QUESTION: What is my responsibility regarding the mitzvah of Sukkah in inclement weather conditions?

ANSWER: 1. What do I do if it is raining on the first nights of Sukkos?

The First Night of Sukkos:

The Rema (OC 639:5) writes that on the first night of Sukkos, even if one is uncomfortable because of rain or cold weather, one must still eat a kezayis of bread in the Sukkah.

Ordinarily, someone who is mitzta'er (uncomfortable) is exempt from the mitzvah of Sukkah. However, the first night of Sukkos is different. There is a gezeirah shavah (gezeirah shavah – one of the thirteen methods by which the Torah is expounded) connecting Sukkos to Pesach. Some Rishonim explain that just as one must eat matzah on the first night of Pesach even when uncomfortable, so too, on the first night of Sukkos, one must eat a kezayis of bread in the Sukkah even when it is raining.

The Mishnah Berurah (639:35) writes that it is preferable to wait an hour or two to see whether the rain will stop. This allows one to fulfill the mitzvah of Sukkah in the optimal manner. However, if one is hungry or has hungry guests, there is no need to wait as the Sharei Tshuva quotes from the Shvus Yaakov.

If it is raining, one should:

1. Make Kiddush and Shehechiyanu in the Sukkah.
2. Eat a kezayis of bread in the Sukkah.
3. Not recite Leisheiv BaSukkah, since there is a dispute as to whether the berachah should be recited in this situation.
4. After eating the kezayis, one may continue the meal in the house.
5. There is no need to repeat Kiddush or Hamotzi.
6. The meal may be finished and Birchas Hamazon may be recited in the house.

If the rain stops later that night, even after midnight, one must return to the Sukkah and eat a bit more than a k'beitzah of bread, even if he has already finished his meal. However, if he has already gone to sleep, he does not have to wake up to return to the Sukkah.

The Second Night of Sukkos:

On the second night of Yom Tov, the halachah is somewhat different.

The Mishnah Berurah writes that if one is not hungry, it is proper to wait a few minutes at the beginning of the meal to see whether the rain will stop.

If the rain continues, one should:

1. Make Kiddush in the house.
2. Begin and eat the meal in the house.
3. At the end of the meal, go into the Sukkah and eat a kezayis of bread, even if it is still raining. One should not recite Leisheiv BaSukkah in this situation.

If the rain stops during the night, even if one has already finished the meal, one should return to the Sukkah and eat a k'beitzah of bread and recite Leisheiv BaSukkah.

2. How heavy must the rain be before one can eat inside?

Shulchan Aruch (OC 639:5) writes that if it rains on Sukkos to the point that it would ruin a portion of cooked beans (which is a food that ruins easily with even a small amount of water), one leaves the Sukkah and enters the house. The Rema offers an alternative method for assessing when the rain is too much. He writes that on Sukkos, the Sukkah is like our dining room. If we were eating in our dining room, and water began to drip on us, if we would go through the effort of relocating the meal to another room, then when eating in a Sukkah, we can leave the Sukkah and continue the meal in the house.

Shevet Halevi (7:191) writes that consensus of opinion is that even if the weather looks threatening, until it actually rains, one must eat in the Sukkah. However, since there are Poskim who say that if it looks like it will rain shortly and disrupt the meal, one is not obligated to eat in the Sukkah, one should not recite the beracha of “Leishev B’Sukkah”.

3. If a Sukkah fell down on Yom Tov, can one ask a non-Jew to rebuild it? What if it is Shabbos?

The Mishnah Berurah (637:1) writes that if a Sukkah falls down on Yom Tov, a Jew may not rebuild it, even to fix part of the Schach. However, one may ask a non-Jew to rebuild it. This is based on a teshuva from Rav Yitzchok Elchanan Spektor zt”l (B’er Yitzchok OC 13). He writes that so long as the non-Jew does not need to measure or cut any wood, only to reattach and reassemble the Sukkah then one may ask a non-Jew to do so on Yom Tov. This is because according to some opinions “boneh” (building) on Yom Tov is not a Biblically forbidden melacha on Yom Tov , but rather it is included in the category of “ochel nefesh” (food related activities permitted on Yom Tov). Since according to this opinion, it is only a Rabbinic prohibition to build on Yom Tov, for the sake of the mitzvah, one may ask a non-Jew to rebuild it. However, if any other melacha such as cutting, digging or tying knots is needed, then according to Mishnah Berurah it would be forbidden.

All this only applies to Yom Tov, but on Shabbos since all melacha is forbidden on a Biblical level, according to Mishnah Berurah one may not ask a non-Jew to rebuild a Sukkah.

