In 2009, 16-year-old Levi Duchman had a zany idea: Why not build a mobile sukkah—one pulled by a bike? It was a concept that made sense to a teenager, and it turned out not to be so zany. Today, pedi-sukkahs spin their wheels in dozens of cities in four different countries.

The sukkah—an outdoor wood or canvas booth covered with a thatched roof—is an integral part of the eight-day holiday of Sukkot, which begins on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 18. It’s where Jews eat, study, pray and generally spend their time the entire week. For those who don’t have their own sukkah, a pedi-sukkah allows visitors the chance to eat something inside and wave the four different kinds of plants, or Four Species, represented by the lulav and etrog as prayers are recited.

“The concept has really developed in waves,” says Duchman between phone calls from Chabad emissaries placing last-minute orders for vehicles of their own. “In 2009, I saw a pedi-cab and was inspired to build the first pedi-sukkah. In 2010, I rented 10 tricycles, and we had a fleet. In time for Sukkot 2011, I purchased 10 tricycles of my own, and we doubled our numbers. Now, there are between 30 and 40 pedi-sukkahs in places like Portland, Oregon, and as far away as Brussels, Belgium.”

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It has evolved as well. While Duchman’s first models sported lattice-like sukkahs built on heavy wooden frames, which required extensive assembly work every year, those now in use are made of canvas mesh that the wind can blow through. And they can be assembled without a single tool.

The new design is the result of a partnership between Duchman and Wayne Sosin, president of Worksman Cycles, which has been producing cargo bikes, industrial bikes and adult tricycles since the turn of the 20th century.

Even though many of the 25,000 vehicles they turn out annually are used to transport cargo, crafting a platform that would be stable enough for people to step on and off proved challenging. The problem was neatly solved by designing a step placed at the base of the platform, which makes for easier access and a sturdier sukkah.

The company, based in Ozone Park, N.Y., also makes a deluxe model that can be propelled by a motor after a long day of pedaling.

Sosin says the pedi-sukkah is definitely one of the more unique projects he has worked on since joining the company in 1979; in fact, it required more customization than normally allowed for projects of this size.

“We have given Levi an unusual amount of freedom” to create his product, Sosin says, “because he is such a wonderful young man and because he doesn’t take no for an answer.”

Working with the craftsmen there, Duchman also designed the vehicles to be year-round “mitzvah-cycles.” On Chanukah, they can pull a menorah; before Passover, they hold matzah for distribution; at other times, they convert into tefillin booths. Duchman says they’ve even been used as a Chabad on campus kosher hot dog stand.

Making the blessings on the Four Species last year in New York.

While he was always familiar with sukkahs, Sosin says that working with Duchman has taught him a lot more about halachic requirements for sukkah construction.

As far back as Roman times, the ancient sages of Israel taught that it was permissible to build a sukkah on a boat, chariot or even on the back of a camel. They also established that a sukkah must be at least 10 handbreadths tall. Yet it is hard to imagine that anyone foresaw the same laws being applied alongside those of aerodynamics to design a sukkah on wheels.