Using phrases such as "pre-fab" and "easy to assemble' when talking about an ancient Jewish ritual might not seem exactly kosher, but after 5,000 years, the holiday of Sukkot finally has entered the modern age.

Sukkot, celebrates both the fall harvest and the structures in which the Jews lived during their exodus from Egypt. Central to the holiday is building a sukkah, a hut where holiday meals are eaten. The walls of the sukkah must he sturdy and the sky must be visible through the roof.

Until a few years ago, building a sukkah meant a trip to the lumberyard for supplies and a day of hard labor putting it together. For people not handy with a hammer and nails, building one often was a traumatic experience. Now they have an alternative: they can order a sukkah by telephone and have it delivered to their home. And instead of wood and nails, they are made of galvanized steel and vinyl.

'It's kind of a wild and crazy business for a few months a year," he said. "Then it's gone."

"I've had calls from people who've assembled them with their children," Feldman said. " The children grow up with a very fond memory of putting the sukkah together with their parents and they do it too. This is a very joyous, very up- lifting holiday.'

The kits require no tools and can be assembled in about a half-hour, Feldman said.

Rabbi Perry Netter of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles bought a sukkah from Feldman a few years ago.

"I know people who go every year to a lumberyard and find a great deal of meaning in that," he said.

"But I'm not a carpenter. For me it's the speed and ease of the kit that eased my anxiety"

There are very specific guidelines for building a sukkah. It must have at least three sturdy sides and the roof must be made of organic materials. Some of Feldman's earlier sukkahs came with matchstick bamboo walls.