Why do arba minim sellers still scramble to get a table in the Shuk?
Hear vendors loudly hawking their holy wares; watch men poring over hundreds of arba minim sets, squinting and scrubbing and scrutinizing the most minute marks. Take in the entrepreneurs marketing their creative inventions: a lulav holder that keeps your lulav steady even when travelling or a waterproof patent leather ultralight esrog box. Smile at hopeful youngsters who dart around, quickly tying lulav rings in the hopes that they’ll earn a few coins.
But you’re not in Yerushalayim — or even Eretz Yisrael for that matter. You’re standing in New Jersey, taking in the scene of the Lakewood Daled Minim Shuk. The Lakewood Shuk operates during the four-day period between Yom Kippur and Succos, when arba minim shopping is at its peak. What began 25 years ago as a convenience has evolved into a central part of the pre-Yom Tov experience in the area.
The Shuk started when some local enterprising esrog sellers decided to band together and bring their goods to one central location for the final stretch of the pre-Succos shopping spree. Together, they formed Lakewood’s “Daled Minim Shuk” in the basement of Beth Medrash Govoha. The arrangement was a boon to everyone involved: Customers had a greater selection; sellers had a larger client base; and with a number of capable rabbanim on site, the process of getting that final stamp of approval for esrogim was eased.
The Shuk’s popularity forced the sellers to upsize from the original basement location, which was getting cramped, to the yeshivah’s large succah. Within a few years, even that wasn’t big enough. Tables began to spill out of the succah, crowding the driveway and parking lot. Still, for 23 years, the Shuk remained on Seventh Street, until the pandemic and ensuing safety precautions forced organizers to relocate to the oversized parking lot of a local wedding hall. When even this larger location couldn’t accommodate the bustling experience, the Shuk relocated once more, this time to the parking lot of the local Blue Claws stadium, where an enormous, 10,000 square-foot circus tent is erected annually exclusively for the Shuk.
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