space inside the pile. In the end, you are left with what appears to qualify as a kosher Sukkah, with 3 walls and a roof. The problem is that the only direct action that took place in the placement of the walls and roof was when the pile was initially dumped. And at that point, it was disqualified for several reasons. One reason is that the schach must be placed with the intent to provide shade, which was not the case. When the empty space is then formed with the intention of creating shade, it is an indirect action. One would be required to lift all the roof material and place it back down with the correct intent.
Another example is using vines which are still attached to the ground. At the time they were placed on the roof, they were פסול. Cutting the vines at their base later is indirectly fixing the problem. Again, one would have to lift all the vines after cutting them, and then place them back down. This case is disputed in the Talmud. An argument can be made that detaching the vines from the ground is an act which is closely related to the schach itself and is not considered an indirect act. However, the final consensus in Halacha is that this case is also included in תעשה ולא מן העשוי.[4]
Another example which is debated even in the final Halacha, is putting up the schach before the walls. A common example is a canvas Sukkah with a metal frame, if you were to put up the frame, place the schach on top, and then put up the canvas walls. The schach, which is the primary feature of the Sukkah, is meaningless without walls. Later building the walls indirectly gives value to the Schach, which is a problem of תעשה ולא מן העשוי. Another important issue to be aware of is that the walls should not swing or move freely in the wind. A מחיצה – or wall, is not valid unless it can stand relatively straight and secure in the wind. Therefore, even if you hang the canvas on the poles, it is important to make sure they are tied down before putting up the schach.
According to many opinions, the Sukkah is invalid if the walls are built last. However, there are those who argue that this case is only לכתחילה – the ideal approach. But בדיעבד, if one already built the Sukkah in the wrong order, it is kosher.[5]
The source for this Halacha is the case of the pile of hay. We said that the problem with the pile is that it was not initially placed with the intention of creating shade. But this is not a problem in our case. When the schach is set on top of the frame, it is intended for shade. But there is another problem. Just like the walls need to comply with certain rules of מחיצה, the schach must comply with certain physical attributes of אהל – which literally means a tent, but is used in Halacha to refer to a covering or canopy. One of the attributes of אהל is that it must have walls, as we find in the laws of Shabbos.[6]
Bringing these two concepts together, דופן עקומה and תעשה ולא מן העשוי, I saw a very interesting opinion: When utilizing דופן עקומה, make sure to first put up the סכך פסול, invalid schach, and then the סכך כשר, valid schach. For example, you have a 3-wall Sukkah 10ft x 10ft. You have 8x10 of bamboo, and you plan to fill in the remaining 2x10 with metal. If you put the metal along any of the three walls, that wall is only going to be valid through דופן עקומה since it is greater than 16 inches wide. When doing so, you are extending the wall at a 90-degree angle. Without it, the wall is essentially nonexistent for the purpose of the Sukkah, and you are left with only 2 walls. Therefore, if you were to put up the bamboo and then the metal, you are installing a vital portion of the third wall after putting up the schach, which is תעשה ולא מן העשוי.[7]
This brings us to another interesting case. It is common practice to build a Sukkah next to the house, with the house acting as one of the walls. It is also common that the roof eave hangs beyond the house up to 2 or 3 feet, several feet above the Sukkah. One may not eat directly under the overhang. Therefore, one may be tempted to leave the space directly under the eave empty. Bamboo mats are expensive. If you have 2 walls perpendicular to the house, with the wall opposite the house completely open, and you leave the space under the eave empty, the following dispute will apply: The middle wall, which is the house, requires דופן עקומה in order to be a valid Sukkah wall, if the overhang is more than 16 inches. But since the eave is several feet above the level of the schach, it is debatable if דופן עקומה can be used.[8]
Therefore, in order to comply with all opinions, you would have to fill in the space under the roof. You can use any material you want. It can be bamboo or metal. Either way, it is an invalid part of the schach to eat under, and either way, דופן עקומה will apply according to all opinions since it is level with the rest of the schach.
Which brings us to the answer to our trivia question: You have a bamboo mat big enough to cover the entire Sukkah, even the space under the roof. In the above diagram, you would start on the left side of the Sukkah and roll it out toward the house. According to the opinion that דופן עקומה does NOT work if the space is empty, it turns out you are putting up the schach before completing your third wall (with דופק עקומה) and the Sukkah is invalid because of תעשה ולא מן העשוי. (According to the opinion that it is only לכתחילה [footnote 5], the same would apply here.) But if you start on the right side, next to the house, and roll it out to the left, the Sukkah is kosher. Since you first filled in the space under the overhang, that creates דופן עקומה completing your third wall, and then you’re good to go to put up the rest of the schach.
Practically speaking, however, there are legitimate reasons to be lenient בדיעבד. Even the opinion who said the Sukkah is invalid when you put up the schach before the walls, some argue that 2 out of 3 walls is enough to avoid the problem, which you have in our case.[9] However, it is still true that the Sukkah remains invalid according to some opinions. And one should try to satisfy all opinions at least לכתחילה.
