Every year, Jews around the world step out of their homes and into the leafy, makeshift huts called Sukkahs. It’s the festival of Sukkot: seven days of meals, naps, and even a little wine – all under a temporary roof of branches known as Schach.
But once the excitement of hanging tinsel and paper chains wears off, practical questions start creeping in. Can you balance a beer outside the Sukkah? What if your office doesn’t have one? And does standing buffet-style still count as “dwelling” in the Sukkah?
Grab your Sukkah Kit; here are six surprisingly modern halachic (Jewish legal) dilemmas about Sukkahs.
1. Beer Outside the Booth: A Toast Too Far?
Imagine this: it’s a crisp October evening, the Sukkah is full, and someone suggests skipping the cramped bench and cracking open a cold beer on the porch. Kosher or not?
The short answer: a casual drink is fine outside the Sukkah. Classic sources like the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) rule that water, wine, and fruit can be enjoyed casually outside (Orach Chaim 639:2). The Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) even adds that this leniency applies to wine itself.
But there’s a catch: “established drinking” – that is, sitting down with friends for a proper session – tips the scales. Some authorities, like the Mishnah Berurah (639:13), say beer or mead consumed in that way should be in the Sukkah. The Shulchan Aruch HaRav (639:12) agrees: a pint on the go is one thing; a brewery-style night out is another.
Verdict: A single beer while passing through? Fine. A full Oktoberfest lineup? Best keep it under the Schach.
2. Office Lunch Break: No Sukkah, No Sandwich?
Picture an accountant stuck in the city during Chol HaMoed (the intermediate festival days). The office cafeteria doesn’t exactly come with bamboo roofing. What’s the game plan when it comes to eating in the Sukkah?
According to the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (135:22), bread or grain-based meals really do belong in the Sukkah. Even a meat-or-fruit-only meal that feels like a proper sit-down should be inside. Snacking – say, an apple or a cookie – doesn’t need the Sukkah (ibid. 7).
So, no Sukkah near work? Stick to snacks or food that doesn’t trigger the Sukkah obligation. Think protein bars and fruit, not paninis.
Verdict: If the boss won’t spring for a rooftop Sukkah, pack light eats. Otherwise, it’s Sukkah-or-bust.
Pro tip: Of course, there’s always the modern miracle: the portable Travel Sukkah. Think camping tent meets halacha. These pop-up wonders fold into a bag, set up in minutes, and give you instant Sukkah cred wherever you are – parking lot, office rooftop, or even outside Starbucks. If the boss won’t provide a corporate Sukkah, nothing’s stopping you from setting up your own on a lunch break.
3. The Never-Ending Stay: Blessing or No Blessing?
Here’s a more subtle question: what if someone walks into the Sukkah on the first night, makes the blessing “Leishev BaSukkah” (“to dwell in the Sukkah”), and just…never leaves? Night two rolls around – do they say the blessing again?
The debate is deliciously Talmudic. On one side, halachic heavyweights like Rav Moshe Feinstein suggested that if you never left, you don’t make the blessing again. After all, you’re still inside. On the other side, other rabbis argue that since the second night is its own holiday (outside Israel, where two festival days are observed due to sfeika deyoma, “the doubt of the day”), it deserves its own blessing.
Some authorities invoke safek berachot lehakel – the principle of being lenient when blessings are in doubt – to say: don’t repeat it. Others, like the Or Sameach, argue for a fresh blessing, treating night two as a clean slate.
Verdict: Don’t try to win this one at the dinner table. Know that opinions differ, and whichever side of the Schach you land on, you’ve got backup.
4. The Split-Level Sukkah: Half Here, Half There
Now for a Sukkah straight out of a Dr. Seuss book: imagine a structure split in half by a three-handbreadth gap of open air. Each side is technically big enough to qualify as a kosher Sukkah, but one adventurous sleeper stretches across both halves. His head is in one Sukkah, his legs in another, and the breeze in between.
Does this count?
One angle is that according to the Minchas Chinuch (Mitzvah 325), the mitzvah isn’t about a positive obligation to sleep inside the Sukkah, but rather avoiding sleeping outside of it. If so, our sleepy hero hasn’t done anything wrong.
Other authorities, who see dwelling in the Sukkah as an active commandment, would want the majority of the body inside one Sukkah. But since each half qualifies as kosher, many would still argue he’s in the clear.
Verdict: Maybe not the comfiest night’s sleep, but halachically he’s probably okay – just don’t try this with bunk beds.
5. Standing-Room Only: Buffet in the Booth
Hosting Sukkot dinner and the Sukkah is bursting at the seams? One option: buffet-style, everyone balancing plates while standing. But does that really fulfill teshvu ke-ein taduru – the principle of “dwelling as you live”?
Yes. Eating while standing still counts. The Aruch HaShulchan (Orach Chaim 643:3) explains that “sitting” in the phrase leishev baSukkah is figurative. It means dwelling, not literally sitting.
Verdict: Guests may wobble with their paper plates, but they’re still fulfilling the mitzvah. Extra napkins advised.
6. Pop-Up Sukkah, Road Trips, and the Traveling Exemption
The Talmud (Sukkah 26a) introduces the idea that travelers are exempt from the Sukkah, since people don’t rearrange their lives to carry huts around. But what about modern day trips – say, a family outing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.?
Here’s where it gets tricky. Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe, O.C. 3:93) ruled that leisure travel doesn’t earn the exemption – business trips do, but pleasure outings should still involve Sukkah meals. Others, like Rav Elyashiv, disagreed, arguing that since recreational travel is normal, it falls under the same principle.
The Mishnah Berurah (640:40–45) added that while one need not lug plywood for a one-night trip, it’s good practice to plan food that avoids Sukkah obligations – think fruit, snacks, or non-bread items.
Verdict: If it’s Disney World, eat snacks. If it’s a week-long retreat? Build a Sukkah. Or better yet – bring along a Pop-Up Sukkah and skip the halachic headache entirely. After all, it’s 2025; portable mitzvah-tech is a thing.
Final Thoughts: Sukkah Life, Simplified
From beers to buffets, road trips to reclining, the halachic literature shows that the Sukkah is both a space of joy and a source of wonderfully quirky questions. Most debates come down to the same theme: is this a casual act of dwelling, or a formal one?
So next time someone stretches across a split Sukkah, cracks open a cold beer, insists on standing while juggling kugel, or whipping out their Pop-Up Sukkah, smile. The rabbis thought of that too. And as long as it’s under the Schach – even metaphorically – you’re still in the mitzvah.