Rabbi Alan B. Lucas, in The Observant Life, 172
The sukkah has some very basic requirements, but beyond these rules its construction is left to one's imagination and creativity.
There is a dispute among modern halakhic authorities as to the precise size of the measurements used in the Mishnah and later halakhic sources. With respect to measures of length, the dispute amounts to a 20% variance, with Rabbi Avraham Hayyim Naeh (Israel, 1890-1954) setting the width of a "finger" (אצבע) at 2 cm and the Hazon Ish (Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz, Russia/Israel, 1878-1953) setting it at 2.4 cm. Since a "hand" is fixed at four "fingers," and a "cubit" at six "hands," the relevant measurements for the following texts work out as follows:
- 1 hand = 4 fingers = 8-9.6 cm / 3.15-3.78 in
- 3 hands = 24-28.8 cm / 9.45-11.34 in
- 4 hands = 32-38.4 cm / 12.6-15.12 in
- 7 hands = 56-67.2 cm / 1.84-2.2 ft
- 10 hands = 80-96 cm / 2.62-3.15 ft
- 4 cubits = 1.92-2.3 m / 6.3-7.55 ft
- 20 cubits = 9.6-11.52 m / 31.5-37.8 ft
- 1 mil = 960-1,152 m / 3,149.61-3,779.53 ft
(א) סֻכָּה שֶׁהִיא גְבוֹהָה לְמַעְלָה מֵעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה, פְּסוּלָה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה מַכְשִׁיר. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ גְּבוֹהָה עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים, וְשֶׁאֵין לָהּ שְׁלֹשָׁה דְּפָנוֹת, וְשֶׁחַמָּתָהּ מְרֻבָּה מִצִּלָּתָהּ, פְּסוּלָה. סֻכָּה יְשָׁנָה, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי פּוֹסְלִין, וּבֵית הִלֵּל מַכְשִׁירִין. וְאֵיזוֹ הִיא סֻכָּה יְשָׁנָה, כָּל שֶׁעֲשָׂאָהּ קֹדֶם לֶחָג שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם. אֲבָל אִם עֲשָׂאָהּ לְשֵׁם חָג, אֲפִלּוּ מִתְּחִלַּת הַשָּׁנָה, כְּשֵׁרָה:
(1) A sukkah taller than twenty cubits is invalid. Rabbi Yehudah validates it. And one which is not ten hand-breadths tall, or does not contain three walls, or whose whose [area of] sun is greater than its shade is invalid. Regarding an old sukkah, Beit Shammai invalidate it, and Beit Hillel validate it. What is an old sukkah? Any [sukkah] which one made it thirty days before the festival. But if one made it for the sake of the festival, even [if he made it] from the beginning of the year, it is valid.
(א) שִׁעוּר הַסֻּכָּה גָּבְהָהּ אֵין פָּחוֹת מֵעֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים וְלֹא יָתֵר עַל עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה. וְרָחְבָּהּ אֵין פָּחוֹת מִשִּׁבְעָה טְפָחִים עַל שִׁבְעָה טְפָחִים. וְיֵשׁ לוֹ לְהוֹסִיף בְּרָחְבָּהּ אֲפִלּוּ כַּמָּה מִילִין. הָיְתָה פְּחוּתָה מֵעֲשָׂרָה אוֹ מִשִּׁבְעָה עַל שִׁבְעָה אוֹ גְּבוֹהָה מֵעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה כָּל שֶׁהוּא הֲרֵי זוֹ פְּסוּלָה:
The dimensions of a sukkah: its height may not be less than ten hand-breadths or more than twenty cubits, and its width may not be less than seven by seven hand-breadths; but one can expand its width even by several mil. If it were less than ten [tall] or seven by seven [wide] or taller than twenty cubits by any amount it is invalid.
