How to Build Your Own Sukkah

1. From what is needed to be schach (sukkah covering). An item that is used for a sukkah covering needs to be grown from the ground, detached (from the ground), and not able to be susceptible to ritual impurity. But an item that does not grow from the ground even though it increases from the ground (i.e. is sustained by the earth and/or it's byproducts) like the skin of an animal that has not been processed thus not susceptible to ritual impurity or types of metals, we do not use them as a sukkah cover. Rema (Parentheses): And similarly we do not cover the sukkah with dirt [Ran].

2. And so an item that is susceptible to ritual impurity like a spit, a board of a bedframe, and all types of vessels, we do not cover the sukkah from them. And (this disqualification applies) even if they are broken in a manner that it does not remain the required size to be susceptible to ritual impurity.

It is questionable whether one can put a ladder on top of a roof in order to put skhakh on it.

Rema: Therefore, one should not put skhakh on it. And even to put it on top of the skhakh to hold it down is prohibited. And the same is true with regard to any vessel susceptible to impurity, such as a bench or a seat which are susceptible to midras impurity.

(2) One who supports his sukkah with the posts of a bed, it is valid. Rabbi Judah says: if it cannot stand on its own, it is invalid.

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: What is the rationale for the statement of Rabbi Yehuda deeming this sukka unfit? Rabbi Zeira and Rabbi Abba bar Memel disagree with regard to the rationale. One said: It is unfit because it lacks permanence. The sukka is not stable enough, as if the bed is moved the sukka will collapse. And one said: It is unfit because he is supporting the roofing with an object that is susceptible to ritual impurity, as the bedframe is a vessel. Not only the roofing, but that which supports the roofing as well may not be susceptible to ritual impurity. The Gemara asks: What is the practical difference between them? The Gemara explains: The difference is in a case where one wedged iron skewers into the ground and roofed the sukka upon them. According to the one who said that the reason the sukka is unfit is because it lacks permanence, this sukka has permanence, and it is fit. However, the one who said the reason the sukka is unfit is because he is supporting the roofing with an object that is susceptible to ritual impurity, he is supporting it with an object that is susceptible to ritual impurity, so it is unfit.

For one cannot support the skhkakh with something that is susceptible to impurity, lest he come to use it for skhakh. And this is true even though they put the skhakh on a wall of stones, for it is not common to make skhakh out of stones.

There is a custom to put reeds under the skhakh, and this is the measure of hasidut.

One may also not use planks of lumbar that are wider than four handbreadths. Even if one placed planks wider than 4 handbreadths on their side so they no longer wider than four looking up it is invalid. However, if they are less than four handbreadths wide it is valid. Even if one planed them so they are similar to vessels they are valid, but our custom is to not use them for סכך

And the custom is not to...

Lest one come to make skhakh such that rain could not fall there. And there are some rishonim who say that in our time it is forbidden from law (not just custom) for nowadays people roof their houses with planks that are not four handbreadths wide and there is a decree lest this look like the ceiling of a house. And in any case, we should also be concerned about the first reason. Therefore, one should not use lattice, even though this is not like a ceiling for people do not roof their houses with them, in any case, we should be concerned that rain might not fall through. The same is true with shingles.

1. Every material is valid to use for the walls... Even if the walls have enough space that they let in more sun then shade, they are valid.

Regarding the walls of the sukkah, if there are two walls adjacent to each other like a gamma, one makes a wall that has its width greater than a tefach and puts it within three [tefachim] from one wall. One then places a rod (parallel to the wall) (Tur) over this tefach[-wide pseudo-wall] to make the form of a doorway, placing a rod on top of [the real wall] and on top of the tefach[-wide pseudo-wall], and it is kosher, even if the rod does not touch them. Rem"a: And if the tefach [pseudo-wall] and the wall reach schach, no rod is needed above them (Mordechai, Hagahot Maimoni ch. 4).

Suppose one had two walls, one opposite the other and there was a breach in one of the walls. If one takes a wall which is 4 full handbreaths or more in size and puts it within 3 handbreaths of one of the walls, it is valid. However, one has to build a type of entry way like hanging a branch on the broken wall. Others say that an entryway is not needed. [But if the wall was 7 handbreaths long without such a defect one does not need to build an entryway since there exists 7 handbreaths which is the minimum amount needed for the Succah to be Kosher. Certainly one does not need an entry way when one has good complete walls. Our custom to build an entry way when we have good complete walls is only for beauty.]

If the walls were more than seven handbreadths high, and he set them up less than three handbreadths from the ground, it is valid, even if the roof is very high, as long as it is directly above them. And even if it is not directly above them, as long as it is within three handbreadths, it is valid.

And if it (the roof) is no more than ten handbreadths high, rather it is only four and two minimal amounts high, it is valid, when it is placed in the middle. For we say "levud" both above and below, and the wall is considered as if it is fully closed up.

