Route 6 offers spiritual pit stop

After fielding requests from congregants who complained they have nowhere to hold their daily prayers while on the long drive along Israel’s Highway 6, a Migdal Ha’emek rabbi has found a creative fix for worshipers on the go.

David Grossman petitioned the operating company for permission to station a mobile structure that can serve as a makeshift synagogue along the north-south road.

On Tuesday, the structure was parked on a northbound rest stop and opened for worshipers.

Grossman said the synagogue would protect the road and its users.

The operating company’s director, Udi Savyon, said he was glad to modestly contribute to the physical and spiritual safety of Israel’s drivers, and that he had promised Grossman the company would subsequently station a similar structure on the southbound side. 

Until now, religious drivers who found themselves on the road at prayer times would normally just park their vehicles on the side of the road.