Is a funny shape (triangle, kidney, oval, est) sukkah kosher?
Thank you,
Baruch Amsel , Brooklyn NY
Yes, a funny shaped Sukah is kosher, but it must be large enough that a seven Tefachim by seven Tefachim square area could fit inside the Sukah (Shulchan Aruch, OC 634:2). Once the Sukah fulfills this condition, the entire Sukah can be used - not just the inscribed square (Mishnah Berurah, 634:3).
Kol Tuv,
Yonasan Sigler
This is not a Psak Halachah
I'm assuming the 7x7 Tefachim square area is floor space? Would the Schach area be the same? For example, could a teepee (cone) shape be a Sukah?
Yes, 7x7 Tefachim is the floor space, and, yes, the Sechach would have to be the same area.
A teepee shape for a sukah could potentially be Kosher. The following requirements would have to be met:
1) At the point of the teepee, there must be a flat surface at least one Tefach by one Tefach square (in other words, the teepee does not end at a sharp point). If not, there must be vertical walls to the teepee of at least one Tefach in height. (In other words, the sloped teepee roof would end on the top of short vertical walls.)
2) A seven (width) by seven (length) by ten (height) Tefachim cube could be inscribed inside the teepee.
3) The material of the teepee above that imaginary inscribed cube would have to be Kosher Sechach (the lower part of the teepee could be made of any material that is Kosher for walls).
See Mishnah and Gemara in Sukah 19b, and Shulchan Aruch 631:10 and Mishnah Berurah.
b'Chavod,
Yonasan Sigler
this is not a Psak Halachah