With the nor’easter coming this week, can I tie down my schach with zip ties?

Schach has to be able to hold up to ordinary wind throughout Sukkos. If it can’t, the Sukkah isn’t kosher, even if an ordinary wind never comes.

If your schach wouldn’t hold up to a normal wind, it needs to be secured. Ideally, use wood beams or extra green schach to weigh it down, or tie it with unprocessed material, since schach shouldn’t be secured with something that is mekabel tumah. Raffia is best, and unprocessed string like jute also works. But if all you have is zip ties, use them. Schach held down with zip ties is kosher b’dieved, which is far better than a Sukkah that isn’t kosher at all.

If your schach can handle ordinary wind, just not a storm like this, the Sukkah is kosher as is. Still, it makes sense to secure it anyway (again, preferably with wood or raffia, and zip ties if necessary) so that you still have a Sukkah once the storm passes.

If the schach blows off to the point that the Sukkah is no longer kosher, it must be fixed before the Sukkah is used again. On Chol Hamoed, simply fix it. On Shabbos or Yom Tov it may not be fixed, but if you have nowhere else to eat, you may have a non-Jew fix it.

If the schach only shifted a bit and the Sukkah is still kosher, it may be put back in place. On Shabbos and Yom Tov, however, schach is muktzah, so it may only be moved back using your elbows or feet, not your hands.

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