DOES A SUKKAH NEED WIFI?

Does a Sukkah Need WiFi?

A Usable Sukkah

A sukkah needs to be usable. Rav Moshe Isserles (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 640:4) writes that a sukkah in which you cannot do certain basic things is an invalid sukkah. For example, if you cannot sleep in a specific sukkah, then it is invalid for all uses and you may not eat in it either. Presumably, this would invalidate most sidewalk sukkos that restaurants put up in city business districts, where it is quite dangerous at night. However, Mishnah Berurah (ad loc., 20) quotes some authorities who disagree and allow such a sukkah. According to Rema, does a sukkah today need WiFi?

I ask this because many people cannot take vacation from work for all of Sukkos. They have to work on some or all of Chol Hamoed. However, particularly since the changes to work habits caused by the pandemic, many people will work from home during Sukkos. Do they need to work in their sukkah? If they do, they probably need WiFi in their sukkah so they can work. If so, a lack of WiFi might raise questions about the validity of the sukkah of someone who needs to work on Chol Hamoed, at least according to Rema.

Mundane Conversation

Are you allowed to work in your sukkah? Throughout the holiday, you are supposed to live in the sukkah and go through all your usual activities as if it was your house. However, you must maintain the holiness of the sukkah, for example by removing garbage and dirty dishes. Rema (ibid., 639:1) says that you should not do any disrespectful activities in the sukkah. Mishnah Berurah (ad loc., 2) quotes Maharil (Sefer Maharil, Hilchos Sukkah, no. 19) who says that if you want to chat with a friend, you should converse in the sukkah. Similarly, Rav Ya’akov (Mahari) Weil (Responsa, no. 191) says that if you want to play a game of dice (presumably in a permissible way), you should play in the sukkah. Mishnah Berurah then quotes Rav Yeshayahu Horowitz (Shelah) who says that you should minimize your mundane conversation in the sukkah. Ideally, you should only discuss Torah matters in the sukkah, but you certainly should avoid forbidden talk like gossip.

Which is correct? Should you do all your talking in the sukkah or just Torah matters? What about work? Should you work in your house rather than your sukkah, to maintain its holiness by avoiding mundane activity and conversation? Or should you work in your sukkah, if possible? Literally, mundane conversation is translated into Hebrew as sichas chullin. What constitutes sichas chullin? The Gemara (Yoma 19b) says that there is an obligation (most say of rabbinic origin) to speak about Torah and, by implication, an obligation to speak about mundane matters. Are we really required to avoid all mundane conversations?

In his commentary to Avos (1:16), in the context of discussing the value of silence, Rambam differentiates between five types of speech, which I rearrange here into declining order. Some words are obligations, like prayer and Torah study (category #1). Some are proper (#2), which includes praise of good behavior and attributes, and denigration of negative attitudes. Also within this category are stories about the righteous and denigration of the wicked. Some speech is optional (#3) — details about life, food, business, etc. A further category (#4) is inadvisable, which includes meaningless stories and the denigration of specific attitudes and character traits. And some words are forbidden (#5), like false testimony and slander (category two).

Of Rambam’s five categories, one (#1) is obligatory (not sichas chullin), two (#2 and #3) are positive or neutral forms of sichas chullin, one (#5) is prohibited explicitly and the final category (#4) is sichas chullin that is disallowed by this positive commandment. Similarly, Rav Avraham Gombiner (Magen Avraham 156:2) quotes this positive commandment as disallowing “insulting matters and lightheadedness.”

Work in a Sukkah

What is permitted in a sukkah and what is forbidden? It seems that the category of sichas chullin that constitutes frivolous speech and behavior (#4), such as playing dice, is allowed but discouraged. If you are going to do them on Sukkos, you should do them in a sukkah. The worst type of sichas chullin, that of forbidden speech (#5), defiles the sanctity of a sukkah and may not be said inside one. This requires being careful not to allow forbidden images, words and songs into your sukkah. However, the middle category, that of neutral speech (#3), seems completely allowed in a sukkah. While Shelah recommends speaking only obligatory or praiseworthy speech in a sukkah (#1 & #2), if you need to discuss business (#3), you should do it in a sukkah.

Therefore, it would seem that if you have to work from home, you should set up a workstation in your sukkah. If that requires WiFi, then you should make sure your WiFi extends to your sukkah and use it only for things that are permissible in a sukkah. It might even be true that according to Rema, your sukkah is invalid if you cannot work inside it but have to work from home on Chol Hamoed. However, according to Mishnah Berurah, even though you should be able to work from your sukkah, if for whatever reason you cannot, your sukkah is still kosher.