The walled city of Jerusalem rose from the floor of the Temple Social Hall recently during a special Religious School event that brought a whole new meaning to hands-on learning. Led by Livingston NJ architect Stephen W. Schwartz, founder of Building Blocks Workshops, Religious School students and their parents built the city out of about 60,000 brightly colored Legos in honor of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel. Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, marks the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. It is observed on the 5th of Iyar, which falls on April 10th.
The workshop was sponsored by the Membership Committee and the Board of Education. And while the actual city of Jerusalem has been built over thousands of years of history and turmoil, the version that formed in Temple Shalom’s social hall took only a short and frantic two hours to rise from the plastic floor mat that served as a guide for the builders. The 400 square-foot mat outlined every corner of the ancient city, including the wall, historic gates, yeshivas, temples and other buildings.
“It’s hard to understand a two-dimensional drawing,” Schwartz told the almost 100 parents and children sitting sans shoes on the perimeter of the mat before the building started. “We’re going to learn something about Jerusalem by building a three-dimensional model.” The children and their parents took their task to heart, shuffling back and forth between the 30-gallon plastic bins brimming with assorted Lego shapes and sizes, filling hands, bowls and even shoes with pieces to complete their section of the city.
“I feel like I’m 10 years old again,” said Mindy Doherty, mother of Madison and Chelsea, as the trio sat on the floor working on the Lion’s Gate. Over at a table, Sam Phillips, 8, and Matt Fryefield, 9, had just completed the building of the second Temple, a structure done in blue and white Legos, complete with a miniature bright yellow menorah – the hardest part of the model to build, the boys said. “It was really hard to find the pieces,” said Sam, pointing out the quarter-inch yellow tiles that represented the candles in the Menorah. “But it was fun,” Matt chimed in. “It’s learning, but it’s fun.”
Over at the Western part of Jerusalem, Harvey Waxman and his daughter, Hannah, were working on a two-and-a-half foot version of David’s Tower that Schwartz said was more impressive than the real thing. “I’ve been building with Legos since my kids were little. Well, truthfully, I’ve been doing it since I was little,” Harvey laughed. “This has been a great family activity.”
After the model was complete, Schwartz had the children return to the mat as he gave them a guided tour of the city, lecturing about Jerusalem and its history. “Here is the Western Wall,” he told the group. “We’ve left small holes in it to symbolize the crevices that visitors slip prayers into. And you can see that we’ve added some twigs to show the things that grow out of the wall.”
The children and parents sat quietly listening to the story of the city. Schwartz said the whole experience is special for Jewish children on many levels. Besides being a great bonding experience for the children and their parents, it takes history out of the classroom and makes it interactive and memorable. “Let’s face it, history is not always the most exciting subject, so to actually make a learning experience exciting is an amazing part of the program,” Schwartz said later.
“Teachers can’t be expected to maintain the level of excitement that I create in two hours, but it is worth seeing what is possible if you could.” It is also a wonderful lesson in teamwork, Schwartz explained. “You don’t even have to tell the kids that they just experienced ‘teamwork,’ ” he said. “I think they realize on their own that they just participated in an undertaking that they could not have built themselves in such a short time.
“The chaos that takes place during the building process I find very stimulating because I can see exactly what is coming together even though most people just see the chaos. Then all of a sudden near the end you can hear people getting excited as the whole project comes together. I love when they start being amazed at what they created as a large group.”
And the amazement was evident in the faces of the children as they reviewed their handiwork. “I can’t believe how quietly they are sitting listening,” said Annette McGillicuddy, cochair of the Membership committee. “It’s because they built it with their own hands!"
