Q. My schach mats have been damaged with the years and now the blades and reeds have become separated and they can hardly be used. Can I join them together again by using straps made from organic flexible material such as hemp or lulav blades that I can glue with synthetic very strong contact glue?
A. Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit’a pointed out that Poskim disagree if glue can be used to join the blades of a lulav that have began to separate. Many permit if it is still kosher and the glue is just preventing further separation, but maintain that it cannot de used to fix a lulav that has already become posul. (Hakdama to Arbaas Haminim, Maadanei Shlomo p. 82, Piskei Teshuvos 645: 4, Nitei Gavriel p.45, et. al.).
In our case the straps of pressed, but unwoven plant material could be considered the main maamid, supporting and sustaining material of the schach and the glue basically is just holding the blades over that support, so they will not separate (See Igrois Moshe O.H. 1: 177). In reality, since usually the reeds of the schach are resting on the wooden beams across the sukka, the straps are also there mainly to space and hold them together as mats.
Therefore, Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that it should be permitted.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit’a
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