Rabbi makes "house" calls to homebound followers

Every autumn Rabbi Yosef Schtroks becomes a delivery man for a few days. 

But instead of bringing packages, he brings an opportunity to celebrate to Jews unable to travel to celebrate at events he holds at his synagogue, the Chabad Jewish Center of Olympia, which is actually in Tumwater.  There are dozens of such individuals, mostly elderly, and he'll visit all who inquire.

Around this time each year Jews observe a holiday called Sukkot, named for the symbolic structure in which they celebrate: a sukkah.  Sukkot, plural for sukkah, are temporary houses made from natural materials in which Jews gather for meals during the seven-day holiday.  Weather allowing, some sleep in the sukkah during this week. 

A sukkah is a reminder of the temporary, wilderness, shelters in which Jews lived after their liberation from ancient Egypt.  Despite the harsh times the holiday recalls, the days are typically intended to be joyous and, well, nutritious. 

Not only temporary, but mobile

Sukkot is this week -- Sept. 21-30 -- and Rabbi Schtroks has built a portable sukkah that meets all the religious requirements yet straps into the back of a small pickup truck. He takes his Sukkahmobile on the road to bring the blessings of the holiday to far-flung Jews around Thurston County. 

Many Jewish families decorate their own sukkahs with branches, colorful gourds, ornaments, strings of popcorn, even lights -- a little like their non-Jewish neighbors decorate their Christmas trees.  But these huts are big enough to hold a family. 

Some Christian denominations observe a Feast of Booths, or Festival of Tabernacles, which is based on Sukkot.  But none are known to deliver their messages via Sukkahmobile.