My son Chaim, who is currently learning מסכת סוכה in Yeshiva, discovered another case to answer my question: A 3-wall Sukkah is 21 cubits high. Anything above 20 is invalid. You can build a 2-cubit platform to fix the problem, but it did not cover the entire area. In the case below, as long as there is less than a 4-cubit space between the platform and the third wall, the Sukkah is kosher as long as you are standing on the platform. The third wall is too high and should not be valid, but with דופן עקומה it becomes a valid wall.[10] In this case, you should roll out the bamboo mat from left to right. If you put it out from right to left, there will be a problem of תעשה ולא מן העשוי, as described before. I actually like this answer better because it is less complicated and less disputed.
!חג שמח
[1] אסור לעשות מחיצה ביו"ט אם בא להתיר סוכה [ש"ע או"ח ס' תרל סע' יב, וס' שטו סע' א] וכ"ש אסור לתקן הגג בשבת ויו"ט כדמוכח שם [ס' שטו]. וע' מ"ב [ס' תרלז ס"ק א, וס' תרכו ס"ק כ] וע' לקמן הערה 10 בשם הפמ"ג
[2] וכ' המג"א [ס' תרלב ס"ק ד] חידוש גדול בדין זה, שאם הפסול הולך לרחבה [מדופן א לדופן ג] ויש שיעור סוכה, כשר. "ואם יש פחות מד"א מדופן האמצעי עד סוף הסכך פסול, אף חלק החיצון כשר דאמרינן דופן עקומה." וע' לבושי שרד שפ' דבריו, שיכול לאכול בחלק פנימי באותה שעה שיש אדם אחר אוכל בחלק חיצון, אף דלאדם האוכל בחלק חיצון נחשב הפנימי כדופן עקומה, אבל לגבי היושב בפנימי נחשב סכך כשר, ולא אמרינן תרתי דסתרי.
[3] סוכה [דף טו.] וע' רש"י [דף יא. ד"ה אכשורי] ונפסק בש"ע [או"ח ס' תרלה]
[4] ש"ע [או"ח ס' תרכו סע' ב]
[5] במג"א [ס' תרלה ס"ק ד] כ' "ובדיעבד כשר [ב"ח] ולבוש פוסל". וגם הט"ז [שם ס"ק ד] פוסל, וכן משמע במ"ב [שם ס"ק י]
[6] ט"ז [שם] "בשעה שאתה עושה הסכך יהיה נעשה לשם צל דהיינו אוהל וכל שאין מחיצות אלא גג לחוד אין קרוי אהל כדאי' לענין שבת בסי' שטו, ואם יעשה אח"כ המחיצות הוי משום ולא מן העשוי"
[7] שו"ת מי נח [סי' יח כלל קמה] הביאו בס' פסקי תשובות [ח"ו דף שנד] וע' שו"ת מנחת שלמה [תנינא ס' נו אות ד]
[8] בספר פסקי תשובות [ס' תרלב אות ד] הביא ב' דעות בזה, ותולה המח' אם אמרינן חבוט רמי וגם דופן עקומה, ע"ש.
[9] כ' הרמ"א [ס' תרלה] ואין לעשות הסכך קודם שיעשה הדפנות, ואם עשה טפח סמוך לסכך מותר לסכך קודם שיעשה שאר הדפנות כמו בחוטט בגדיש. ומדוייק בגר"א ד"ה ואין לעשות דאפ' יש ב' דפנות שלמות פסול לשיטה זו. וע' שו"ת שבט הלוי [ח"ז ס' נו וח"ד ס' נט] שיש חולקים בזה וסוברים שאם יש א' או ב' דפנות קודם לסכך, כשר. ויכול לצרף שיטה זו עם הב"ח דסכך קודם לדפנות לעולם כשר בדיעבד. ויש עוד צירוף לשיטת הפוסקים דאמרינן חבוט רמי ודופן עקומה. וגם לפי משכ' הרמ"א שצריך טפח בכל צד כדין אהל בהל' שבת כמש"כ הט"ז, יש פוסקים שם שיש חיוב דאורייתא בעשית אהל בענין סכך, ע' פרי מגדים ס' שטו א"א אות א: "בסכך שמניחין הוי אהל...ואהל קבוע הוי שמונח לשמנה ימים וט' והוי איסור תורה ואסור ע"י עכו"ם" ובמש"ז אות ח: "אם מניח סדין על ד' קונדסין וקושר שם או בלא קשירה שיהיה שם לזמן מרובה זה הוי אהל קבוע וחייב חטאת" משמע אפ' בלא שום דפנות. ואם יש איסור דאורייתא של עשית אהל, למה לא יחשב אהל לענין מצות סוכה?
[10] סוכה דף ד. וש"ע ס' תרלג סע' ו