Dismantling, and Storing Sukkah Sechach

I am planning to dismantle the sukkah today, is there a specific order in which I should do it. Could you also give me tips on how to store the sechach so that it stays in the best condition for next year?

Thank you for your question.

Dismantling the Sukkah :

Although there is a specific order when building the sukkah, one should first build the walls and only then place the sechach. This is explained by the Mishnah Berurah in Siman 635, Se'if 9, that since the sechach must be placed with the intention of being a shelter for the sukkah. If one places the sechach before the walls are built, then the sechach alone cannot be called a shelter.

However, when it comes to removing the sechach after Yom Tov, there is no halacha specifying the order in which to dismantle the sukkah.

Sechach:

It is important to take care of the sechach in a proper manner since not only is it kavod hamitzvah to respect the item with which one performed a mitzvah, but also to ensure that the sechach is stored in a way that there won't be any problems using it next year.

There are two types of sechach.

1. Reuseble Schach.

2. Non-reuseble sechach.

Reusable Sechach:

Reusable sechach, if not stored properly, could become infested with insects like woodworms. So When using it the following year, there is a possibility that insects may fall from the infested sechach into the food while eating in the sukkah.

This is the way to properly store sechach and prevent pest infestation;

1.           1. Spray the entire sechach with a pesticide such as K2000 while it is still on the sukkah.

              2. If it rained during Sukkot, wait until the sechach is completely dry before spraying.

3.           3. Roll up the sechach and place naphthalene balls inside.

4.           4. Tightly wrap the entire roll in cling film, making sure that even the edges are sealed to create a total vacuum.

5.           5. Finally, store the wrapped sechach in a dry location.

The next year, the sechach still needs to be checked for any infestation.

This is the way to check the sechach:

Remove the cling film, and while the sechach is still rolled up, shake it by banging it down on a white material, such as a piece of paper. Then, examine the paper to see if any insects have fallen out.

If one sees bookworms, which are only a millimeter long and have a cream-grey color, then spray the entire sechach with pesticide or wash it with extremely hot water. Afterward, shake it strongly so that all the insects fall out.

However, if one sees xerophilous insects, which are generally brown and 3 mm long, then only a professional pest control expert can effectively eliminate them, as these insects can survive in very harsh conditions.

In a case where one has infested sechach and cannot either buy a new one or clean the old one as described above, one should take a decorative material and hang it directly under all the sechach.

If one only has a non-decorative material like a tablecloth, then there are poskim who allow to cover the sechach even with such a material. However, since it is disputed lehalacha, when eating in the sukkah one should not recite the blessing of "leishev ba'sukkah."

Non-reusable sechach:

One should first wrap the sechach before throwing it away. If the council offers a special pickup for sechach, one should place it outside the house in a spot where people will not tread on the sechach.

The Halacha of discarding items used for a mitzvah in a respectful manner is learned from the following Gemarah and Rema:

תלמוד בבלי מסכת מגילה דף כו עמוד ב

תנו רבנן: תשמישי מצוה - נזרקין, תשמישי קדושה - נגנזין. ואלו הן תשמישי מצוה: סוכה, לולב, שופר, ציצית. ואלו הן תשמישי קדושה: דלוסקמי ספרים, תפילין ומזוזות, ותיק של ספר תורה, ונרתיק של תפילין ורצועותיהן.

Tractate Megillah 26b

"The Sages taught: Items used for a mitzvah – may be discarded; however items used for “holiness” - must be buried (genizah). These are items that are used for a mitzvah: a sukkah, lulav, shofar, and tzitzit. And these are items used for “holiness”: coverings of Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot, a Torah scroll's case, and the bag for tefillin and their straps."

Le'halacha, the Rema writes in Siman 21, Se'if 1, that even though the Gemara writes that items used for a mitzvah may be discarded, nevertheless, since they were used for a mitzvah, one should not discard them in a disrespectful manner. Therefore, it is customary to first cover such items in a nylon bag before discarding them.

Wishing you a healthy winter.