Every year, somewhere between the first night and Hoshana Rabbah, the weather tests your sukkah. Here's how to build one that stays standing, keeps the schach on the roof, and what the halacha says about eating in the rain.
Build for wind from the start
- Pick the sheltered spot. If you have a choice, put the sukkah where the house or a fence breaks the prevailing wind — as long as nothing overhangs the schach (open sky is a halachic requirement, see the kosher sukkah guide).
- Seat every pole fully. Most "the sukkah leaned in the wind" stories trace back to one crossbar that never clicked home. Square the frame before the walls go on — it takes two minutes (steps in the assembly guide).
- Tension the walls. Loose fabric acts like a sail. Fasten the walls tight to the frame — taut walls also matter halachically: walls that flap excessively in wind can raise kashrus questions.
- Tie the schach down — always. Use the natural-fiber kashrus strings included with our kits on every mat, even in a calm forecast. An untied mat is the single most common storm casualty.
Rain: what actually gets damaged
- The frame and fabric walls of an EZ Build sukkah are made for outdoor use — rain itself doesn't hurt them. Let the fabric dry before packing it away after Yom Tov.
- Bamboo schach is the thing to protect. It's a natural material: repeated soaking can lead to mold. Shake mats dry after rain when practical, and after the chag store them rolled, dry, indoors — that's the difference between a mat that lasts one season and one that lasts ten.
- Don't cover the schach with plastic during Yom Tov — a covered sukkah is not kosher while covered. If you use a rain cover at night to protect the schach, remove it before making a bracha in the sukkah; ask your rav about the details.
Eating in the rain — the short halacha
If rain is strong enough that it would spoil a dish of food (or genuinely spoils your meal), the halacha exempts you from eating in the sukkah — you go inside without guilt; that's the din of mitzta'er. Light drizzle, most opinions hold you stay. First night is treated more stringently by many — ask your rav for your community's practice.
After the storm checklist
- Re-check every pole joint and re-square the frame
- Re-tie any mat that shifted; close gaps so shade still exceeds sun
- Shake water off the schach; open walls to let things dry on Chol Hamoed
Building this year? Most orders deliver in about 4 business days — shop sukkahs and Bedatz-certified schach, with the exact shipping price at checkout.
