In the shadow of the heavy rocket fire by the Hezbollah terror group at Israel, especially northern Israel, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak publicized a p’sak regarding eating and sleeping in the sukkah during wartime.

At the start of his letter, HaRav Yosef wrote: “Ahead of Chag HaSukkos, we received many shailos regarding the din of המצטער פטור מן הסוכה [one who is in tza’ar is exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah]. Residents are under fire and hearing sirens and the public pressure is high. Should one build a sukkah in the first place? Is it mandatory to sleep in the sukkah during these days? And for someone whose wife is uneasy and asks him to sleep at home, is he exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah?”

“And regarding eating in the sukkah, even if the siren didn’t sound that day, does the fear of hearing the sirens and missiles and interceptions exempt one from the mitzvah of sukkah?”

After HaRav Yosef quoted the sources, he paskens: “If one leaves the sukkah, he will not be saved from tza’ar since the same fears exist when he leaves the sukkah, and therefore he is obligated to build a sukkah and sit in a sukkah. This is especially true since in these cities [cities under fire but not right next to the northern border], even according to the directives of the Home Front Command, residents are living their lives as usual, going out shopping and driving and walking on the streets, and only when sirens sound, they enter a protected space.”

“If a person’s sukkah is located far away enough from a protected space, like a stairwell, etc. that he cannot reach it in the required amount of time to protect himself, and there are warnings at that time to stay near shelters, so at the time of the warnings, he is exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah.”

“And regarding sleeping in the sukkah, he is exempt because one doesn’t always hear the siren [while sleeping], and even when one hears it – until he gets up and reaches the protected space he may be putting himself at risk. In his house, he is more protected and therefore he should sleep at home, especially if his wife is not calm and may panic and not be able to sleep – then his din is like someone who is helping a choleh who is exempt from the sukkah, like it’s brought in שבט הקהתי (ח”א סי’ קצח) regarding a child who will miss his father and be afraid if he is left alone.”

“And in yishuvim next to the border where there is no warning time, he should build a sukkah and try to eat quickly at least a k’zayis on the first night [of Sukkos]. During the other days and times that the Home Front Command doesn’t order residents to stay near a protected space, if he’s eating a substantial amount of bread [כביצה], he should eat in the sukkah. But at other times, he’s exempt.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)