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8/11/2019 Schach Mat Fencing
1/3
ChicagoRabbinicalCouncil2701WestHowardStreetChicago,Illinois60645
7734653900www.crcweb.orgRabbiSholemFishbane,KashrusAdministrator
September22,2014/" " (version7)
Recommendation
Thisyear, theHomeDepot store locatedat6211N.LincolnAve.,Chicago, Illinois60659 is selling
bambooreedfencingwiththeHamptonBaybrandname.AsperguidelinesprovidedbyRavSchwartz
andRavFuerstinpreviousyears,weareabletorecommendtwovarietiessoldthere:
(1) A6foot
X16
foot
variety,
with
UPC
code
48037
06164,
and
markedashavingaNaturalFinish. Thisvarietyisalsoavailable
onlineathttp://kshr.us/1qnpQaE
(2) A4footX8footvariety,withUPCcode4803777301,witha
PeeledandPolishedFinish. Thisvarietyisalsoavailableonline
athttp://kshr.us/1qnppwW.
A thirdvariety,whichmeasures6 feetX16
feet,withtheBackyardXScapesbrandname,
UPCcode7174600530,andmarkedasbeing
Natural Peeled Reed Fencing, is available
onlineonlyathttp://kshr.us/1u66WLDandis
alsorecommended.
Thesethreevarietiesmaybeusedasschachonlyif:
The reeds are placed perpendicular to the schach supportbeams rather than parallel to the
beams,asshowninthepicturesbelow.
Apieceofwoodorsomeotherpieceofkosherschachshouldbeplacedontopofthefencing,so
thatthefencingissecureenoughtonotblowoffduringSuccos. [Thisextrapieceofwoodshould
notbenailedorotherwisefastenedtotheschach,anditshouldbeplacedperpendiculartothe
reeds.] Thisconditionappliestoalllightweightschachincludingmats,andisbasedonShulchan
Aruch628:2.
As
with
all
schach,
the
schach
portions
of
the
mat
must
be
thick
enough
that
they
provide
more
shadedareathanopenspace,asperShulchanAruch631:1. Itmaybenecessarytoplaceadouble
layerofmatsinordertoaccomplishthis.
OthersimilaritemshavenotbeeninvestigatedandshouldonlybeusedafterconsultingwithonesRabbi.
lacement ictures
Good
Reedsperpendicular
tosupportbeams
Schach
supportbeams
Woodon
top
of
reeds
Reed
Direction
Reedsparallel
tosupportbeams
Schach
supportbeams
NoGood
Reed
Direction
8/11/2019 Schach Mat Fencing
2/3
ChicagoRabbinicalCouncil2701WestHowardStreetChicago,Illinois60645
7734653900www.crcweb.orgRabbiSholemFishbane,KashrusAdministrator
xplanation
Thefencingismadeoflong,thin,reedswhichareheldtogetherwithplasticcoatedmetalwiring. There
areprominentIsraeliPoskimwhoholdthatsince(a)metalwiringisnotacceptableforuseasschachand
(b)thewiringbindsthefencingtogether,thefencingmaynotlchatchilahbeusedforschach. Thisconcern
isknownas.1
However,RavFuerstreportsthatRavMosheFeinsteinztlwasoftheopinionthatifthereedsareplaced
perpendiculartotheschachsupportbeams,thereedsaresupportedbythebeams,andthemetalwiring
merelyattachesthereedstooneanotherbutisnotservingasa. RavSchwartzfoundthisargument
tobe convincing. Accordingly, the fencingmaybeused as schach if it isplacedon the succah in the
prescribedmanner.2
It isnoteworthythatasthefragile, individualreedsbreak,thosereedsareonlysupportedbythemetal
wiringandnolongerqualifyfortheaforementionedleniency. Insamplesthatwechecked,710%ofthe
reedsinnewpackagesoffencingwereincompletetotheextentthattheywereonlysupportedbythemetal
wiring. Thisconcerncanpotentiallybealleviatedbystrategicallyplacingadditionalsupportbeamsunder
thefencing.
