Minimum Size Succah
Question
A neighbor has a very small succah and when I asked if it’s big enough he told me that even 7×7 handbreadths width and length, and 10 handbreadths tall, is kosher for the mitzvah. How is this possible, since the mitzvah is to dwell there for seven days, and who dwells in a house that is that small!?
Answers
Good question! I agree that such a small area would not be considered a comfortable dwelling area, but it could serve as a temporary dwelling area. A succah is a temporary type of dwelling, a place a person should be able to manage to live in for the seven days of the Festival. It is fine to make it bigger, roomier and more comfortable, and it is even a good idea to do so if possible – especially if one wants to have guests! However, those are the minimum requirements for a succah to be kosher for fulfilling the mitzvah of dwelling in a succah.
In a similar fashion, the Torah states to put a mezuzah on a “bayit” – a room or home. Our Sages teach that the minimum size of a room that is called a “bayit” is four amot (cubits) by four amot (about 6 ft. by 6 ft.). That is not necessarily a space in which a person can live in comfortably, but it is nevertheless is big enough to be considered what the Torah calls a “bayit” and would therefore require a mezuzah.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team