What To Do If It Rains The First Night of Sukkos

 The weather forecast for the first night of Sukkos this year is not looking promising for the Lakewood area with rain falling all day and late into the wee hours of the morning. 5 years ago in 2018 it rained the first night yuntiff.

 As people came home from shul the question was how long to wait before starting the meal. Do you hold out to chatzos hoping the weather will let up? what about the kids how late can they stay up?  Can you make a bracha of leishev ba’sukka in this weather?  Those with a shlock could unroll it and quickly make kiddush before the rain seeeps in.

For reference: 

Some  Rabbonim announced in shul not to wait more than an hour, others held out longer for a small break in the weather enough to make kiddush hamotzie and  start the meal. 

Chazal say its a סימן קללה if it rains on sukkos some say it is only referring to the first night and only applies to Eretz Yisrael. The piskei Teshuva brings down from the bikurei yaakov that according to the Rama that one can eat in the rain on the first night it is not considered a סימן קללה, to the contrary one gets more schar fr it. 

For all halachick matters consult with your LOR.

 פסקי תשובות (סי’ תרלט אות יח) . ביכורי יעקב (שם ס”ק לט) כתב כי מאחר שדעת הרמ”א שניתן לאכול בסוכה כשיורדים גשמים בלילה הראשון, הרי דווקא בלילה זה אינו סימן קללה, שהרי הוא אוכל בסוכה, ואדרבה מתוך צער, ושכרו מרובה יותר. וכן הביא בשם שו”ת זכרון יהודה (גרינוולד, סי’ קפג).