It's a wilderness out there, Sam; take shelter for the day

October 23, 2005Sometime around 8 o'clock this morning, rabbis Yossi Lipsker, Alti Bukiet, and Asher Bronstein will drive up to the foot of the Sam Adams statue at Faneuil Hall and start building a sukkah.

Constructing a sukkah -- a temporary dwelling -- during the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot is a biblical commandment that Jews have been observing since the Exodus. And, while sukkahs have long been fixtures in synagogue courtyards and in congregants' backyards, this is a first for Faneuil Hall.

''We feel that the motif and the theme of the sukkah resonates beautifully with the birthplace of freedom in America," says Lipsker, who along with Bukiet and Bronstein, set up an educational center last year at 10 Milk St. to teach Torah, Talmud, and Judaism in general.

The three Hasidic rabbis are part of Chabad-Lubavitch, one of the world's largest Jewish outreach organizations, born more than 200 years ago in Ukraine. Much of Chabad's scholarship is based on mystical Jewish tracts and the stories of the Baal Shem Tov, who founded the Hasidic movement in the 18th century.

By 10 a.m. the rabbis expect to have the canvas and metal-framed sukkah constructed. From noon to 3 p.m., a rock band will perform, and kosher hot dogs and soda will be served. The goal, however, says Lipsker, will be to usher people inside the sukkah to assist them in observing the holiday commandment of saying a Hebrew prayer. Lipsker believes that there's an inherent mysticism of spending time in the sukkah. Says Lipsker, ''We realize how fragile life is when we're exposed to the elements and we learn not to take anything for granted."