[Avodah] From the cRc regarding schach

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Dorron Katzin (quoting the CRC) wrote:
> The reeds are placed perpendicular to the schach support-beams
> rather than parallel to the beams.

R' Moshe Y. Gluck asked:
> What difference does it make if the schach is parallel or
> perpendicular to the support beams? Is it because of the shittah
> that a line of "light" all across the sukkah makes it pasul - if
> so, then as long as there is anything dividing it should be ok.
> Not to mention that lots of sukkahs don't have any support
> beams...

Here is my guess -- and I must stress the word *guess*:

Those reeds are formed into a mat by being woven with some sort of material, which I'm guessing is pasul. (I think the advertisement mentioned that the mat could be cut into smaller sizes by cutting wires, which are surely pasul.) If the hechsher for the mat involves pretending that the wires aren't there (forgive me if the word "pretend" sounds pejorative) then we probably have the odd situation where the reeds are not even strong enough to support their own weight. It is true that there are many sukkos which don't have support beams, but if you tried that with these reeds, they'd probably just fall right through. If this wasn't for a sukkah, support beams would not be needed, because the wires give it enough strength> But my guess is that in the CRC's view, you can't rely on the wires for strength, and at the same time pretend they're not there. (Think about kashrus of gelatin and other maamids. These wires might fit that definition exactly. I think it is a relevant point in shaatnez too, where the shesi is wool and the arev is linen.) Therefore, my guess is that the CRC is insisting that these mats must be supported by support beams which are place in such a manner that if the wires were absent, the reeds would still stay up there.

Akiva Miller

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