Mobile hut brings Jewish holiday to Chapel Hill

Rabbi Zalman Bluming knows that in a fast-paced world, it can be difficult to find time for religion.

Bluming said he was trying to combat this problem with the Triangle’s first mobile sukkah, an open hut that symbolizes unity during the Jewish holiday Sukkot. The mobile sukkah is sponsored by Rohr Chabad, a Jewish organization on UNC and Duke campuses.

“Our goal is to make Judaism accessible and relevant,” Bluming said. “We want to make Judaism like Papa John’s. We are delivering spirituality to people’s doorstep and removing barriers.”

Bluming is planning to take the mobile sukkah to places where people might not otherwise have access to a stationary sukkah. The mobile sukkah traveled to senior centers, medical centers and college campuses in the area to bring the Sukkot celebration to everyone, according to a press release from Rohr Chabad.

It is this accessibility that draws students like Lily Broming, a member of the chabad and a UNC junior economics major, to the sukkah.

“It’s great to be able to stop by any time and they are like family,” Broming said.

The mobile sukkah had more than 100 participants in Chapel Hill Monday, said Bluming. The sukkah will travel to Cary on Wednesday and Raleigh on Thursday.

The mobile sukkah was set up in the bed of a pick-up truck. Participants climbed into the truck and received blessings given by the rabbi. They said prayers and blessed a small snack, Bluming said.

The sukkah is a large part of the weeklong Jewish holiday, Sukkot. The holiday is also known as the Festival of Booths.

Sukkot celebrates the Jewish belief that God was present to the Hebrews when they left Egypt.

Bluming said after more introspective holidays like Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot is a time for celebration and to be festive.

A kosher sukkah must have two-and-a-half walls to represent each arm in a human hug, Bluming said.

He said the hut symbolizes the need to appreciate the fragility of life and the roof is porous to represent there is no normal security in life.

“This shows that faith provides an anchor through the storm,” Bluming said.

This idea to make religion mobile is not new to the Rohr Chabad organization.

“Most of us are on the go which is a test of faith,” Bluming said. “I congratulate students who can tap in for five minutes and be connected.”

For a holiday that has been celebrated in the same way for thousands of years, Bluming said he thought this holiday has been time-tested.

“Judaism is about a journey, not a destination,” Bluming said.

“We try to bring holiness into the everyday, the mundane.”

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