Different types of Sukkah roofs, made of organic materials such as woven bamboo and palm leaves. It's not easy to find such things in New York City, so other natural materials can be used.

“I learned, this is one of the three big holidays. The Festival of Sukkot begins on Tishri 15, the fifth day after Yom Kippur. The holiday lasts for seven days with the first day celebrated as a full festival with special prayers and service. It is a drastic transition, from one of the most solemn holidays to one of the most joyous. Sukkot is the last of the Shalosh R’galim (three pilgrimage festivals). Sukkot is both historical and agricultural,” shared Mr. Merrin, the owner of The Merrin Gallery in New York.

Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period of wondering in the desert, living in temporary dwellings because these are the structures that the Israelites used after coming out of Egypt. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival and is sometimes referred to as the festival of gathering. Meals are eaten in the Sukkah, and some families even sleep there. A blessing is recited, the Arba Minim, or four species, consisting of the Lulav, Etrog, Hadassim and Aravot. The Sukkah should be free standing but the walls may include sides of a building or porch in its structure. The roof of the Sukkah, must be of natural, unprocessed material that is detached from the ground. The inside of the Sukkah is traditionally decorated with pictures, hanging fruits, ornaments.

An example of a store-bought, pre-fabricated Sukkah.

Samuel continues, “Last year, I discussed with Rabbi Hirsch the idea of building a Sukkah with other children and parents. I did not want to put up a prefabricated Sukkah. I wanted to buy the lumber and have the children go to the park or country to find natural materials to decorate the walls and roof of the Sukkah.”

“I called some friends from the SWFS community and asked if they would be interested in building two Sukkah frames”, but he adds that, “a Sukkah should not be completed with a roof and decorated until right after Yom Kippur”. Samuel Merrin, who is on the board for the JECEI (Jewish Early Childhood Education Intiative), vividly remembers that his proposition was met with an enthusiastic ‘yes’.

Organic materials that children collected for the Sukkah's roof.

He said he wants his children to have positive memories towards Jewish holidays and Judaism, and adds, “I want to start building these bonding, joy and meaningful Jewish times so they will look back many years from now and remember when they spent time with me, building the Sukkah, and baking honey cake for Rosh Hashana, and having Shabbat meals with family and friends, and dancing in Synagogue for Simchat Torah.” As a devoted father, he expressed that he wants his children to have enjoyable experiences and give the chance to embrace Judaism, and continue these traditions with their children.

“On September 13th, we built our Sukkah frame. It was about 80 degrees and most of us were in shorts—12 fathers and about 20 children,” he begins. Samuel Merrin goes on detail, for those who wish to try this at home, “We built two Sukkahs, one 18 feet by 24 feet on the roof and another smaller one on the terrace. We had 8 foot planks, 2″×4″×8′, 1″×2″×8′, power drills, screws, hammers and nails. The larger Sukkah was built by drilling together two four-feet-long pieces of wood (seven times) and taking the eight-foot-long wooden planks and placing them in 7 brackets attached seven feet high to the solid wall; which made the frame for the ceiling. The fathers built supports for the ceiling and the older children with their fathers tied bamboo mats on to the fence to make the Sukkah walls. The younger children built the smaller Sukkah just using wood and plastic ties.”

In a different area of the roof there were 6 wooden tree stumps of different heights for the children to practice hammering nails into wood, and sanding blocks that the children learned how to sand. Teachers helped to sure the children were safe and told them a story about Sukkot. The fathers taught the older children proper usage of power tools: to stand straight over the power drill and push down while pressing the power button.

Sam recalls, “I heard the clanking of wood as the children helped us to carry different lengths and widths of wood to where we were building. I heard fathers explaining what we were doing and showing them how to use a screwdriver, hammer in a nail, and use a plastic ties. The children not only helped their own fathers but helped other fathers and worked together with other children.”

“Being Jewish, we were unsure if we could pull off building a standing structure but we did,” Sam laughs, “It was an amazing moment when we realized what we accomplished. We all felt like we spent quality time with our children and at the same time felt part of a community building a Sukkah for the first time.”

Then the children went downstairs with some teachers to eat pizza while Sam Levine (an ECC parent) led a discussion on the importance of Sukkot, and how instead of a permanent hut, it is said to build and eat in a Sukkah every year—to “experience what our ancestors went through year after year.”

Sukkot lends itself especially well to living the fundamental Jewish value of Hachnasat Orchim, the welcoming of guests into one’s home, or in this case, the Sukkah.

A major philosophy of JECEI is to place “unparalleled emphasis on the importance of serious Jewish inquiry on the part of the entire family in the community of the Early Childhood School.” One of their central goals “is to significantly upgrade the Jewish experience and commitment of families” in a Jewish Early Childhood School. “Independent of family background, bringing Jewish ideas and values, community and life will transform the face of families” that go through the JECEI program. Sam adds that, “Through the Sukkah project we kept with the ECC, Reggio Emilia and JECEI philosophy of the deep respect for and amazement of the potential and competency of children.”