(ב) הָעוֹשֶׂה סֻכָּתוֹ תַחַת הָאִילָן, כְּאִלּוּ עֲשָׂאָהּ בְּתוֹךְ הַבָּיִת. סֻכָּה עַל גַּבֵּי סֻכָּה, הָעֶלְיוֹנָה כְשֵׁרָה, וְהַתַּחְתּוֹנָה פְּסוּלָה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אִם אֵין דִּיּוּרִין בָּעֶלְיוֹנָה, הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה כְּשֵׁרָה:
(2) One who makes his sukkah beneath a tree, it is as though he made it inside a house [and is thus invalid]. Regarding a sukkah on top of a sukkah, the top one is valid, and the bottom one invalid. Rabbi Yehudah says: if there is no lodging in the top one, the bottom one is valid.
(ד) הִדְלָה עָלֶיהָ אֶת הַגֶּפֶן וְאֶת הַדְּלַעַת וְאֶת הַקִּסּוֹם וְסִכֵּךְ עַל גַּבָּהּ, פְּסוּלָה. וְאִם הָיָה סִכּוּךְ הַרְבֵּה מֵהֶן, אוֹ שֶׁקְּצָצָן, כְּשֵׁרָה. זֶה הַכְּלָל, כֹּל שֶׁהוּא מְקַבֵּל טֻמְאָה וְאֵין גִּדּוּלוֹ מִן הָאָרֶץ, אֵין מְסַכְּכִין בּוֹ. וְכָל דָּבָר שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְקַבֵּל טֻמְאָה וְגִדּוּלוֹ מִן הָאָרֶץ, מְסַכְּכִין בּוֹ:
(4) If one raised a grapevine, a gourd, or and ivy upon it, and placed the sekhakh [the leafy roof covering of a sukkah] on top of it, it is invalid. But if there was a greater amount of sekhakh than them, or if one trimmed them [the plants, such that they were not longer attached], it is valid. This is the rule: anything that can be rendered impure or does not grow from the ground cannot be used for sekhakh; and anything that cannot be rendered impure and that grows from the ground can be used for sekhakh.
Rabbi Isaac Klein, A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, 160 (internal citations omitted)
This covering, called sekhakh, must be of material that grows from the soil, has been detached from the ground, and cannot be defiled. Hides and the like are excluded because they do not grow from the soil; vines and tendrils are excluded because they are attached to the ground; cloth, utensils, or metal objects are excluded because they can become ritually defiled. The sekhakh is usually of cut branches or plants.
(ה) חֲבִילֵי קַשׁ וַחֲבִילֵי עֵצִים וַחֲבִילֵי זְרָדִין, אֵין מְסַכְּכִין בָּהֶן. וְכֻלָּן שֶׁהִתִּירָן, כְּשֵׁרוֹת. וְכֻלָּן כְּשֵׁרוֹת לַדְּפָנוֹת:
(5) Bundles of straw, bundles of wood, or bundles of shoots may not be used for sekhakh. And all of them, if they are untied [from their bundles], are valid. And they are all valid for use as walls [of a sukkah].
(ב) אין מסככין. כשהן קשורים. ולא מפני שהן פסולים אלא פעמים שאדם בא וחבילתו על כתפו ומעלה ומניחה על גבי סוכה ליבשה ונמלך עליה לסכוך, והתורה אמרה תעשה ולא מן העשוי בפסול, וזה לא נעשה אפילו לצל אלא ליבש והוי עשוי בפסול:
May not be used for sekhakh when they are bound – not because they are invalid [in and of themselves] but because sometimes a person comes with his bundle on his shoulders, lifts it up and places it on the sukkah to dry, and decides to use it for sekhah; but the Torah said "make" and not "use what was already made improperly," and this [bundle] was not even put there for shade, just to dry, and so it is "already made improperly."
(ד) כשרים לדפנות. דסוכה סכך משמע ולא דפנות.
Valid for use as walls. Because a sukkah is defined by its sekhakh and not by its walls.
