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In Penn Valley, One Synagogue Offers a Drive-Thru Holiday Sukkah

By Hadas Kuznits

PENN VALLEY, Pa. (CBS) -- A suburban synagogue in Montgomery County has a new way to help its congregants take part in the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Gavi Miller, executive director of Har Zion Temple, says they've built a drive-thru sukkah at the temple.

A sukkah, he explains, is a temporary structure built as part of the celebration of the ancient harvest holiday of Sukkot.  He says folks typically spend time in the sukkah eating meals, celebrating, and performing ceremonies dictated by the week-long holiday.

"One of the other commandments for the holiday is to shake a lulav; it's a palm branch with some other species of plants on the side, and there's a blessing that you say," Miller tells KYW Newsradio.  "It's a ritual that takes maybe 30 seconds to perform, and we're trying to make it a little bit more accessible for everybody."

He hopes that people take advantage of their drive-thru sukkah so they can fit the holiday celebration into their otherwise-busy schedules.

 

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