Q On Sukot, we use a roll of a plastic sheet as a shlack to cover the suka when raining. Does the width of the roll count for the tefach (10 cm.) needed to be spread out before Yom Tov?
A. Covering a suka with a plastic sheet or tarp may involve creating an ohel or tent which is prohibited during Shabbos and Yom Tov (as transgressing the boneh or building prohibition). Shulchan Aruch (O.H. 315: 2) rules that if the cover was extended over a tefach before Shabbos began, it is permitted to continue extending it. However, the thickness of the roll itself does not count for the tefach needed. (See Mishna Berura 16, also Chaye Adam who explains that the thickness of the roll is not placed with intent for cover).
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as advised by Horav Shlomo and Horav Aharon Miller Shlit’a