Is My Sukkah Kosher? — Hilchos Sukkah & Schach Guide

A sukkah has to meet real halachic requirements — where it stands, how it's built, and above all what covers it. Here are the essentials, and how our products are designed to meet them. This page is a practical overview, not a psak: for any specific question, ask your rav.

Where the sukkah stands

• Under open sky. Nothing may be between the schach and the sky — no tree branches, roof overhangs, balconies or clotheslines above it. This is the single most common problem, so check the spot before you build.
• The sukkah must be a temporary dwelling put up for the festival — which every kit we sell is by design.

The walls

• A kosher sukkah needs at least two complete walls plus part of a third; four full walls (the way our kits are built) is the universal practice and avoids the complicated cases.
• The walls must be sturdy enough to stand in a normal wind — our EZ Build fabric walls fasten tight to a metal pole frame, and the Magic Extendable includes strings for exactly this purpose (walls that flap excessively can raise kashrus issues).
• Minimum kosher dimensions are modest — even our smallest 3.6×3.6 and 4×4 sukkahs comfortably exceed the minimum floor area of roughly 28×28 inches (7×7 tefachim) and the minimum wall height of about 40 inches (10 tefachim).
• Walls first, schach last. Build in that order.

The schach — what makes a roof kosher

Schach (sechach) must meet three classic conditions:

1. It grew from the ground — plant material like bamboo, reeds or branches.
2. It is now detached from the ground — cut vegetation, not a living tree over your head.
3. It is not mekabel tumah — not a finished utensil or processed material. Raw bamboo poles and slats qualify; boards from a bed frame, for example, would not.

Additional requirements the mats are built around:

• Woven for schach, not for lying on. A mat made as a sleeping or sitting mat can be mekabel tumah and invalid. Our flat bamboo mats, Kaynus reed mats and Schach Hamefoar are manufactured specifically as schach.
• Natural binding. The bamboo slats are woven together with natural plant fiber (raffia) rather than problematic synthetic cord — one of the points the hechsher supervises.
• More shade than sun. Lay enough schach that shade exceeds sunlight inside, without gaps of about 9–11 inches (3 tefachim) — but you should still be able to see stars through it at night; don't seal it like a solid roof.
• Nothing invalid supporting the schach — this is why kits include natural-fiber kashrus strings for tying mats down, and why you should ask your rav before resting schach directly on metal.

What the hechsher means

Our flat bamboo and Kaynus mats carry the certification of the Badatz Eda Hachareidis of Yerushalayim (בד״ץ העדה החרדית), and Schach Hamefoar is mehadrin certified. The supervision covers the material, the natural weaving, and that the mats are produced as schach — so what arrives at your door is ready to use, no inspection expertise required.

Quick kosher checklist

• ☐ Spot is under open sky — nothing above the schach
• ☐ Walls up first, sturdy in wind
• ☐ Schach is certified natural material, made for schach
• ☐ More shade than sun; no ~9 in gaps; stars still visible at night
• ☐ Mats tied down with the included natural-fiber strings
• ☐ Anything unusual — ask your rav

Ready to build? See the assembly guide and the size guide, or shop sukkahs and certified schach. Sukkot 2026 begins Friday evening, September 25 — order by mid-September for a calm Erev Yom Tov.