(ט) הַמְשַׁלְשֵׁל דְּפָנוֹת מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה, אִם גָּבוֹהַּ מִן הָאָרֶץ שְׁלֹשָׁה טְפָחִים, פְּסוּלָה. מִלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה, אִם גָּבוֹהַּ מִן הָאָרֶץ עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים, כְּשֵׁרָה. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁמִּלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים, כָּךְ מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים. הִרְחִיק אֶת הַסִּכּוּךְ מִן הַדְּפָנוֹת שְׁלשָׁה טְפָחִים, פְּסוּלָה:
(9) If [in constructing one's sukkah] one lowers the walls from the top down, if it [the wall] remains three hand-breaths above the ground, it is invalid. If [one raises the walls] from the bottom up, if it rises ten hand-breadths above the ground, it is valid [regardless of any gap between it and the sekhakh]. Rabbi Yose says: just as [a wall built] from the bottom up is [valid provided it has a height of] ten hand-breadths, so too [a wall built] from the top down is [valid provided it has a height of] ten hand-breadths. If one distanced the sekhakh material three hand-breadths from the wall [leaving a gap of at least that size], it is invalid.
Rabbi Alan B. Lucas, in The Observant Life, 173
The most commonly used materials for s'khakh today are some mixture of pine or other evergreen coniferous tree branches and/or bamboo poles or bamboo mats.
(יא) הָעוֹשֶׂה סֻכָּתוֹ כְּמִין צְרִיף, אוֹ שֶׁסְּמָכָהּ לְכֹתֶל, רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר פּוֹסֵל, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין לָהּ גָּג, וַחֲכָמִים מַכְשִׁירִין. מַחְצֶלֶת קָנִים גְּדוֹלָה, עֲשָׂאָהּ לִשְׁכִיבָה, מְקַבֶּלֶת טֻמְאָה וְאֵין מְסַכְּכִין בָּהּ. לְסִכּוּךְ, מְסַכְּכִין בָּהּ וְאֵינָהּ מְקַבֶּלֶת טֻמְאָה. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, אַחַת קְטַנָּה וְאַחַת גְּדוֹלָה, עֲשָׂאָהּ לִשְׁכִיבָה, מְקַבֶּלֶת טֻמְאָה וְאֵין מְסַכְּכִין בָּהּ. לְסִכּוּךְ, מְסַכְּכִין בָּהּ וְאֵינָהּ מְקַבֶּלֶת טֻמְאָה:
(11) If one makes his sukkah like a shed [i.e. with a sloping roof that meets at a line], or leaned it against a wall, Rabbi Eliezer invalidates [both] because it has no roof, and the Sages validate [them]. Regarding a large reed mat, if one made it for lying upon, it may be rendered impure and it cannot be used as sekhakh; if [one made it] for use as sekhakh, it may be used as sekhakh and it cannot be rendered impure. Rabbi Eliezer says: whether it is small or large, if one made it for lying upon, it may be rendered impure and it cannot be used as sekhakh; if [one made it] for use as sekhakh, it may be used as sekhakh and it cannot be rendered impure.
חנוך אלבק על משנה סוכה א׳:י״א
מחצלת קנים גדולה וכו׳ - מחצלת קטנה סתמה לשכיבה עשויה, ואין מסככים בה, לפי שהיא מקבלת טומאה (למעלה משנה ד). אבל מחצלת גדולה צריכה בירור לשם מה היא עשויה, לשכיבה או לסיכוך (ועי׳ כלים כ, ז).
Hanokh Albeck on Mishnah Sukkah 1:11
A large reed mat, etc. – A small mat is presumed to be made for lying upon, and may not be used for sekhakh because it can be rendered impure (above, Mishnah 4). But a large mat requires clarification as to the purpose for which it was made, for lying upon or for sekhakh (cf. Kelim 20:7).
Rabbi Alan B. Lucas, in The Observant Life, 173
It is also customary to decorate sukkot with posters, drawings, and colorful paper, and also with fruit and vegetable hangings... While not technically required, all this extra adornment falls under the general category of hiddur mitzvah, the rabbinic injunction not merely to perform the mitzvot correctly, but in as aesthetically pleasing a way as possible.
Rabbi Alan B. Lucas, in The Observant Life, 173-174
It is not actually a mitzvah to build a sukkah, merely to "dwell" in one – which requirement, in the opinion of most authorities, is satisfied by eating there... Because it is a mitzvah to use the sukkah but not technically to build one, there is no blessing recited upon the construction of a sukkah.
