The Indoor Sukkah Consultancy Service
What is wrong with having a radiator here?
One of the great advantages of an indoor Sukkah, especially in the UK, is with regard to the difficulties presented by the weather. The climate in the UK, specifically in the autumn, can be rather chilly, with the temperature dropping lower even than that of the great British summer, as the cold mornings that greet those who get up for Selichos two weeks before Sukkos testify. Choosing to sit and sleep in a traditional Sukkah built outside creates a tug of war between the heater and thin layer of Sechach in the attempt to warm the constantly heat-losing Sukkah. So being able to build a Sukkah, inside and as part of the house, opens the opportunity to keep this Mitzvah in warmth and comfort, making the Sukkah even more welcoming. However putting a radiator in a Sukkah comes with a caveat. It is essential to place the radiator in the correct position so that it does not cause the Sukkah to become Pesuloh.
Can a radiator really ruin a Sukkah?
The answer comes as surprise to many, but certainly yes, a radiator in certain positions may indeed render the Sukkah invalid.
The core of the problem is based on a principle outlined in the Gemoro Sukkah. If a wall of a Sukkah is broken into more than one section over the course of its height, and the two sections are separated by a horizontal gap of more than three Tefochim, it no longer can be used as a wall of a Sukkah. This is because for a wall to be valid as a Sukkah wall it must compromise a height of at least ten Tefochim in one stretch. If the ten Tefochim height is made up of two parts, as long as the two sections are within three Tefochim of each other the wall is still valid, based on the well-known principle that any distance of less than three Tefochim is a negligible interruption
(Lovud). However if the two sections are offset by a distance that is equal to or greater than three Tefochim (see figure 1), the two sections no longer combine to create one vertical stretch of wall, and now the Sukkah remains without a wall in that location.
It follows that when a Sukkah wall is built containing a window and the height of the window sill is less than ten Tefochim (≈1m), it is essential that the depth of the window sill (internally) be less than three Tefochim (≈22cm). Whilst it is common for window sills to be shallow enough to comply with this requirement (although with external walls, this may need careful attention, see figure 2), it is also fairly common to hang a radiator on the wall beneath the window. Since the radiator is a permanent fixture on the wall of the Sukkah, and not simply a piece of furniture, it cannot be disregarded, and the internal area of the Sukkah starts from the face of the radiator, not from the wall behind it. This could easily cause a wall of a Sukkah to become invalid, depending on the length of the radiator, height of the window sill, height of the window pane, and how much of the wall the window and radiator actually span.
The same principle is true when looking at a Sukkah situated in a kitchen. The standard height of a kitchen counter is 90/91 cm. This is less than the required ten Tefochim. Since counter depth is typically 60cm, a distance far greater than three Tefochim, the doors of the under counter cabinets cannot combine together with the wall behind the counter to create a ten Tefochim wall for the Sukkah. This presents a concerning issue with many indoor Sukkahs built in a kitchen, where under counter cabinets, wall hanging cabinets and windows all feature as standard elements in a kitchen wall.
“Will someone open the window please…..”
One of the most startling discoveries of the present author when inspecting indoor Sukkahs was to find a Sukkah in which simply opening a window would cause the Sukkah to become Pesuloh. This problem too was based on the aforementioned principle that a wall of a Sukkah needs to have an uninterrupted height of ten Tefochim.
The bottom of this particular window was less than ten Tefochim from the floor, meaning that when the window was opened, the wall would be invalid. Since the wall in which this window was positioned made up a crucial part of the structure of the Sukkah, the entire Sukkah was Pesuloh.
Issues such as these are remarkably prevalent and typical, yet they can spell the difference between a Kosher Sukkah and one that is totally Pesuloh. Having competent Halachic guidance, and particularly when designing and planning an indoor Sukkah building, can really be a game changer, saving time, money and aggravation at a later stage.