How to Build a Sukkah for Sukkot

Sukkot is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the fifteenth of Tishri in the Hebrew calendar. Usually falling in September or October, Jews celebrate this holiday to commemorate the forty years in which their ancestors dwelled in temporary houses while wandering the desert. Building and dwelling in a sukkah, or temporary shelter, is a part of the celebration of Sukkot.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Find a spot to build your sukkah. A sukkah must be outdoors in an area with nothing, such as a tree, a roof of a house or an overhanging balcony, between the sukkah and the sky.
2. Construct a basic frame for your sukkah out of 2-by-4s, with an interior of at least 27 by 27 inches. Most have four sides, but a sukkah is kosher as long as it has two complete sides and part of a third. You can use the wall of your house as one of the sukkah sides as long as there are no eaves hanging overhead.
3. Attach sturdy walls to the sukkah framing that are at least 31 inches high. The walls may not flap in the wind, so plywood or a similar material is preferable. If you use canvas-like material, you must secure it well to the framing to ensure the walls can't blow in the wind.
4. Locate materials for the sukkah roof, or s'chach in Hebrew. The roof must be made out of vegetation such as tree branches, bamboo or sticks. Simply place the roofing material on top of your sukkah without securing them together or to the sukkah frame.

Tips & Warnings

• Use enough roofing vegetation to cover the majority of the sukkah but to leave openings that allow you to see the stars at night.
• You may build a sukkah on a balcony if there is no other balcony hanging overhead.
• Eat all of your meals in the sukkah during the 7 days of Sukkot. If weather permits, sleep in the sukkah as well.