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Sukkot holiday winds down By SUSAN DeROSIA Ashland Daily Tidings There's a new rabbi in town. You may have seen him this week driving a car hauling a flatbed trailer carrying a little house with lattice walls and a roof of pine branches. He's Rabbi Avi Zwiebel and he's hauling his "sukkah" around the valley to share the celebration of Sukkot, the Jewish season of rejoicing, with those who can't make it to a synagogue. While the name Sukkot is probably not as familiar to non-Jews as other Jewish holidays, the concept is nearly as old as Moses. During the 7-day holiday, which this year began on the evening of Oct. 10 and ended last night, Jews are encouraged to spend as much time as possible outdoors in a temporary structure called a sukkah - a hut or booth. The walls have to be strong enough to withstand the wind, but impermanent, like Zwiebel's lattice walls. The roof is supposed to be even more fragile and can be covered with vegetation: pine branches, bamboo mats, tree clippings, anything that allows sunlight, starlight, even a little rain to penetrate. The sukkah symbolizes how precarious existence is. In ancient agricultural communities, Israeli migrant farmers would build huts for different purposes: to store food, to keep animals, or as temporary homes where the whole family would eat and sleep. They also represent the minimal shelter and fragile existence the Jews experienced for forty years in the desert after fleeing from Egypt. Zwiebel moved to the Rogue Valley with his wife Faigy and his daughter Bialy in September to establish the Chabad Jewish Center of Ashland. He describes Chabad as a worldwide network, the biggest Jewish educational organization, with over 300 members. By bringing the portable sukkah around to retirement homes, public places and private homes, Zwiebel is trying to reach Jewish people who haven't had the opportunity to celebrate the mitzvah, or commandment, of Sukkot. "This is another way of bringing tradition alive to members of the Jewish community," he said. "There are thousands of Jews not affiliated with a synagogue. I believe people are hungry and yearning for spirituality and by reaching out to them with unconditional love, they respond," he continued. At each stop, Zwiebel shares light refreshments and a blessing, using a traditional combination of plants, symbolic of four different kinds of attributes or personalities, "Four Species", made of branches of myrtle, willow and palm woven together and a fruit native to Israel called an etrog, or citron, a lemon-like fruit with a thick, aromatic rind. While Zwiebel is of the orthodox branch of Judaism, he says the other Ashland rabbis have been very accepting. Rabbi Marc Sirinsky of Temple Emek Shalom has welcomed Zwiebel. While his synagogue is known as part of the liberal movement and affiliated with the reform movement, Sirinsky said that the difference between denominations in Judaism is much less distinct than with Christian churches. Describing Judaism as "postdenominational," he said, "I think that denominations pigeonhole people more." "We share a similar desire to do outreach of unaffiliated Jews." Sirinsky added that he was pleased to be able to loan Zwiebel a key component for tonight's service, a Sefer Torah, the written scroll of the five books of Moses. Tonight's festival is called Simchat Torah, or The Joy of the Torah. It celebrates the joy of finishing a cycle of reading the Torah and also the beginning of another cycle. The celebration includes dancing with the Torah itself. Rabbi David Zaslow is at Havurah Shir Hadash, which means literally, fellowship of the new song. The congregation is described as a Jewish renewal community. Zaslow said that in Judaism there is much more fluidity between denominations. He described Zwiebel and his organization, Chabad, as having a unique mission. "They are missionaries within the Jewish world. Instead of 'outreach' they do 'inreach,' bringing Jewish people back to their Jewish roots." "I think in terms of service as far as Jewish people are concerned, Rabbi Avi will be able to help connect with people who can't get to synagogue - not in the synagogue - but with home practices." Both Temple Emek Shalom and Havurah Shir Hadash have built sukkahs that the two communities have been using during Sukkot. At Havurah Shir Hadash, Rabbi David Zaslow said that families have been coming by all week to have meals in the sukkah. The sukkah is wide in front and tapers to a back wall with a wooden Star of David. The open space is filled with tables and chairs, and the roof supports are decorated with leafy branches and small hand-painted banners, with a soft, straw floor. Zaslow said the symbolism for him is of "a portable tabernacle." "It's to teach us that our lives are vulnerable. Even though we may have fancy homes we could lose it all if it weren't for God's grace," he said. For Temple Emek Shalom this year's Sukkot has a special element of joyfulness because it has been their first year in their new home on East Main Street. Tucked behind the expansive new structure is a courtyard and a sukkah, a large outdoor space with willow branches for curtains and pine boughs on the roof. The walls are festooned with handmade decorations. For Rabbi Marc Sirinsky the succah is a dwelling place of peace. "One lingers outdoors to be more in touch with the seasons. It's a harvest festival of not only material sustenance but of inner growth." He stresses his wish that it "express great hospitality. I hope that people of all faiths and denominations and traditions would feel comfortable not only in our sukkah, but in our synagogue." All three rabbis have issued invitations to members of the community - whether Jewish or not - to come and join in the celebration of Simchat Torah, dancing with the Torah. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -