Sukkah Mobile takes holiday to the streets

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On a gray, overcast afternoon on Oct. 1, Mendel Oster stood on the corner of Johnson Avenue and West 235th Street, holding a citron in one hand and a palm frond tied with myrtle and willow in the other.

Mr. Oster approached passersby to ask to if they were Jewish, and if they answered yes, he invited them to hold the citron and the frond to perform the daily mitzvah, or commandment, for Sukkot.

The holiday commemorates the 40 years described in the Bible when the Jewish people wandered the desert after their exile from Egypt. During Sukkot, Jews traditionally build temporary wooden structures outside called sukkahs, which signify the huts their ancestors lived in during their time in the desert. As part of the holiday, people are required to eat and sleep in the sukkah — weather permitting.

But for many people — especially in New York City — building a hut is just not feasible. That’s where the Sukkah Mobile comes in.

The Sukkah Mobile is a pick-up truck with a wooden hut in the vehicle’s bed. The sides read “Welcome to the Sukkah Mobile, Chabad Lubavitch wishes you a happy Sukkot” in bright, hand-painted letters. Staffed with young men and boys, the Sukkah Mobiles — there are several — travel around New York City to offer a place for people to eat and pray during Sukkot.

Rabbi Levi Shemtov of Chabad Lubavitch of Riverdale has brought the Sukkah Mobile from Brooklyn for the past 14 years. For 10 years before that, the Chabad of Riverdale made their own Sukkah Mobile. He explained one of the tenets his organization is to make Judaism available to everyone.

“So we bring the Sukkah Mobile to bring the beauty of the Jewish holiday into the streets,” he said.

Mr. Oster, 22, said the Sukkah Mobile is a great option for people who live in apartments, or who otherwise cannot build their own sukkahs.

“Some Jews don’t have one at home, or they’re a little bit too far away from home,” he said. “This gives them a chance [to participate].”

Sukkot is quite a turn from the solemn holiday of Yom Kippur.

“This is a holiday of joy,” explained Mr. Oster. “And the most joyful part is to celebrate it with other Jewish people around, it makes me happy.”

Sukkot, sukkah, Sukkah Mobile, Chabad Lubavitch, Chabad Lubavitch of Riverdale, Levi Shemtov, Isabel Angell
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