There are opinions that consider a Sukkah to be a temporary structure and building a Sukkah on Shabbos to be only a Rabbinic prohibition, provided that no other melachos are required (see Piskei Teshuvos 626:11 citing Pri Megadim). According to this opinion if one will have no other Sukkah, and their simchas Yom Tov will be greatly diminished, there is a basis to permit asking a non-Jew to put back up a fallen Sukkah even on Shabbos.

If just the Schach mat blew off, some say that all would agree it is permissible to ask a non-Jew to put the Schach back up provided he does so in a haphazard manner. In this way, it is clear that it is only a temporary structure (see Piskei Teshuvos 626:11). On Chol Hamoed, one should attach the Schach properly.

4. It rained on Sukkos, and the table and chairs that I left outside in the Sukkah are covered with water. The grass is already soaked from the rain. Am I permitted to tip over the chair and shake off the water on the grass, or is this considered watering the grass on Yom Tov?

The Mishnah Berurah (302:55) writes that it is permissible to pour water into a tub in which dirty clothing is soaking, provided the pieces of clothing are already submerged in water. This is allowed because since the extra water does not further clean the clothing, this is not a prohibition of washing clothing on Shabbos. Some Poskim compare this case to pouring water on grass that is already saturated with rainwater. Since the additional water does not help the plants grow, and to the contrary, too much watering can be harmful, this is not treated (halachically) as watering plants on Shabbos.

However, Shmiras Shabbos K’hilchasa (26:n. 21) cites Poskim who maintain that although excessive watering is permitted on a Biblical level, it is nonetheless Rabbinically prohibited. Furthermore, even if the grass is saturated now, it may not be the case later in the day. Finally, it is very difficult to estimate if a plant has been adequality watered. Therefore, water should never be poured over grass even if one does not care if the grass grows. Instead, the water should be poured onto cement, or he should wipe down the chair with a towel. This is not considered washing the towel, since it is done derech lichluch (in a manner that dirties the towel), just as it is permissible to dry one’s hands on a towel for the same reason (see Shulchan Aruch, O.C. 302:10).

5. On Sukkos, it is common for the wind to blow the Schach off the Sukkah, after which it falls back onto the Sukkah. Is the Sukkah still considered kosher?

The halacha is that Schach must be placed on top of the Sukkah walls for the purpose of providing shade in the Sukkah. If the schach was placed there for another reason—for example, to dry it out on top of the Sukkah—it is invalid and must be lifted and placed down again for the purpose of providing shade. Similarly, if the wind blows Schach from one Sukkah onto another Sukkah, the Schach is invalid because it was not placed on the second Sukkah for the purpose of providing shade.

However, if the Schach is lifted by the wind and then falls back onto the exact spot where it was originally placed, Rav Wosner (Shevet HaLevi 10:100:1) writes that the Schach still remains kosher. Since the Schach remained over the airspace of the Sukkah the entire time, we consider it as though it never left its original position.

If, however, the Schach mat is blown to a different area and then blows back to its original position, Rav Wosner is unsure whether the Schach remains valid. Rav Sternbuch (Teshuvos V’Hanhagos 5:200:3), however, writes that even in this case, the Schach remains kosher. Since the Schach was originally placed with the intention of providing shade, and it has now returned to its original position, the fact that it was temporarily moved does not invalidate it.

6. After a stormy and windy night, I return to the Sukkah and find that some of the decorations have fallen and are scattered across the table and chairs. May I move the decorations off the table and chairs?

Since the decorations were already part of the Sukkah when Yom Tov began, they are designated for the mitzvah of Sukkah for the entire duration of Sukkos. Therefore, one may not use them for any personal use or other purpose. Since the decorations have no permitted use on Shabbos or Yom Tov, they are also considered muktzah. As a result, on Shabbos they may not be moved directly by hand. But, one may move them indirectly, such as by blowing them off as is the rule for muktzah items.

Yom Tov has a unique halachah regarding muktzah. The Rema (509:6) writes that when something is needed for ochel nefesh—preparing or eating food on Yom Tov—the usual restrictions of muktzah are suspended. For example, if pebbles are covering fruit, one may remove the pebbles normally, even though they are muktzah. Since removing them is necessary for the preparation of food, the muktzah restriction does not apply.

The Biur Halachah (638) applies this principle to Sukkah decorations that fall onto the table that is needed for the meal. Since the decorations are preventing the table from being used for eating, one may remove them normally, even by hand. The same would seemingly apply to chairs needed for the meal: if decorations fall onto a chair and interfere with its use, one may remove them normally.

However, the Biur Halachah concludes by quoting the Pri Megadim that if the decorations can be moved in a way that avoids the muktzah issue, one should do so. Therefore, although one may move the decorations normally when necessary for the meal, one should use a permissible, indirect method when that is reasonably possible.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.