Is it permissable to use bamboo or Reed mats that are supported by metal wiring for schach?
Thank You,
Elad
PS: thank you for running this wonderful website and for all the halachic guidance you provide! It is greatly appreciated 🙂
3 Comments
Elad Siman-Tov
on September 1, 2025 at 6:57 am
Thank you!
I’ve been looking at your father’s teshuva on this and he mentions that the Ikar Hadin is that skhakh can be supported by objects that receive Tuma. He then cites Shulhan Arukh Siman 630. However, I don’t think I was able to find the exact Halakha he was referencing. Would you be able to point me in the right direction?
Thank You!
Elad
PS: Thanks for your help purchasing your father’s books. They are one of the most treasures Sefarim on my bookshelf
The Shulchan Aruch discusses several cases where the Sechach is supported by something that is mekabel tumah, such as a bed frame. That is the basis of the halachic debate: whether a ma’amid (a supporting element) for Sechach may be made of something susceptible to tumah. The Shulchan Aruch rules that it is permissible. To fully understand the range of opinions, one has to trace the discussion back to its Talmudic and Rabbinic sources.
In practice, the fact that the bamboo poles are held together with wire does not create an independent halachic problem, aside from the issue of using metal as the ma’amid. From a halachic standpoint, that concern is identical to the general question of whether a support made from a material that is mekabel tumah is acceptable.
Thank you!
I’ve been looking at your father’s teshuva on this and he mentions that the Ikar Hadin is that skhakh can be supported by objects that receive Tuma. He then cites Shulhan Arukh Siman 630. However, I don’t think I was able to find the exact Halakha he was referencing. Would you be able to point me in the right direction?
Thank You!
Elad
PS: Thanks for your help purchasing your father’s books. They are one of the most treasures Sefarim on my bookshelf
Glad you were able to get the Sefarim — enjoy!
The Shulchan Aruch discusses several cases where the Sechach is supported by something that is mekabel tumah, such as a bed frame. That is the basis of the halachic debate: whether a ma’amid (a supporting element) for Sechach may be made of something susceptible to tumah. The Shulchan Aruch rules that it is permissible. To fully understand the range of opinions, one has to trace the discussion back to its Talmudic and Rabbinic sources.
In practice, the fact that the bamboo poles are held together with wire does not create an independent halachic problem, aside from the issue of using metal as the ma’amid. From a halachic standpoint, that concern is identical to the general question of whether a support made from a material that is mekabel tumah is acceptable.
Thank you.
Yes
You can use those mats.