Dismantling the Sukkah Before Simchat Torah
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Question
Hello and blessings! Our sukkah is located in the dining room, where we eat all year round. During Sukkot, we open the electric roof and place the schach. The question is, is it permissible to close the roof a few minutes before Simchat Torah so that we can eat there during the holiday? Also, is it permissible to dismantle the structure that holds the schach, as these iron poles are bothersome to my wife in the dining room? An important point to note: on the first day of the holiday, we were not home, and we only opened the electric roof during Chol Hamoed. This means the sukkah was not kosher at the entrance of the holiday, but was prepared for use only during Chol Hamoed.
Answer
Hello and blessings!
There is a disagreement among the poskim (Jewish legal authorities) about whether it is permissible to dismantle the sukkah during the holiday if there is no intention to use the walls and schach of the sukkah for another purpose.
Even according to those who prohibit it, there is no prohibition in closing the roof without dismantling the structure itself, especially if there is an eruv.
The entire discussion applies only when the sukkah is built at the beginning of the holiday according to its laws, but if at the entrance of the holiday it was not fit for use, the prohibition does not apply as it was not designated for prohibited use.