IDF Rabbis Rule Drone Netting Above Sukkot Shelters Permissible

As the Sukkot holiday approaches, Israeli military rabbis have addressed a unique halachic (Jewish law) question concerning the permissibility of building sukkot, traditional holiday shelters, under drone-protection netting deployed at military bases. These nets, installed for security purposes to prevent drone incursions, also cover areas where sukkot are erected.

While safety is paramount, with rabbis emphasizing that no sukkah should be built or occupied in a dangerous location, the primary concern is the halachic status of the netting. Jewish law generally prohibits a sukkah built under another covering, such as a sheet, if it is more than four handbreadths high, a concept known as 'sukkah under a sukkah.' Additionally, there's a concern regarding 'levud,' where separate invalid roofing materials can combine to form a continuous invalid roof if spaced closely enough.

However, leading rabbis have determined that the drone-protection netting does not invalidate the sukkah for several reasons. Firstly, the netting is not intended for shade and has many holes, meaning its "permeability is greater than its shade" and "what is open is greater than what is closed," thus not disqualifying it as roofing material on its own. Secondly, many contemporary halachic authorities do not follow the stringent opinion of the Bach regarding 'levud' with thin materials. Thirdly, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, citing the Ritba, argued that the 'levud' prohibition applies only to roof beams, not to thin threads or ropes like those in netting, which are inherently open.

Finally, the thin threads of the netting do not combine to form the required four handbreadths of invalid roofing. Therefore, rabbis have ruled that where it is safe and permitted to build a sukkah, the drone-protection netting above it does not disqualify it. Soldiers can fulfill the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah, including eating, sleeping, and reciting blessings, without reservation.