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I have a small courtyard that I hope to make into a Sukkah.

1/3 of the courtyard is covered with a metal frame that is made up of a grid of metal pieces about 1cm thick - each spaced about 1/2 meter from the next.

Another 1/3 of the courtyard is thin metal wire that is used for supporting vines.

Ideally, I'd like to lay my skach across one or both of these.

According to the chumra of the Chazon Ish, this just flat out doesn't work, obviously. My question is according to the general opinion.

Can I look at this as pasul skach in the middle of the sukkah, and go by the majority?

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  • "obviously"? Maybe I'm more ignorant than most, but I have no idea what "chumra of the Chazon Ish" you're referring to.
    – msh210 ♦
    Commented Sep 16, 2013 at 2:39
  • Not so obvious. There is a question of the status of a "ma'amid", a support, for skach. The Chazon Ish doesn't allow the skach to rest on anything that is posul for skach, all the way down. The ins-and-outs of the other opinion is not so clear to me - thus this question.
    – Laizer
    Commented Sep 16, 2013 at 12:04

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The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch in 134:4 writes that it's best not to rest the Schach on something that could become impure - like a wooden ladder or tools (with long handles).

However, if done, the Sukka is Kosher, since we hold that it's permissible to rest the Schach on items that could become impure.

In your case, if the metal is solidly connected to the wall, then even the stringent opinions shouldn't have a problem, since it probably becomes part of the building.

As to the Chazon Ish - his opinion was deduced from a comment he made on the Mishna Berura who says (in 629) that one should not rest the Schach on supports could become impure.

The Chazon Ish comments that if that were true, then one could not rest the Schach on items that cannot become impure, if those items are leaning on items that could become impure. (Ma'amid D'Ma'amid).

His intention - according to my Rabbis who have researched this in depth - was that we do not find this concept (Ma'amid D'Ma'amid) anywhere, hence the original rule (one should not rest the Schach on supports could become impure) must be invalid too.

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