23 Sep CANVAS SUKKAHS

It used to be quite
popular to use a
canvas sukkah
although with the
recent advent of
easier-to-assemble
sukkahs, such
as the modular
sukkah and the “ease lock” sukkah, they
are becoming less common. However,
the concept of a canvas sukkah is
actually centuries old and is specifically
mentioned in the Shulchan Arukh (Orach
Chaim 630:10) as being forbidden. This
raises the question of how so many
people could have used canvas sukkahs.
There are two potential problems with a
canvas sukkah.
I. Becoming Untied
The medieval sukkah under discussion
was made of flax. Rabbenu Peretz (gloss
to Semak 93, n. 19 in the standard Satmar
1935 edition) says that the standard
practice in his day (13th cen., France)
was to use flax sheets for all four sukkah
walls. He says that this is improper
because even if you tie them well,

sometimes they get untied and flap in
the wind. Because of this, he and others
forbade using flax walls for a sukkah,
and that is recorded in Shulchan Arukh
(ibid.).
Piskei Teshuvos (630:9) quotes Rav Yosef
Chaim Sonnenfeld (Salmas Chaim 253),
Kinyan Torah (4:70) and Rav Menasheh
Klein (Mishneh Halakhos 5:77) as ruling
that if you tie the canvas on all sides to
the frame then the sukkah is kosher. It
is suggested that Rabbenu Peretz was
discussing a limited case in which it
was common for the sheets to become
untied and flap in the wind. However, if
you tie them well so this is not a concern
then there is no problem. Rav Moshe
Sternbuch (Mo’adim U-Zemanim 1:84)
and Rav Moshe Feinstein (Iggeros
Moshe, Orach Chaim 5:40:2) also raise
this possibility but rule strictly on this.
II. Moving Walls
The underlying concern is that the
Gemara (Sukkah 23a) states that a wall
that cannot withstand a regular wind
is not considered a wall. Therefore, if

you build a large house
of cards and put sekhakh
on it, you cannot use that
as your sukkah because
it will almost certainly
fall down under ordinary
circumstances. However,
the Gemara does not define
what exactly it means that
a wall cannot withstand a
regular wind. Does it mean
that the wall will be moved
by the wind or fall down
because of the wind? This
has practical ramifications
regarding a canvas sukkah
because canvas walls sway in the wind.
The Chazon Ish (Orach Chaim 77:6)
rules that as long as a regular wind
does not move the wall so much that it
becomes invalid (e.g. falls down or is
moved so far from the sekhakh or the
ground that the wall is invalid) then it is
kosher. Therefore, this rule does not pose
a problem for canvas walls. Rav Yitzchak
Isaac Liebes (Beis Avi 4:73:17) agrees
with the Chazon Ish and specifically
permits a canvas sukkah.
Rav Ya’akov Beruchin of Karlin, in
his early 19th century challenges to
the modern eruv, argues that the eruv
string must be so tight that it never
sways in the wind (Mishkenos Ya’akov
1:123). He compares this to a sukkah
wall, which also must never sway in
the wind. According to Rav Ya’akov
of Karlin, a canvas sukkah would
be invalid. However, the Chazon Ish
(Orach Chaim 71:10, 77:6) disagrees
with this stringency and only rejects a
sagging eruv string if the wind might
blow it outside of the range between
the two poles it connects. Rav Tzvi
Pesach Frank (Har Tzvi, Orach Chaim
vol. 2 18:8) rules even more leniently
and permits sagging eruv strings as
long as a significant portion of the
string is above ten tefachim from the
ground.
Most others, however, are stricter
than the Chazon Ish regarding sukkah
walls. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
(Halikhos Shlomo, Mo’adim vol. 2
7:1) rules that if the wind moves the
wall even a little bit then the wall is
invalid, similar to the Mishkenos
Ya’akov. Rav Ovadiah Yosef
(Yechaveh Da’as 3:46; Yabi’a Omer,
vol. 9 Orach Chaim 59:A) rules
likewise and explicitly argues with

the Chazon Ish. I recall hearing many
years ago from Rav Hershel Schachter
of two other positions — that if the wind
moves the wall more than 1 tefach (appr.
3 inches) or 3 tefachim (appr. 10 inches)
then the wall is invalid, but otherwise not.
He said the latter position of 3 tefachim
in the name of Rav Ya’akov Kamenetsky.
While I have not seen anything like that
in writing in his name, his son — Rav
Shmuel Kamenetsky — rules that way in
Kovetz Halakhos (Sukkah 4:3).
III. Conclusion
Most authorities agree that it is best not
to use canvas sukkahs, even if the walls
are tied tightly, although the practical
concern depends on their placement and
tightness — specifically, how much the
walls actually sway in normal winds.
However, some authorities permit a
canvas sukkah whose walls are securely
tied, and perhaps there is room even
for those who are normally strict to be
lenient in cases of need.
For example, when visiting family or
friends who have a canvas sukkah,
there might be room to be lenient. I

remember once visiting a small, out-
of-town community on Chol Hamoed

and all visitors were directed to use
the rabbi’s sukkah, which was made of
canvas. Apparently, it was the only one
available to people passing through. That
presented us with three options: either
rely on the lenient view and eat in the
canvas sukkah, rely on another lenient
view that travelers are exempt from
sukkah (worthy of another article) or
eat food that does not require a sukkah.
Thankfully, nowadays this problem has
receded due to the newer sukkah designs
that have become popular. Although,
of course, ask your rabbi if this ever
becomes a practical question.