103 Unique Jews: Bringing the Mitzvos of Sukkos to Jews Across the Amazon
In the heart of the Amazon, this Sukkos, we decided to go all out and give every Jew we could reach an opportunity to experience the mitzvos of the Yom Tov.
A few weeks ago, we were sitting around the table discussing how we could do even more than we had done in previous years. We send lulavim throughout the Amazon and visit people, but the number 100 came to mind.
The goal wasn’t 100 lulav shakes. We get that every year, often even more. People come to the Beit Chabad, shake the lulav one day, and perhaps return another day. This time, we wanted something different: 100 unique Jews, each given the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of shaking the lulav.
To make it happen, we divided into three teams. We rented a pickup truck and went out to visit people, while another team operated from the Beit Chabad. Baruch Hashem, community members got excited about the mission and helped become part of the team.
For at least six hours a day, everyone was involved in mivtzoim. The entire family and community took part, working together toward the same goal. People wanted to help us reach the goal, and the result was even better than we had hoped: 103 unique Jews reached just in the Amazon!
Along the way, we experienced a moment that felt like a real miracle.
The mobile sukkah was parked on the side of a busy road when a motorcyclist was showing off, lifting the front wheel of his motorcycle. He lost control, fell, and struck a tire of our sukkah mobile. The motorcycle and driver continued skidding away. Yet there wasn’t a single scratch on the car, and, more importantly, nobody was hurt. My children were right there.
We were on a mission, and within ten minutes, the spare tire was on and mivtzoim continued.
Bringing Sukkos to Fortaleza and Jericoacoara
The effort to reach Jews extended beyond Manaus. My son, Mendy Raichman, and my nephew, also named Mendy Raichman, traveled to Fortaleza and Jericoacoara to bring the experience of Sukkos to Jews in those locations.
With the guidance of Yoni Raskin, former owner of PopUp Sukkah, they were able to bring a mobile sukkah from the United States for mivtzoim. The sukkah was set up in both Fortaleza and Jericoacoara, giving Jews in these locations an opportunity to experience Sukkos and fulfill its mitzvos.
Even arranging the trip came with an amusing complication. Since both travelers had exactly the same name, buying their plane tickets became a challenge. In the end, they had to use only part of each name to get the tickets booked!
Reaching 100
When we reached 70, I began to wonder whether we would have enough time to reach our goal of 100. I contacted people we had previously tried to reach but hadn’t managed to connect with. By following up a second and even a third time, we were able to reach more people.
Meanwhile, word spread about our goal. More people heard what we were trying to accomplish and came to the Beit Chabad themselves to shake the lulav, making it easier for us to reach our target.
Baruch Hashem, on Hoshana Rabbah, we reached our goal and even exceeded it, finishing with 103 unique Jews. Many members of the community were in awe!
The experience reminded us never to set limits on what we can accomplish. The mission is often greater than ourselves, and that is what keeps us going beyond our expectations.
