Q:
WHat are the halochos relevant to Building the Sukkah?
A:
The Rama 624:5 says that ideally, one should try to begin building the sukkah immediately after Yom Kippur so that he goes one from one mitzvah to another.
One should try to personally be involved in the construction of his sukkah. Rav Reuven Margolis in Nefesh Chaya 625:1 writes that even one who cannot sit in the Sukkah for whatever reason and has no male family members that are required to sit in the Sukkah, still should have a Sukkah built to at least perform the mitzvah of “Building” a Sukkah, he brings down the Gemara in Makkos 8a.
If one is unable to build a Sukkah on their own and has someone else do it for them, it is proper to have the one building it to at least leave off a small amount of Schach for the owner of the Sukkah to put up by himself according to the Kaf HaChaim 625:11.
Although it is permitted for any person to place the schach, it is preferable to be stringent and have an adult Jewish male place it on the sukkah. Others hold that it is totally permitted to have women or children put up a sukkah.
When one appoints someone else to build their Sukkah, it is proper to say to them “You are my messenger to do this Mitzvah of putting up my Sukkah and Schach for the Mitzvah Kaf HaChaim 625:11.
One should try to build the walls of the sukkah before putting up the sechach. According to some poskim, if one puts the sechach up onto poles and only after fills in the kosher walls, it is still kosher. Others are strict even after the fact.
If one builds a kosher sukkah, but the walls falls, whether they fall before Sukkos or during Sukkos, the Sukkah is still kosher when you put the walls back up, and this is not a violation of taaseh vilo min Haasuy. However, some Poskim rule that if this occurred before Sukkos one is required to replace the Sechach.
If there’s no room on private property to build a Sukkah and the city leaders give permission, it’s permissible to build it in the public street however one should make sure that the Sukkah doesn’t block others e.g taking up a sidewalk.
It is permissible to ask a non-Jew to fix sachach that fell down on Yom Tov.
A sukkah built for sukkos only, is exempt from a mezuza since it is merely a temporary structure.
A sukkah built on a wagon, car, ship, etc. is kosher, and one who sits in it can recite the brocha of leshev basukkah even while it is moving.
It is a mitzvah to decorate and beautify the sukkah. On Shabbos and Yom Tov one must ensure not to move any of the sukkah decorations because they are muktzah. Mishna Brurah 638:11writes that it’s a mitzvah to decorate the sukkah with important fruit and clothes, however, one should not hang nice fruit if one has children and one knows that the children will rip them down and eat them. The concept of hidur mitzva, beautification of mitzvos is brought down in Shabbos 133b based on the pasuk “Zeh Eli VeAnvehu” – “This is my God and I will Beautify His Mitzvos”. The Raavad (cited in Chidushei Anshei Shem, Brachos 38a, no. 2) suggests that Hiddur Mitzvah is a deoraisah, whereas the Ritva (Sukkah 11b s.v. Vi’ee) holds that it is derabbonon.
It’s permissible to cover the Sukkah on Shabbos and Yom Tov with a plastic tarp to prevent it from getting wet if one places the tarp directly above the Schach and not a tefach above the Schach and one has in mind to remove the tarp when one next uses the Sukkah for the mitzvah. . The Sh”t Igrot Moshe 5:39 writes that it’s permissible to cover the Sukkah with a plastic sheet on Shabbos and Yom Tov without an issue of Boneh by making an Ohel nor the issue of muktzeh. |