# Have you put up a sukkah this year?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 7, 2025, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761 "2025-10-07T21:13:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/21 "2025-10-08T19:59:51Z")
The bamboo mats are popular, too. It’s a lot like the real vs. artificial Christmas tree debate - palm fronds are more authentic, but mats are more practical. It’s funny how stuff like that crosses cultures.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/22 "2025-10-08T21:01:36Z")
I misspoke earlier: the conduits making up my sukkah are eight feet, not ten (but cut down from 10-foot pieces). All the pieces are marked identically so they are interchangeable: any piece can be placed in any position.
For the “roof,” I used two rolls of this stuff:
> **[Vigoro 6 ft. H x 16 ft. W Natural Reed Fencing 4477412 - The Home Depot](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-6-ft-H-x-16-ft-W-Natural-Reed-Fencing-4477412/311105538)**
>
> This 6 ft. x 16 ft. natural reed fence is made for patio shading, soundproofing, duck blinds and other outdoor uses. The reeds are tightly woven with vinyl-coated, rust-resistant wire every 4 in. to help
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2025, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/23 "2025-10-09T00:14:08Z")
> [@commasense](#):
>
> Technically speaking, no, a tent is not acceptable. There are several requirements to a sukkah, one of which is that the roof (called the s’chach) must be made of material that was once living, and cannot be solid: one must be able to see the stars through it. Some people use tree branches or wooden lattice. Also, one side should be open to the outside.
OK, now I’m wondering: Just what constitutes “material that was once living”? Would seashells count? If them, then limestone? Marble? Or how about petrochemical materials, or polylactate?
And it’s not too hard to build a lattice that’ll stop rain falling straight down, but still lets you see stars at an angle. Is that allowed? And what should one do if it rains, just accept getting wet?
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### Author:  [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/24 "2025-10-09T00:22:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> And what should one do if it rains, just accept getting wet?
Be sad because all of the paper chains you made to decorate are ruined.
Also, the first rain of the year seemed to come during Sukkot every single year when I was growing up.
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2025, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/25 "2025-10-09T00:35:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Just what constitutes “material that was once living”?
When I saw that phrase I first thought of pelts or leather, before realizing that obviously it included plants, too.
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/26 "2025-10-09T00:37:12Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#):
>
> palm friends
“Are you two getting serious?”
“Nah, we’re just palm friends.”
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/27 "2025-10-09T01:34:48Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> > [@Chronos](#):
> >
> > Just what constitutes “material that was once living”?
>
> When I saw that phrase I first thought of pelts or leather, before realizing that obviously it included plants, too.
I actually think it needs to be material cut from plants. I don’t think leather is kosher.
If it rains, you are allowed to eat indoors, instead.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/28 "2025-10-11T14:11:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> OK, now I’m wondering: Just what constitutes “material that was once living”? Would seashells count? If them, then limestone? Marble? Or how about petrochemical materials, or polylactate?
>
> And it’s not too hard to build a lattice that’ll stop rain falling straight down, but still lets you see stars at an angle. Is that allowed? And what should one do if it rains, just accept getting wet?
I have no doubt that someone, somewhere, has asked their rabbi all of those questions. There’s nothing we like more than following the letter of the law while violating the spirit. Cf [eruv](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruv).
I will note, however, that making a “temporary” structure out of marble would present some practical difficulties, depending, of course, on how you define “temporary.”
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/29 "2025-10-11T16:22:53Z")
Rules in general, but I’ve copied over the ones for the roof:
> **[What Are the Rules for Building a Kosher Sukkah? | The Sukkah Project®](https://www.sukkot.com/what-are-the-rules-for-building-a-sukkah/)**
>
> Learn the essential rules for building a kosher sukkah: wall requirements, s'chach materials, placement, and timing guidelines. Complete guide for beginners and experienced builders alike.
> - Natural Materials Only: S’chach must be made from organic materials that have grown from the ground but are now detached. Common options include bamboo, palm fronds, evergreen branches, corn stalks, or similar plant materials.
