For donations Click Here

Tarp Sukkah Wall

Question:

I heard there is a problem with using a tarp as walls for my sukkah? How can I fix the problem without building full walls?

Answer:

what you heard is true. There is an issue with using a tarp as the walls of a succah because the walls of a succah have to be solid and not move when there is a normal wind. Something that will happen unless the tarp is tied down well at the sides and in the center. If the walls don’t move with the wind more than 3 tefachim, that it is technically a halachcally permitted wall according to many poskim. However it is still incorrect to make a succah from such walls. See Shulchan Aruch O:CH ,

There is a way to fix this problem. There is a general rule regarding eiruvin and succos, called “Lovud”, meaning that a hole or a space that is less that three tefachim (24 cm.) is considered filled in. Thus being the case you can take planks of wood, and place them horizontally, with less than 24 cm. between them, and it is considered as if that area is filled with a wall of wood. In addition the rule is that walls of the succah have to be 10 tefachim tall. Therefore if you place 3-4 such planks of wood in this way, you will have valid succah walls, even without the tarp. Or course you can keep the tarp there for privacy, but this way you wil have valid kosher succah walls.  As a side point, this is why the succah’s that are sold that have canvas walls, have three metal poles that are meant to be inserted towards the bottom of the walls, in order to avoind this issue.

Have a gmar chasima tova and a good Yom Tov

Sources:

O:CH 630- 9-,10, Kaf Hachayim 630-10, Igros Moshe O:CH 5- 40(2), Chazon Ish 77-6, Kovet Halachos (Succah) 4-3,4 (however see Halichos Shlomo 7-1 that R’ S.Z. Auerbach was machmir on this and even if it can move a little bit it isn’t considered a wall).

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *