A practical guide to the mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah, including who is obligated, eating and drinking requirements, sleeping, travel, mitzta’er exemptions, Leisheiv Basukkah, and Chabad customs.

 

Introduction

The mitzvah of Sukkah is not merely to eat an occasional meal beneath the Sechach. The Torah commands us to make the Sukkah our primary dwelling for the seven days of Sukkos. Chazal define this obligation as “Teishvu Ke’ein Taduru” , live in the Sukkah the same way you normally live in your home.

Accordingly, eating, drinking, learning, relaxing, socializing, and sleeping should all ideally take place in the Sukkah. At the same time, the Torah does not require a person to suffer discomfort, and therefore numerous exemptions exist when dwelling in the Sukkah becomes genuinely difficult or painful.

 

Important Disclaimer

This is a practical summary only. Many details, exceptions, measurements, disputes between Poskim, and special circumstances have been omitted. For complete laws and practical guidance regarding eating, sleeping, rain, travel, children, blessings, and Chabad custom, consult the full Sukkos volume on Shulchanaruchharav.com

 

 

Intending The Purpose of the Sukkah

Why Do We Sit in the Sukkah? Whenever dwelling in the Sukkah, one should think:

“I am fulfilling Hashem’s command to dwell in the Sukkah in remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt and the Clouds of Glory that surrounded and protected the Jewish people.”

This intention should be renewed each time one fulfills the mitzvah through eating in the Sukkah.

Who Is Obligated?

Person	Obligation
Adult Jewish men	Fully obligated
Women	Exempt, but may participate
Boys over Chinuch age (about 6)	Should be educated to dwell in Sukkah
Chasan	Obligated
Avel	Obligated
Onen on Yom Tov	Obligated
Soldiers actively on guard duty	Exempt while on duty

 

What Must Be Done in the Sukkah?

Ideally, one should:

✅ Eat in the Sukkah

✅ Drink in the Sukkah

✅ Learn Torah in the Sukkah

✅ Relax and socialize in the Sukkah

✅ Sleep in the Sukkah (according to the letter of the law)

✅ Treat the Sukkah as his primary residence

 

Eating in the Sukkah

Foods That Require a Sukkah From the Letter of The Law

 

Food	Sukkah Required?
More than a KeBeitzah of bread	Yes
More than a KeBeitzah of Mezonos	Yes
Meat	No
Fish	No
Fruit	No
Vegetables	No
Candy & snacks	No

 

Practical Measurement

A KeBeitzah is approximately:

54 grams (1.9 oz.)

 

Chassidic Practice

Many meticulous individuals, especially in Chabad, avoid eating anything outside the Sukkah.

First Night of Sukkos

Requirement	Status
Eat bread in Sukkah	Mandatory
Even if raining	Yes
Minimum amount	Kezayis of bread

 

This is the single most important eating obligation of the entire Yom Tov.

Drinking

Letter of the Law

 

Drink	Sukkah Required?
Water	No
Soda	No
Juice	No
Wine	No

 

Chassidic Practice

Many meticulous individuals, especially in Chabad, avoid drinking even water outside the Sukkah.

 

The Chabad Practice

Many Chabad Chassidim are careful:

✅ Not to drink water outside the Sukkah.

✅ To eat even during rain.

✅ To recite Leisheiv Basukkah even when eating in rain.

(These customs go beyond the minimum halachic requirement.)

 

Sleeping in the Sukkah

Letter of the Law:

Sleeping in the Sukkah is part of the Biblical mitzvah.

Even a nap should ideally be in the Sukkah.

 

Why Many Do Not Sleep in the Sukkah

Common exemptions include:

Situation	Exempt?
Rain	Yes
Mosquitos/insects	Yes
Extreme heat	Yes
Extreme cold	Yes
Noise	Yes
Lack of space	Yes
Caring for children	Yes
Fear of theft	Yes

 

Chabad Custom

The widespread Chabad custom is not to sleep in the Sukkah. However, this custom applies only where the accepted reasons and exemptions are relevant. Where no exemption applies, the basic halachic obligation remains.

 

When Are You Exempt? The Rule of Mitzta’er

A person who is genuinely uncomfortable is exempt.

Examples include:

✅ Rain

✅ Heat waves

✅ Extreme cold

✅ Mosquitos

✅ Bad odors

✅ Excessive wind

✅ Lack of lighting

 

Letter of the law

If one is genuinely exempt because of discomfort:

He should leave the Sukkah.

Remaining in the Sukkah despite real pain is not considered a mitzvah.

 

 

The Chabad Practice

Many Chassidim are careful:

✅ Eat even during rain.

✅ To recite Leisheiv Basukkah even when eating in rain.

 

Rain Guidelines

Situation	Must Stay?
Heavy enough to ruin food	No
Light drizzle while sleeping	No
First night of Sukkos	Eat anyway
Rest of Sukkos	Exempt

Learning Torah

Learn in the Sukkah When:

✅ It is comfortable.

✅ Sefarim are available.

✅ Concentration is not affected.

 

May Learn Outside When:

✅ Greater concentration is achieved outside.

✅ Many sefarim are needed.

✅ Practical setup is difficult.

 

Davening and Lulav

• One should ideally daven with a minyan in Shul.
• If this is not possible, then one should daven in the Sukkah if he can do so with proper concentration.
• If concentration will be significantly better inside the home, he may daven there.
• Although Lulav is generally shaken before Hallel, it is a Mitzvah Min Hamuvchar to recite the blessing and shake the Lulav in the Sukkah before leaving for Shacharis.

Traveling

Traveler	Must Use Sukkah?
Vacation traveler	Yes
Airplane passenger	Exempt

 

Important

One may not plan a recreational trip that prevents fulfillment of the mitzvah of Sukkah.

 

Leisheiv BaSukkah

When Is It Said?

Only when eating:

✅ Bread

or

✅ Mezonos

in the required quantity.

 

How Much

✅For Mezonos and bread, the blessing is recited when one plans to eat more than a KeBeitzah, which is approximately 53.8 grams (about 1.9 ounces) within Kdei Achilas Pras, approximately 4 minutes.

 

Order of Bracha

1. Hamotzi/Mezonos
2. Leisheiv BaSukkah
3. Eat

 

Food	Minimum Amount	Leisheiv BaSukkah?
Bread	More than 53.8 grams (KeBeitzah) eaten within approximately 4 minutes	Yes
Mezonos	More Than 53.8 grams (KeBeitzah) eaten within approximately 4 minutes	Yes
Less than 53.8 grams of bread	Less than a KeBeitzah	No
Less than 53.8 grams of Mezonos	Less than a KeBeitzah	No
Fruit	Any amount	No
Meat	Any amount	No
Fish	Any amount	No
Vegetables	Any amount	No
Water or beverages	Any amount	No (although many are stringent to drink only in the Sukkah)

Quick Reference Table

Activity	Sukkah Required?
Bread meal	Yes
Mezonos meal	Yes
Fruit	No
Water	No
Wine session	Yes
Torah learning	Ideally yes
Relaxing	Ideally yes
Sleeping	Yes (unless exempt)
First-night meal	Absolutely yes

 

The Sukkah Furniture, Decore, and Food

• The Sukkah should be treated as one’s primary residence throughout Sukkos. Therefore, one should bring a table into the Sukkah and eat as he would in his home.
• The table should remain inside the Sukkah during the meal, and one should ideally furnish the Sukkah with attractive tableware, drinking utensils, and respectable furnishings.
• One should not leave unsightly items in the Sukkah. After a meal, dirty pots, pans, serving dishes, and plates should be removed.
• While food may technically be brought into the Sukkah in cooking pots, the common custom is to transfer the food to serving dishes or trays before bringing it to the table.

 

Light and Comfort

The Sukkah should contain adequate lighting just as a home does. Candles or lamps may be used when safe, although anything presenting a fire hazard should not be brought into the Sukkah. Since the Sukkah is one’s dwelling place during the festival, it should be arranged in a manner that is both respectable and comfortable.

 

Maintaining the Dignity of the Sukkah

• The Sukkah possesses holiness and should be treated with respect. Activities that would be considered degrading in an honored room of the home should not be done there.
• Accordingly, one should not wash dirty dishes in the Sukkah, use it as a shortcut, or hang laundry there.
• Likewise, the Sukkah should not be used as a storage area for unattractive items.
• One should not invite a non-Jew into the Sukkah for social purposes, and therefore one should not have a non-Jewish cleaning worker clean inside the Sukkah. Nevertheless, ordinary hygienic activities, such as washing Negel Vasser, are permitted.

 

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