We’re Deaf and Do Mivtzoim

By Yehoshua Soudakoff

Obviously, in Lubavitch, doing mivtzoim during Sukkos is nothing unique. Countless Jews all over the world have been touched by the mere(!) shaking of the lulav and esrog.

But this year, I think something unique did happen over Sukkos.

My chavrusa, Isser Lubecki, and I made our way to Washington, D.C., right after Shabbos Chol Hamoed ended and spent the next forty eight hours on mivtzoim mode.

First on our agenda was a Sukkos party organized by the local Jewish deaf community of the D.C. area (the organization is known as the WSJD – Washington Society of the Jewish Deaf).

The event had about 40 people in attendance, and a kosher lunch was provided. It was our honor to be able to attend the party and add to the event by giving a short Sukkos-themed dvar Torah. And this was in addition to shaking the lulav with the attendees and signing the brochos in sign language.

Oh, did I mention that my chavrusa and I are both deaf? Yeah, that might have probably been why they were delighted to meet us. (“Oh, wow! Deaf rabbinical students! We might need you down here after you graduate…”)

Anyways, that evening, we made a short detour in our itinerary to stop by at the house of a friend we knew, and convinced him to come out of his home and dance in the streets. After all, who ever said Simchas Beis Hashoevah was only for Kingston Avenue?

The next day saw us spending nearly the whole day walking around the Gallaudet University campus. No, we were not looking for the admissions office (though we’re still not sure where it is). The school is known as the only deaf university in the world; everyone there communicates in sign language. And so that’s why it took two deaf bochurim to be able to convince the Jews there to do some lulav-shaking.

At seven that evening, we had another event up our sleeves. This time, it was a “movie night”, where we had an on-campus viewing of an Israeli movie called Ushpizin. If the lulav and esrog weren’t enough to give the place a taste of Sukkos, the movie did. As soon as the rolling credits appeared on the screen, there was a short wrap-up discussion with the group, which was made up of about twenty people.

Among the quotable questions they asked:
“How much can an esrog really cost?”
“What are those fur hats?”
“What’s the big deal with the pitom?”
“How do you build a sukkah?”
“Why do we shake the lulav?”
“How long is the holiday?”

Just from their questions, it was clear that they were never really exposed to the holiday before, and it was a wonderful opportunity for us to change the situation (for them, at least). If they came walking in knowing nothing about Sukkos, we could confidently say that they didn’t walk out the same way.

So, to sum it up all, we accomplished quite a bit in D.C.: eating and learning in the sukkah, dancing in the streets, and shaking the lulav with many deaf Yidden.

Sukkos is the holiday of achdus (as we see many times in the maamorim of the Rebbeim). In addition to the biblical name of the holiday (“Chag Ha’asif – holiday of the gathering”), each and every one of the four species has a connection to the theme of unity. Ditto for the sukkah that surrounds us from head to toe. So I think it was the perfect time of the year for the Rebbe’s mivtzoim to now expand to include a segment of the Jewish nation that went unnoticed before. Now, that’s true achdus!

Before I end, I want to thank Rabbi Levi Shemtov of American Friends of Lubavitch in D.C. for sponsoring our trip from beginning to end, Rabbi Berel Wolvovsky and his family for hosting us, and the WSJD for their gracious reception and Gallaudet Hillel for their close collaboration. With their help, we were able to bring the light of Sukkos to more Jews than before.