This question is really aimed at DOJF, but anyone is welcome to have a crack at it. Here are the relevant facts:
[li]A Sukkah is a temporary dwelling which Observant Jews build to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot. They are commanded to eat in it, and many Jews eat all meals there. Some even sleep there![/li][li]The roof of a Sukkah must be made of natural materials. The requirements are quite specific. My Sukkah’s roof consists on a layer of 1"x4" pine boards, spaced about 10" apart, covered by a layer of corn stalks.[/li]
The trick is lighting the interior. This is tough, because rain can damage any electrical fixture not protected. If the world were perfect, I would hang two “shop-light” style flourescent fixtures from the roof of my Sukkah, but I am concerned about rain.
Can anyone help me? Remember:
[li]The fixture must be light enough to hang from my temporary roof.[/li][li]The fixture must be waterproof.[/li][li]Insects are an issue. We don’t want to attract visitors![/li]
Jews, engineers and electricians, I look forward to your advice!
Well… We bought Christmas lights, the ones with little, all-white bulbs, long strands, intended for use outdoors. Works great, and provides a star-like ceiling even on cloudy nights. Great effect, the kids loved it.
They provide plenty of light. Actually, we have them on two controls, we eat with all of 'em on (we have about four boxes) and we turn off about half for when we wanna sit around in a pleasant softer light.
Of course, we do get some funny comments… I mean, after all, Christmas lights???
While a candle can be lit on Yom Tov, it cannot be lit on Shabbos. If it goes out for any reason (wind, etc.) you’d be sitting in the dark. Electricity is far more reliable.
Forgive my ignorance, but is a sukkah typically an open air building? If so, you might try lighting it from the outside so the bugs won’t want to come in. Alternately, could you use low voltage landscaping lights? They would cut down on any fire hazard.
You can find waterproof flourescent fixtures at WW Grainger, but they can be expensive. Have you tried Lowes or Home Depot?
They do sell flourescent “shop lights” complete with cord to plug into 110 outlets. They are rugged, and I believe waterproof, plus non conductive. They are sold at automotive stores and building supply stores. They are usually under twenty dollars. The christmas lights do sound rather pretty though. Maybe the two together would make for a choice of mood lighting.
While getting ready for the holiday, I made great friends with the genius-woman who works the electrical aisle at my local Home Depot. She has never, ever seen an waterproof “shop-light” style flourescent fixture.
I ended up buying two 75-watt flourescent floodlights that are made to wall-hang or stick on steaks in the ground. I cut the ends off of heavy-dutuy extension cords, wired them into the fixtures, sealed the back of the fixture with waterproof tape and hung them from the 1x4’s that run across the top of my sukkah.
Since it was cold and rainy all weekend bugs were not a problem (good news/bad news).
I put one light at each end of my 10x20 sukkah and we had plenty of light with no glare and no annoying shadows. It was very pleasant. My wife bought some “Holiday Lights” also, the colored kind, and they added some nice color and cheer. The truth is that they provided enough light to see by themselves, but I wanted a bright Sukkah.
Also, HD sells waterproof timers for about 10 dollars, so I didn’t have to leave everything on for 48 hours.
