Building the Sukkah: Difference between revisions

#If one has two walls facing one another and the third is four [[Tefachim]] it must be within 3 [[Tefachim]] of one side and within 3 of the other or at least have a tzurat hapetach to the second side.<ref>Shulchan Aruch 630:3 </ref>

#Sephardim hold that one may create the walls of the sukkah by placing several poles within three tefachim of each other. This is true whether the poles are placed horizontally or vertically.<ref>Kaf Hachaim 630:18 writes that one may create a sukkah with three walls by placing poles within 3 tefachim of each other, either horizontally or vertically. Chazon Ovadia pp. 5-6 agrees and thus allows building a sukkah on a porch enclosed on three sides by bars with less than three tefachim space between them. </ref> Ashkenazim allow this only if one either one makes 4 walls with lavud or has cloth walls in addition to the 3 lavud walls.<ref>Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach in Halichot Shlomo (7:2, p. 98). However, Tosfot (Sukkah 16b s.v. bifachot) holds that one cannot create a wall completely based on lavud, meaning, one cannot make entire walls of either vertical or horizontal beams within three tefachim of each other. Magen Avraham 630:1 writes that Tosfot would validate a sukkah with walls made of only vertical or horizontal beams if the sukkah has four walls. Mishna Brurah 630:7 rules like this Magen Avraham, but in Shaar Hatziyun 630:49 he allows the use of vertical or horizontal beams to construct a three-walled sukkah when clothes are used to form the walls. In this case, even if one is strict to not use cloth, one can be lenient because the lavud walls would serve as backup if the cloth did untie. Chazon Ish 75:12 is strict even if one builds four walls with these beams, against the Magen Avraham. </ref>