Sukkah to Be Constructed from Mega Blocks in Miami

Two South Florida women are hoping to create unity between the many diverse cultures inhabiting their local area by having community organizations partner in the construction of a succah that will be classified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest succah made entirely out of Mega Bloks.

Over one million Mega Bloks are expected to be used to create the succah, a project of Connecting Our Cultures, a non-profit organization dedicated to using both education and hands-on interaction to create a more unified community, founded by Stacey Schrager and Gladys Mezrahi. Measuring thirty feet long by eighteen feet wide and fifteen feet high, the succah will be designed by professional Lego artist Jason Burik and constructed at the Dezer Collection, a North Miami Beach museum and convention center. Construction of the succah, which is expected to take four to six weeks, will begin in late August or early September and students from the Miami / Fort Lauderdale area will build the succah as part of an effort to foster unity between the many different groups that comprise the population of South Florida.

“There are so many different cultures, faiths and religious groups in South Florida,” Stacey Schrager told VIN News. “Connecting Our Cultures is about all of us joining together for the common good and using our combined energies to make the world a better place. Interestingly enough as we spoke to people about this project we found out that many religions celebrate their harvest festival in some type of hut or booth and we were amazed by how many people wanted to take part in this project, making it even more appropriate to use a succah as a symbol of unity between our communities.”

Rabbi Pinny Andrusier of Southwest Broward Chabad will be on hand to ensure that the succah will be built according to halachic requirements.

“If you are going to go through the effort of designing a succah that will bear the distinction of being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, you might as well make sure it meets all the criteria of being a kosher succah,” said Rabbi Andrusier. “Yidden will be putting on the schach and I can assure you that it will not be made out of Mega Bloks. As long as there is no compromise in halacha, why not involve the whole community when Succos is all about achdus? If we can bring the community at large together, this enhances our mitzvah and will herald the coming of Moshiach. Moshiach tzeiten is actually this – the whole world putting up succas Dovid hanofales.”

The project will also be a fundraiser for participating organizations, who will receive two dollars of the three dollar price of each Mega Blok sold for construction of the succah. The remaining funds will be used by Connecting Our Cultures for further educational and cultural diversity programs. Numerous corporate sponsors have signed up to underwrite the cost of the event and Schrager said she hopes the project will raise one million dollars.

Among the organizations participating in this event are Chabad of Southwest Broward, Lubavitch Aventura South, Chabad Of The Town, Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options, Haitian Heritage Museum, Caribbean American Heritage of Florida Incorporated, Ace for Kids, Brazilian Cultural Center, Middle East American Professionals Association and the Soccer for Peace Foundation.

“There will be Jewish groups building a Succah together with groups from the Arab, Latin American and African American communities,” said Schrager. “It is all about unity. If we all work together we have the ability to change lives.”