Sukkah in the Heart of Boston a Holiday Hotspot

The heart of Boston was home to a Sukkah during this year’s Sukkot holiday, thanks to the joint efforts of Chabad of Boston, the Jewish Center and Central Synagogue of Boston.

The Sukkah was located in a parking spot in Public Alley 424, right behind 146 Marlborough Street in the Back Bay, one of the city’s most prestigious neighborhoods. It was just minutes away from several of Boston’s best known parks, including the Esplanade, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, the Public Garden and Newbury Street, one of the main shopping and fashion districts in Boston.

The public was welcome to stop by the Sukkah for the duration of the Sukkot holiday, from September 18 to September 25. People gathered for services and Kiddush on September 18, 19 and 20, but the Sukkah was open for 24 hours a day.

“The idea is that it’s available throughout the holiday for people to come with their families and observe the Sukkah and lulav precept by making the blessing on the four botanical specimens,” said Mayer Zarchi, rabbi and founder of the Jewish Center and Central Synagogue. Food was available at the Sukkah as well.

The space for the Sukkah was donated by a family from a reform congregation who attended Chabad of Boston’s High Holidays services at the luxury Taj Hotel earlier this fall. Zarchi said he was determined to find a place and was very appreciative of the donation, based on how difficult space is to come by in the Back Bay. Earlier this year, for instance a parking spot sold for $860,000.

“It’s so hard to find spaces there, and it just came right on time,” Zarchi said.

Attendance at the Sukkah was extremely strong during the holiday, according to Zarchi.

“We had a flowing crowd throughout the holiday” he said. “People were coming throughout the afternoons.”

The Sukkah is meant to be representative of the tent-like structure that the Jewish people built for themselves while they were wandering through the desert after their exodus from Egypt. By staying in it for a period of time during the festival of Sukkot, modern Jews hope to reconnect with their history.

This was the first time Chabad of Boston had its Sukkah open for public use throughout the holiday. Zarchi says the Boston Sukkah will be an annual occurrence.

“We’ll be doing it every year,” he said.

For information about the organization, visit http://www.bostonchabad.org.