On Visible and Invisible Jews

During the middle days of the Sukkot festival, small groups of haredi kids can be seen wandering along the thoroughfares of New York City's Upper West Side, asking passersby whether they are Jewish. If the answer is affirmative, they will proffer a lulav and an etrog so that the same passerby can perform one of the sacred traditions of the holiday. The kids are effusive but also polite, and most people who encounter them, Jewish or not, do so good-naturedly.