If the walls are more than three handbreadths above the ground, it is invalid.

One who makes his sukkah in between the trees, and the trees serve as walls--if the trees are strong, or he ties them up and strengthens them enough that a normal wind would not move them all the time, and he fills in between the leaves with straw or stubble so that the wind would not move them, and he ties them up, it is valid.

For this reason one should not make all the walls out of linen curtains without rods, even though he ties them well, for at times they will become detached, and this would be a wall that cannot stand up in a common wind.

And one who wants to use sheets, it is best to weave into them reeds, every three handbreadths.

A Succah who's sun and shade are equal above is invalid since the sun spreads out with distance and below the sun will be greater than the shade. However, if the sun and the shade are equal below then it is valid.

If in most of the sukkah the shade is two small parts greater than the sun, and in a small part of the sukkah the sun is greater than the shade, such that if we combined all of the sunny parts and the shady parts, the shade would be greater than the sun, the sukkah is kosher.

Rema: And there are those who are strict if this is a large sukkah and there is a space 7 by 7 handbreadths wide there the sun is greater than the shade, even if taken altogether there is more shade than sun.

It is normal to build the skhakh thin in order to see the large stars through it. If one made it thick like a house roof, even though one can not see the stars it is valid.

And the aharonim wrote that in any case, if is so thick that rain cannot seep through, even when strong rains fall, then it is like a house, and we should be stringent and disqualify it lest one come to use a house. But in any case, when it is impossible to remove some of the skhakh for some reason, we can rely on those who validate such a sukkah.

If the skhakh is very thin such that there are empty patches but none of them are 3 handbreaths in one spot and as long as when combined the shade is greater than the sun it is valid.

A house with a roof made out of planks of wood that are not covered with plaster roofing materials and one wishes to make this roof valid for a Succah. It is sufficient if one simply removes all the nails with the intention of making a Succah. Or he can remove one out of every two planks of wood and put in their place valid skhakh, then it is all Kosher even if there are planks remaining that are wider than four handbreaths. Others say that it is invalid if the planks are 4 handbreaths in size or wider.

Invalid s'chach, makes a sukkah invalid in the middle if it is four handbreadths. However, less than 4 is valid and one is permitted to sleep under it.

From the side, it does not invalidate except if the invalid s'chach measures 4 cubits, but less than 4 it is valid, for we say it is a curved wall; for we could say that we see it as if the wall is bent, and we consider this invalid skhakh to be from the body of the wall. This is a law given to Moshe at Sinai. Therefore, for this reason, a house which is reduced in the middle and one covers the middle area with skhakh, and there remains from the ceiling around the valid s'chach less than 4 amot between it and the walls, it is valid. However, we do not sleep underneath it whenever it measures 4 tefachim.

With regard to what have these things been said? With regard to a large sukkah that has, in addition to the invalid s'chach, more than 7 x 7 handbreadths (of kosher skhakh). However, in a small sukkah which only has 7 x 7, whether in the middle or on the side, when there are three handbreadths [of invalid skhakh], it is invalid. When there are less than three handbreadths, it is a valid sukkah and we may sleep underneath it and it joins together to complete the measure of the sukkah.

Open space, whether large or small, is the same. Whether in the middle or on the side if there are three handbreadths it is invalid. If there are less than three handbreadths it is valid, and it joins together to complete the sukkah and we do not sleep underneath it. Rema: And this is specifically when it goes along the entire face of the sukkah (Rabbeinu Yerucham), or it has enough space for one to fit their head and most of their body, but without this it is permitted, because there is no sukkah that doesn't have holes (R"an, end of first perek).

This, that invalid s'chach invalidates a sukkah with four handbreadths, and open space with three handbreadths, is specifically when the sukkah is split in two, and there does not remain a valid measure for a kosher sukkah with walls in any one place. But if there does remain a valid measure for a kosher sukkah in one place - this place is kosher.

A sukkah is valid even if it was not constructed specifically for the mitzvah. For example, the sukkah was built for shade, like those of the non-Jews, women, animals, Samaritans, shepherds, etc.

An old sukkah — i.e., one that was made more than 30 days before Sukkos — is valid provided something new was done to it for the sake of the festival. And even a handbreadth by a handbreadth is sufficient if it is in one place and if the new thing was done for all the Sukkah. And if it was done for the sake of the festival, even if it was done at the beginning of the year, it is valid without anything new.

