Wanaque Rabbi Brings Sukkot to the Streets

NorthJersey.com

Rabbi Mendy Gurkov, on right, with the driver of the Sukkah Mobile outside the Suburban Trends office on Main Street, Butler this past Wednesday, Oct. 3.

If the sight of a white pickup truck driving around with a big wooden box built onto its bed made you look twice last Wednesday, rest assured, you weren’t seeing things.

It was a “Sukkah Mobile” being commandeered through local towns by Rabbi Mendy Gurkov, spiritual leader of the Chabad Jewish Center of Upper Passaic County located in Wanaque. Rabbi Mendy rented the truck in order to bring the Jewish holiday of Sukkot to members of the community.

Sukkot is a Biblical holiday lasting seven days.

Also called the Feast of Tabernacles, it is a harvest celebration and a time for rejoicing. Sukkot is the plural of sukkah, a Hebrew word meaning “booth.” In relation to the holiday, the sukkah is a temporary shelter meant to recall the dwellings lived in by the Israelites after their exodus from slavery in Egypt.

It is tradition to spend time during Sukkot in the sukkah as a reminder of the shelter that God provided the Jewish people during their 40 years in the desert. Throughout the holiday, meals are eaten inside it. Some people choose to read or sleep in it as well. The sukkah is a symbol of Jewish unity.

When Rabbi Mendy brought the Sukkah Mobile by the Suburban Trends office, he explained why it is necessary to have a sukkah on wheels. “Many people don’t have the space or the time to create their own sukkah,” he said. “So this is a way for them to enjoy the holiday experience.”

A stepstool stood ready to assist anyone who might wish to go into the sukkah. Folding chairs were set up inside it as well.

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