In 1994, Edward Jacobs was approached to assist in the creation of a Holocaust resource center at the Moriah School in Englewood, N.J. Pivotal to the center was to be a memorial garden, providing a unique and provocative environment for the children, a place of stimulation and comfort as they begin to learn the un-learnable. Many thoughts were expressed by the parents, rabbis and teachers at the school, concerning what they thought this memorial should be, and also quite emphatically, what it shouldn’t. The question was whether it would be possible to create a memorial that would appease the committee, be effective educationally, and still be a fitting memorial to those children of another generation who met their tragic and unimaginable early end in the Holocaust. It was from these considerations that the Moriah Memorial, a composition of Jerusalem stone and bronze, emerged. Over 50 sculptures are placed in specific choreography within the sunken courtyard, as well as at the main entrance to the school. While each sculpture is an individual work, composed of specific idiosyncrasies, it is immediately clear that they are all of common lineage. They range in size according to the average sizes of children between five and 13. They all possess the smooth and hollowed interior opening containing a cast bronze chime. The chimes are each a distinct size, tone, form and patina, every one intoning its own distinct song, creating a soft and ever changing symphony.
ServicesInterpretive Planning, Conceptual Design, Content Development, Exhibition DesignLocationEnglewood, New JerseyYear2005