(1) What is the Mitzvah of sitting in the Sukkah? That he should eat, drink, sleep, lounge, (Tur) and reside in the Sukkah all seven days, both in the day and in the night, in the same manner in which he resides in his house the rest of year. And all seven days a person makes his house temporary and his Sukkah permanent. How so? The fine dishes and linens, should be in the Sukkah; and drinking vessels, such as glass cups and mugs, in the Sukkah; but eating vessels after eating (Tur), such as pots and plates, outside of the Sukkah. The lantern should be in the Sukkah. And if it was a small Sukkah, he puts the lantern outside the Sukkah. Rem"a: And he must not use the Sukkah for disrespectful things, so that the Mitzvot not be contemptible in his eyes. (Bet Yosef in the name of the Orchot Chayyim)

(2) We eat and drink and sleep in the Sukkah all seven days, both day and night, and we do not sleep outside of the Sukkah, even a very short sleep. But one may eat an insubstantial meal outside of the Sukkah. And how much is an insubstantial meal? Approximately an egg's worth of a loaf of bread. And it is permitted to drink water and wine and eat fruit even if he made it his meal (own opinion) outside of the Sukkah. And he who is stringent upon himself, and will not drink even water outside of the Sukkah, he is praised. And a dish made of the five species [of grain], if he makes it his meal, it considered a proper meal and requires a Sukkah. Rem"a: And nowadays what is practiced to be lenient in the Sukkah, such that only the scrupulously observant sleep in the Sukkah; there are those who say that it is because of the cold, for it is uncomfortable to sleep in the cold places, and it seems to me that this is because the Mitzvah of Sukkah is a man and his household, a man and his wife, and in a place where he cannot sleep with his wife, that he does not have a suitable Sukkah, he is exempt; and it is good to be stringent, and to be there with his wife, just as he resides all year, if he can have a suitable Sukkah.

(3) Eating in the Sukkah on the first night, is obligatory. If he ate an olive sized amount of bread, he has fulfilled his obligation. Henceforth it is optional; if he wished to eat a meal, he eats in the Sukkah; if he wishes, he can eat only fruits and nuts outside of the Sukkah all seven days, like the rules of eating Matzah on Pesach. Rem"a: And he should not eat on the first night until it is certainly night (Bet Yosef in the name of the Orchot Chayyim), and he should eat before midnight (Mahar"i Weill and Mahari"l); and he should not eat during the day from noon and onwards, so that he will eat in the Sukkah hungrily (Mahari"l), similar to eating Matzah.

If it rains, one may go inside his house. From when is it permitted to go inside? From when so many drops of rain descend into the sukkah that, were they to fall into a cooked dish of beans which spoils quickly if only a small amount of water is added to it, that dish would spoil. RAMA: Even if he does not have a dish in front of him [Sma"g and Hagahos Ashiri]. A person who does not know how to calculate such a measure should reckon: If this same quantity of rain would come down into his house, he would leave his house, he may leave the sukkah. [Hagahos Ashiri; Mordechai; Mahari"l]. All of this applies specifically to the remaining days of the festival of Sukkot. But on the first night, one must eat an olive's worth in the sukkah even if it is raining [Tur; R"an; Rosh] and one must say Kiddush in the sukkah so he can pronounce the Zman regarding the sukkah

(6) 6. If one is eating in the Sukkah and it starts raining and he goes into his house and then the rain stops, he is not obligated to return to the sukkah until he finishes his meal.

(8) 8. We are accustomed to only bless on the sukkah at the time of eating. (And this is how we [Ashkenazim] are accustomed.)

(3) 3. Sick people and those attending to them are exempt from the (Mitzvah of) Sukkah. And not just a sick person who is endangered; rather, even if he has head pain or eye pain. There is one who says that the attendants are exempt only at the time the sick person needs them. Parentheses (Rema): And one who is bloodletting is obligated in the (Mitzvah of) Sukkah

(4) 4. One who is discomforted is exempt from the Sukkah, he, and not his attendants. But on the first night even the discomforted one must eat an olive-portion there (Kol Bo). Who is discomforted? He who cannot sleep in the Sukkah because of the wind; or because of the flies, fleas, and their ilk; or because of the smell. But this is only when the discomfort occurred by chance, after he built the Sukkah there, but he shouldn't build his Sukkah a priori in a smelly or windy place, and say, "I am discomforted ". Rem"a: And if he built it, at the beginning, in a place where he is discomforted while eating, or drinking, or sleeping, or he cannot do one of them in the Sukkah since he fears bandits or thieves while he is in the Sukkah, he does not fulfill his obligation in the Sukkah at all, even in the activities in which he is not discomforted , for it is not like a dwelling which one can do all his functions within (Mordekhai, chapter 'HaYashen').

Those who are travelling by day, are exempt from the sukkah during the day but obligated at night. Those traveling by night are exempt at night and obligated by day.

Rema: And this is specifically when they can find a sukkah. But if they cannot find a sukkah, they can travel even though they will not sit in a sukkah, neither during the day nor at night, just like the rest of the year, when a person does not stop traveling just so he can be at him.

And even if he is traveling only during the day, he is exempt even at night, for he need not make a residence there.

Those who go to the towns to collect debts and they will not have a sukkah in those towns, they should be stringent to go home every night to eat in the sukkah. And even though there is some room to be lenient, one who is stringent will see a blessing on this.