Many of us are familiar with the Chabad presence during the festival of Sukkot – a mitzvah mobile equipped with a sound system that plays holiday music and young men offering Jews the chance to recite brakhot over the lulav and etrog. But for our colleague Eytan Hammerman, the “Pedi-Sukkah”or “Sukkah Cycle” - customized with the name of the shul – serves as a vehicle for engageing Jews in the celebration of the Fall harvest festival. The Sukkah Cycle is essentially a small sukkah (kosher, of course!) attached to the back of a bike, providing an environmentally-friendly, healthy way of promoting the holiday and sharing it with Jews who might not make their way to a “normal” sukkah.
This sukkah on wheels was the brain child of a young Chabadnik entrepreneur who came up with the concept and shipped them worldwide – 49 to Chabad centers around the world and one to a Conservative shul – the Jewish Community Center of Harrison where Eytan is the spiritual leader! Levi Deutchman – the inventor of this device - told Eytan that he asked his father if it was okay to sell one to a Conservative rabbi and his father responded that The Rebbe would have been so proud to know that a Conservative Rabbi is riding around on one of his Sukkah Cycles!
Making the Most of the Sukkah Cycle
When the Sukkah Cycle arrived just before Yom Kippur, it was placed in the shul lobby (behind velvet ropes!) during Yom Kippur tefillah to draw attention to the upcoming Sukkot festival and during the chag Eytan drove it around, spreading Sukkot cheer and helping people connect to the holiday. The cycle also spent time in the nursery and Hebrew Schools; when not in use it was parked prominently in the shul lobby; it was available for the shul kids to play with during a myriad of sukkot events; the Sukkah decorating team decorated the Cycle; it was brought to two local day schools and the students rode it around during their Sukkot celebrations. The Cycle was even featured in the local Columbus Day Parade and it made its last appearance of the season during one of the Simchat Torah Hakafot.
For Sukkot 5776, Eytan plans to park the sukkah Cycle at the local commuter rail station on a morning or two of Chol Hamoed with lulav and etrog available – “I often use the mantra that I try to “Out-Chabad Chabad.” What other ideas does Rabbi Hammerman have to enliven Jewish life in Harrison? There’s his car menorah (from www.carmenorahs.com, of course), outdoor matzah oven, commuter rail station Hol haMoed Matzah giveaways and more. Contact Eytan at any point if you’d like to adapt any of these ideas in your community and Kehillah.
Eytan told Sukkah-Cycle inventor Levi Duchman that he’d be happy to help market the cycle this year. For more information check out PediSukkah.com, complete with a video! Eytan Hammerman is at rabbihammerman@jcch.org or 914-320-4244 (cell).