I don’t think leather or marble has “grown from the ground”. Also, there are limits on how much it can be processed.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/30 "2025-10-11T16:49:39Z")
Thanks, @puzzlegal. I had never actually looked them up, only had them passed down verbally from my wife, who knows a lot more about these things than I do.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2025, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/31 "2025-10-12T00:02:02Z")
> [@](#):
>
> S’chach must be made from organic materials that have grown from the ground but are now detached.
Hm, interesting… That would imply that a sod roof would not be allowed, because while it has grown from the ground, it’s not detached.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2025, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/32 "2025-10-12T09:54:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Hm, interesting… That would imply that a sod roof would not be allowed, because while it has grown from the ground, it’s not detached.
Right, because a Sukkah is supposed to represent a nomad’s dwelling, and thus should be theoretically portable.
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### Author:  [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2025, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/33 "2025-10-12T11:17:51Z")
I’ve meant to ask about these for years. While I’m not Jewish, I’ve lived most of my life in a neighborhood with a large proportion of Jewish families. I never noticed any sukkos for most of my life, and then about 10 years ago, I noticed them all over the place. I wondered if it was a religious trend. I recognize that many religious customs are based on ideas from thousands of years ago, but some might not actually be practiced until they become trendy.
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### Author:  [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/34 "2025-10-12T13:32:09Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#):
>
> I wondered if it was a religious trend. I recognize that many religious customs are based on ideas from thousands of years ago, but some might not actually be practiced until they become trendy.
Sukkot is one of Judaism’s original holidays from the Torah, not a newcomer like Hannukah (a little over 2,000 years old) or Purim (almost 2,500 years old).
I don’t know about your neighborhood, but it’s always been common to have them in Israel.
Could it be less than 10 years and COVID related? Maybe people used to go to the communal sukkah at the synagogue and started building their own?
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### Author:  [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/35 "2025-10-12T17:18:18Z")
> [@Babale](#):
>
> Could it be less than 10 years and COVID related?
Yes, you may be right. I’m gonna ask my next door neighbor, who moved here from NYC at the beginning of the pandemic. His, another neighbor a few doors down, are the two I see prominently in their backyards. A few in the neighborhood are in their front driveways. At the moment, with a noreaster coming, I’m more worried that they will collapse.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/36 "2025-10-12T18:12:27Z")
Anecdotally, i bought the sukkah years ago, but I don’t set it up every year. During COVID, i not only set it up but invited a bunch of people over to eat in the sukkah. I even bought the accessories (a wand of plants and a lumpy lemon to wave around while reciting appropriate blessings) which is something I’ve only done in communal sukkot before.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/37 "2025-10-12T18:27:43Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#):
>
> At the moment, with a noreaster coming, I’m more worried that they will collapse.
Yes, here on the North Shore of Boston, I took down the sukkah last night and this morning (two days early) to avoid the storm. I wasn’t so clever [two years ago](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-o-weenies-october-mini-rants/990948/289).
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### Author:  [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2025, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/38 "2025-10-13T01:30:14Z")
I learn something new everyday. Does the portable factor tie in with the start of the Exodus? The Ark of the Covenant? Now, I have questions.
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### Author:  [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/39 "2025-10-13T02:27:33Z")
> [@Patx2](#):
>
> Does the portable factor tie in with the start of the Exodus?
Yes, the Sukkah commemorates wandering in the desert the same way that the Matzah signifies the quick departure from Egypt.
ויקרא כג: מב בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כׇּל הָאֶזְרָח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשְׁבוּ בַּסֻּכֹּת. מג לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲנִי יְ־הֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
My very rough translation:
_You will dwell in a Sukkah 7 days, all of Israel will dwell in a Sukkah. So that your descendants will know that in Sukkahs I housed the children of Israel when I brought them out of Egypt; I am the Lord your God_
Although this is from Leviticus, not Exodus 😉
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2025, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-put-up-a-sukkah-this-year/1023761/40 "2025-10-13T06:57:30Z")
> [@Patx2](#):
>
> I learn something new everyday. Does the portable factor tie in with the start of the Exodus? The Ark of the Covenant? Now, I have questions.
Sukkot commemorates the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the desert between the Exodus from Egypt and their arrival in Canaan. As such, we pretend to be nomads for a week, living in the same sort of portable yurt-like structures our ancestors supposedly used.
It’s also the fall harvest festival.
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