Congregation Hakafa "Hits the Road" for Sukkot

Free-standing sukkahs, open-sided structures that are a tradition of the Jewish harvest festival called Sukkot, were visible outside many North Shore area synagogues this October. For one local congregation without a synagogue, the holiday can present a unique challenge. Where do you build the sukkah?

This year, Congregation Hakafa decided to take Sukkot on the road – literally. The congregation rented a small moving truck and erected the traditional Sukkah inside it. Hakafa members and staff drove the Sukkah throughout the North Shore, stopping in members’ driveways to shake the lulav – a traditional collection of harvest greens and fruits – sing, schmooze and nosh together. The “Sukkah-on-Wheels” stopped at nine homes in Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Northbrook, Deerfield and Highland Park and attracted dozens of members – and curious neighbors.

A member of the Union of Reform Judaism, Hakafa, which means “an encirclement of friends,” chooses not to have a permanent building, believing it is better to invest in people, not property. Religious and Hebrew school is held at the Glencoe Community Center, Friday Night Services are at the Winnetka Community House, high holidays are celebrated at Wilmette Junior High School, and member homes are opened for other events and holidays. Hakafa is member-driven and there is no Board of Directors. For more information, please contact Hakafa Membership Director John Thomason at vicepresident@hakafa.org . Learn more at www.Hakafa.org.