Samuel Merrin concludes that he truly enjoyed decorating and eating in the Sukkah he built with the ECC and greater SWFS community, and looks forward to continue making Judaism fun and meaningful for all the children—by celebrating the other Jewish holidays in comparable ways. Sam ends with a final thought, “I wanted to have a moment in time, a Jewish memory that I could share with my children. I hope when they hear a screw being drilled into wood or the smell of sawdust, they will think back to the time they built a Sukkah with their father.”

Mayan War Vase – Battle Scene (Side A), a photo by Samuel Merrin on Flickr.

Furthermore, the dimensions and specifications (such as the Maya vase’s origin) are detailed on the Merrin Gallery’s Facebook page as follows:

DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS:

1. Title: War Vase (Cylindrical Vase with a Battle Scene)
2. Origin: Maya civilization, Nebaj (Guatemala)
3. Dated: Late Classic Period, ca. 600-800 AD
4. Material: Polychromed terracotta
5. Height: 6¾ inches (17 cm)
6. Diameter: 6 inches (15.4 cm

A place of personal recovery and development, and as quoted from the Rwanda charity’s website:

The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) is a residential community in rural Rwanda. Its 144 acres are home to youth who were orphaned during and after the Genocide in 1994. The village, which is designed to care for, protect and nurture these children, is a place of hope, where tears are dried (signified by the Kinyarwanda word agahozo) and where the aim is to live in peace (from Hebrew, shalom). The marrying of the two concepts in the name of the village is intended as a reminder of the success of similar efforts in Israel, where Genocide also changed the face of a nation.

Map of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda. Source: ASYV.

Within Agahozo-Shalom’s caring, supportive, and structured environment, the rhythm of life is being restored, with the ultimate goal of seeing that young people who have lived through great trauma find themselves ready to face life’s challenges. The space of love and safety created at Agahozo-Shalom serves as the backdrop for programs designed to help our teenagers grow both emotionally and intellectually. The experiences they accumulate at their village home are intended to help them at every level of their future development.

In addition to healing oneself, Agahozo-Shalom teaches the principle of healing and helping the community, both locally and globally. The young people at Agahozo-Shalom are learning through principle and practice the value of mending the world around them as are the many volunteers who join us from around the world. Our graduates will emerge from Agahozo-Shalom balanced adults who are not only able to care for themselves and their families, but who are committed to making their community, their country – their world, a better place.

Read more about how to join Samuel Merrin and take part with the ASYV.

The [Merrin] gallery dates back nearly 40 years and, pretty much, if you were a museum and you wanted a classical Greek or Roman statue, pre-Columbian relic or even a mummy during that period, you bought it here from Edward Merrin. Client museums included the Met, Brooklyn, the Getty and the Louvre. In the past decade, hot-button repatriation issues have quieted (though far from ended) collecting in this market, but the gallery, now run by Samuel Merrin, still has among the richer assortments of antiquities of any dealer in the area. Ask to see the secret cabinet behind the revolving wall.

Edward Merrin’s destiny changed on his honeymoon. Taking his bride, Vivian, to Mexico, Edward was introduced to the wonders of pre-Columbian art. At first, he utilized ancient figurines as display props in his family’s jewelry store showroom, but eventually, the Edward H. Merrin Gallery was born as an independent business in the mid-1960s. Edward’s voracity, his appreciation for pre-Columbian aesthetics, and his “eye” led to his status as a true connoisseur…

Continue reading at: Edward Merrin and the Origins of the Gallery.

1. An ancient Egyptian funerary figurine (early July)
2. A portrait head from ancient Peru (mid-July)
3. Another ancient Egyptian piece—limestone relief (late July)

A new season is approaching, so bookmark this blog or subscribe to get instant updates on all future events at The Merrin Gallery.

Egyptian relief from the tomb of Mentuemhat at The Merrin gallery

The exceptional artistry of the carving is enhanced by the preservation of much of the original color. The greatest official of the 25th Dynasty is Mentu-em-hat, formally the governor of Thebes, as well as the 4th prophet of Amen, hereditary chief, royal sealer, chiefly companion, scribe of the temple of Amen, and interpreter of the prophets in the temples. His titles also include: ruler of all the royal domains, great chief of the land to its limits, and eyes of the king in all the land. His statues also give the titles, prince of the deserts, and keeper of the gate of the deserts. An endowed piece, it was acquired by The Merrin Gallery from a private collection in France, and is accompanied with an Art Loss Register document, and a France Art Passport.

It was recently acquired by the Merrin Gallery from a private European collection, and notably has been published in “Trujillo Precolombino” by Jose Antonio de Lavalle (1996, p. 94).

Recognized by international museums and collectors as the top gallery for pre-Columbian art, we are proud to have helped create many major collections throughout America, Europe and Asia. Clients include leading museums such as the Met in New York City, the British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris, among countless others.

Based in Manhattan, The Merrin Gallery, owned by myself and Moshe Bronstein, was established in 1987. While formally incorporated that year, it is a second-generation ancient art business founded by my father Edward Merrin in the ’60’s.

If you have any enquiries, you may contact us via The Merrin Gallery‘s official website.