Lavud = 3 Tefachim = 10 ½” (27 cm) to 12” (30 cm)
1 Ama = 6 Tefachim = 21 ¼” (54 cm) to 24 1/2” (63 cm) (depending on the application)
10 Tefachim = 40” (1 m) (for Shabbat border)
- So dense that a cat can't walk through them, and
- More than 40” (10 tefachim) high.
- A sukka must have at least three walls, but one of those walls may be as little as 1 tefach wide.
- A round sukka must extend to at least 270 degrees.
- Sukka height: More than 10 tefachim (40” or 1 m) high and less than 20 amot (33'4” or 10 m) tall.
- Minimum sukka width: 7 tefachim x 7 tefachim (28” x 28” or 71.1 cm x 71.1 cm).
- Maximum wall-to-ground gap for sukka: walls must be within 3 tefachim, or 10 ½” (27 cm) of the ground.
- Maximum permissible angle (slope) of a roof on a sukka is less than 45 degrees from horizontal.
- Schach: Must cover the sukka so that there is more shade than sun when the sun is directly overhead and must have at least enough space between the schach elements for rain to penetrate.
A sukka built under a balcony, even if the balcony is many stories above the sukka, is not kosher.
Situation
Only part of a sukka is under the balcony.
Status
To be kosher, the sukka must have a footprint at least 7 by 7 tefachim and must have at least three walls that are not under the balcony.
Note If you have only two walls with the overhanging balcony, consult a rabbi.
- Real physical structures—whether natural (such as tree trunks, bushes) or man-made (buildings, fences, cars);
- Natural topographic features (such as slopes); and/or
- Presumptive doorways (often made of poles and wires or strong string).
Two structures (regardless of how thick or wide they are) within 10.5 inches of each other are considered to be halachically solid and constitute a single structure; this is called lavud.
NoteA halachically solid wall may have gaps of more than 3 tefachim (10.5 in.) high or wide (i.e., in either dimension) as long as the other dimension is less than 3 tefachim wide.
Examples
A halachically solid wall can be made of a:
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Wide mesh of ropes or strings; the cross strings are very far apart, as long as the vertical strings are within 10.5 inches of each other.
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Picket fence; each vertical slat must be within 10.5 inches of the adjacent slat OR each horizontal piece that connects the vertical slats must be within 10.5 inches of the adjacent horizontal piece.
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Chain-link fence.
Height
All vertical eruv components must be at least 40 inches high. There is no maximum height for the eruv if it is a halachic doorway (tzurat ha'petach--two uprights and a horizontal bar above and connecting the two).
Width
A solid component (for example, a board, wall, house, etc.) must be at least 12 inches from side to side.
Non-solid components (for example, a series of narrow bushes, a series of trees with trunks less than 12 inches across, various types of fences, etc.) must be within 10.5 inches of each other and of the ground, both horizontally and vertically, for the entire distance between adjacent trees/bushes. They must be at least 40 inches high or wide.
Connectors
Vertical components, such as poles, that are connected above or below in the following ways are also halachic walls, regardless of how far apart they are:
- Connected above, such as with a board or string that rests across the tops of vertical poles, and which are at least 40 inches above the ground at all points along its course, or
- Connected below within 10.5 inches of the ground, such as bushes or small trees with branches that come within 10.5 inches of the ground at all points (even at the attachment point to the trunk). Components must reach up to at least 40 inches above the ground.