By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

Reb Tuvya is making a vort over Chol HaMoed.  Generally speaking, food is served at a vort and vorts are made in large Sukkos.  But, unfortunately, COVID-19 is a monkey wrench thrown in the middle.  So what should Reb Tuvya do?

Here are the five choices:

• Endanger lives of others in your Sukkah – very not ideal, possibly involving a number of Torah prohibitions.
• Don’t serve food and make it in the backyard – not ideal for a vort
• Only serve shehakol food and make it in the backyard– not ideal for those yarei shamayim but permitted technically, and the shehakol cakes have gotten really really good lately.
• Give out food packages to be eaten later in one’s own Sukkah and make it in the backyard – cute and innovative, but still missing something
• Build a COVID-19 Safe Open Air Sukkah as below. Don’t forget to socially distance and wear masks – but with a 400 square foot Sukkah – you have plenty of room.

So here goes:

The Gemorah in Sukkah 7a tells us that Mechitzos Gru’os are effective for use as a wall in a Sukkah.  Thus, what can be done is to make walls out of netting.

According to this author’s research – the following product will give the best bang for one’s buck.

https://www.amazon.com/Netting-Heavy-Protect-Plants-Fruit/dp/B00XIRH1CC/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=netting&qid=1601644996&smid=A3E5ZZ3DL804PS&sr=8-7

The product above is some 7.5 feet high and 65 feet wide.  This can yield a 20 by 20 foot sukkah.

The Chazon Ish 75:8 indicates that this approach, using both a horizontal and vertical system of ropes – would negate the Mogain Avrohom’s requirement (OC 730) to have four walls rather than three when using Mechitzos gru’os.

So here is what to do in 5 steps:

1. Put up a frame work – four 8 foot poles or two by fours – twenty feet apart.
2. Attach 7 pairs of 12 foot two by fours together to form the schach frame (4) and schach support beams (3)
3. Wrap the netting around three of the poles – make sure they are taut and don’t sway 3 tefachim.
4. Put up 4 schach mats
5. Enjoy the simcha!

The author can be reached at [email protected]