Home News Tribune Online 10/4/06
By REBECCA LERNER
STAFF WRITER
rlerner7@gannett.com
MONROE — Jacob Roitman swings the hammer down hard on a bamboo reed. Standing atop a metal ladder, he pauses to steady himself, then takes four quick thwacks at the nail. The bamboo bends from the strain.
Roitman, 60, of East Brunswick was building a hut, called a sukkah, that is central to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
"It's a mitzvah (good deed)," he said, working under a cloudless autumn sky.
Beginning Friday, Sukkot marks seven days of feasts and togetherness. The sukkah, a temporary structure, recalls the kind of hut Jews lived in during the biblical 40 years they wandered in the desert. It also has deeper significance.
"The sukkah surrounds the whole person, from the intellect all the way down to the physical body, with holiness and the message of unity," said Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky of the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroe. "We're recognizing that God is always on top of us and protecting us."
A gentle breeze cut across the grassy expanse that doubles as the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroe and the rabbi's backyard. The 3-acre site is lined with evergreen trees, nestled between a horse farm and corn fields.
Roitman worked yesterday with fellow volunteer Albert Tyberg, 66, of Monroe to assemble the roof of the rectangular structure. After they finish nailing the bamboo across the pine beams, they will weave in evergreen branches and corn husks. The walls, made of beaded pine panels, will be decorated with ornaments, children's drawings, leaves and streamers.
Tyberg, the son of Holocaust survivors, said his effort is a matter of heritage. "It's my background, my upbringing. I believe what the Bible says," Tyberg explained. "It's a commandment."
At 14 by 24 feet, the sukkah is the size of a small room. The rabbi is anticipating hundreds of guests next week, area residents who will stop by to eat in the hut, socialize and reflect.
"It's a community sukkah," the rabbi said. "People are very excited about it. Many people living here are looking to participate in Sukkot but don't have the ability to build their own sukkah."
As part of its Sukkot celebration, the center will have a barbecue party in the sukkah from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday and a women-only soup-tasting event 1 p.m. on Oct. 11.
By REBECCA LERNER
STAFF WRITER
rlerner7@gannett.com
MONROE — Jacob Roitman swings the hammer down hard on a bamboo reed. Standing atop a metal ladder, he pauses to steady himself, then takes four quick thwacks at the nail. The bamboo bends from the strain.
Roitman, 60, of East Brunswick was building a hut, called a sukkah, that is central to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
"It's a mitzvah (good deed)," he said, working under a cloudless autumn sky.
Beginning Friday, Sukkot marks seven days of feasts and togetherness. The sukkah, a temporary structure, recalls the kind of hut Jews lived in during the biblical 40 years they wandered in the desert. It also has deeper significance.
"The sukkah surrounds the whole person, from the intellect all the way down to the physical body, with holiness and the message of unity," said Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky of the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroe. "We're recognizing that God is always on top of us and protecting us."
A gentle breeze cut across the grassy expanse that doubles as the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroe and the rabbi's backyard. The 3-acre site is lined with evergreen trees, nestled between a horse farm and corn fields.
Roitman worked yesterday with fellow volunteer Albert Tyberg, 66, of Monroe to assemble the roof of the rectangular structure. After they finish nailing the bamboo across the pine beams, they will weave in evergreen branches and corn husks. The walls, made of beaded pine panels, will be decorated with ornaments, children's drawings, leaves and streamers.
Tyberg, the son of Holocaust survivors, said his effort is a matter of heritage. "It's my background, my upbringing. I believe what the Bible says," Tyberg explained. "It's a commandment."
At 14 by 24 feet, the sukkah is the size of a small room. The rabbi is anticipating hundreds of guests next week, area residents who will stop by to eat in the hut, socialize and reflect.
"It's a community sukkah," the rabbi said. "People are very excited about it. Many people living here are looking to participate in Sukkot but don't have the ability to build their own sukkah."
As part of its Sukkot celebration, the center will have a barbecue party in the sukkah from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday and a women-only soup-tasting event 1 p.m. on Oct. 11.
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