Menorah-Cycle Turns Heads in Montreal’s Mile End

When Rabbi Yudi Winterfeld, director of Chabad of Mile End, ordered the “pedi-Sukkah” from a company in upstate New York, he didn’t expect such positive response in Outremont, an area where Chassidim and their neighbours appear to be at odds with one another. He also initially thought that when the Sukkos holiday would finish, he would throw the pedi-Sukkah, a Sukkah connected to a bicycle, into storage.

However, as he biked through the streets during the course of the holiday, he had positive conversations with unaffiliated Jews and non-Jews and was able to answer questions, break down barriers, and perform the Mitzvah of shaking the Lulav with many secular Jews.

Just after Sukkos, Winterfeld ordered the Menorah-cycle, a colorful canvas structure shaped like a Dreidel which can be easily attached to the trailer behind the custom-made tricycle. Inside the structure is storage space to keep pamphlets and Chanukah packages (which include a Menorah, candles, and a set of instructions) as well as a luminescent light which makes the Menorah-cycle glow, and on top of the Dreidel is place to install colorful, custom-designed candles on a Menorah.

Throughout his “Chanukah exercise,” stopped to stare at the image of a Rabbi in hat and jacket pedaling up St Laurent and down Parc Avenue. Many snapped photos, others approached Winterfeld with questions.

“We had a project where the people from our community volunteered to give out Menorah kits to their friends, everyone was very excited to be part of it,” said Rabbi Winterfeld. “There were also quite a few individuals from the Chassidic community in Outremont and the Plateau who handed Menorahs to their non-Chassidic neighbors. Everyone was we engaged, making a big Kiddush Hashem.”

In total, several hundred Menorahs were given out to secular Jews, and more than 50 of them through the Menorah-cycle, including a man who told Rabbi Winterfeld that he’s Roman Catholic and his mother is Jewish. The Rabbi took down his information and handed the man a Chanukah package.

“Because of the Menorah-Cycle, we were able to reach a lot of people who never knew about us,” concluded Winterfeld. “We invited them to our Chanukah party, for Shabbos, and to our Torah classes. And we were able to have positive dialogue with our non-Jewish neighbors too.”

The Menorah-cycle has been placed back into storage for now. But only temporarily. Purim is only a few months away, and his tricycle has only one axle rendering it safe for use in Outremont. How do you think he’s going to deliver Mishloach Manos?