IggerosMoshe3rulesthatvenetianblindsmadeofwoodslatsheldtogetherwithclothmaynotbeusedfor
schachbecausethecloth(which isa )renderstheentireblindsa and
thereforeunacceptableforuseasschach. Shouldthesamenotapplytothereedfencingwhich isheld
togetherbymetalwireswhichare ?
RavFuerstansweredthattheprimaryuseofthisfencingiswhenitisattachedtothegroundwithmetal
stakes ( ) and is thereforedisqualified frombeinga . In contrast,
Venetianblindsarenotconsidered becausetheyaremerelyslidintoaframeorhousing
butarenotactuallyattachedtothehouse/ground.4Accordingly,theconcernraisedbyIggerosMoshedoes
notapplytotheproductinquestion,anditmaybeusedasschach(assuming,ofcourse,itisputontothe
succahintheprescribedmanner).
Allschachmustprovidemoreshade(i.e.filledinarea)thansun(openarea)inordertobeacceptablefor
use. Whentherecommendedreedfencingwasplacedontopofasuccahitwasnotimmediatelyobvious
thatitqualifiedas anditwasdifficulttoaccuratelymeasureif,infact,itdid. However,
bymeasuringtheaveragereeddiameterandnotingapproximatelyhowmanyreedsthereareperlinear
foot,wewereabletodeterminethatonaveragethereabout5560%coverage/shadeandthatqualifiesas
.5
Itisnoteworthythatonalchatchilahlevel,brokenreedsshouldnotbecountedintheafotrementioned
calculation (as noted above), such that in some circumstances especially as the fencing is handled
repeatedlythefencingmaynolongerqualifyas unlessadoublelayerisused.6
1SeeMishnahBerurah629:22.2Althoughsomereedswillbesuspendedabovethesupportbeams(heldintheairbythefencingsmetalwiring),RavFuerstdoesnotconsiderthis
tobeaconcernsincethosereedswouldnaturallyfallontothebeamsifnotforthewires,suchthattheyprovideshaderegardlessofthewires.3IggerosMosheOC1:177.4Thus,forexample,RavFuerstsaidthatitwouldnotbeconsidered onShabbostorehangthistypeofVenetianblindssincetheyarenotbeing
attachedtothegroundortothehouse. [SeeRema315:1,MishnahBerurah315:6,andChazonIshOC52:13regardingrehangingblindswhichare
attachedtothehouse.]5Althoughtheaveragereeddiameterforsomevarietieswasconsiderablythinnerin2014thanin2013(anaverageof0.350.4cmascomparedto
0.52cm),thereedswerealsoplacedclosertogethersuchthatthecoverageremainedapproximatelythesame(5461%in2014,ascomparedto59%
in2013).6Infact,somesectionsofbrandnewfencinghadenoughbrokenreedssuchthatthecoveragewasbelow50%unlessonecountedtheshadeprovided
bythosebrokenreeds.
8/11/2019 Schach Mat Fencing
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ChicagoRabbinicalCouncil2701WestHowardStreetChicago,Illinois60645
7734653900www.crcweb.orgRabbiSholemFishbane,KashrusAdministrator
Pricing
Duringthe2013/5774Succosseason,wepricedafewlocalandinternetalternativesforschachandfound
that:(a)matsspecificallycertifiedforSuccahuse,cost7to11timesasmuchpersquarefootastheones
recommended inthisdocument,7and(b)storesspecificallycateringtoSuccahneedswereselling loose
bamboopolesforapproximately1335%cheaperpersquarefootthanHomeDepot.8 [Pricecomparisons
donotincludeshippingcharges. Squarefootcoverageprovidedbythedifferentalternativesisestimated.]
7MatFencingrecommendedinthisdocumentsellsfor$0.200.25persquarefoot,andcertifiedschachmatsweresellingfor$1.41$2.19persquare
foot.8HomeDepotwassellingbundlesofloosepolesfor$3.203.40persquarefoot,andstorescateringtoSuccahneedsweresellingbundlesfor$2.40
2.80persquarefoot.
Recommended