2 Years of Tzibur Harlem!

Two years of building Tzibur. And this week, some very literal building, too. 🌿

Earlier this week, our community member Mira reminded us that it was exactly two years since we gathered for a community town hall and announced “Project Harlem”—the experiment that would become Tzibur.

That night in 2024, we imagined Shabbat gatherings every Friday at the space we call Temple 5. We shared that there would be new learning circles, new partnerships, and new ways to find each other. Our first supporters put their stake in the ground, inviting us all to invest in what this community could become.

And look. Look what we’ve built together.

The two of us have been building community for well over a decade, but these two years have taught us so much. Sometimes, your community teaches you what it means to belong to it — including by remembering an anniversary you’ve forgotten. (“This is what happens when you have groupies,” Mira joked. 😂)

We’ve watched thoughtful, committed people step forward to help carry this community, with our Leadership Committee taking responsibility in ways we couldn’t have imagined. And we’ve kept asking: Why not us? Why shouldn’t Harlem have extraordinary collaborations, inspiring visiting teachers, recognition, and investment in Jewish life right here? Giving this dream a name—and deciding together to grow it—helped so much take root.

Which brings us to last night, when some of you showed up to help build our sukkah.

There’s something fitting about marking this anniversary as we enter Sukkot. Right after Yom Kippur, when we’re stripped down to our studs—our most essential selves—we go outside in all our rawness. We sit beneath a roof that lets in the elements, making ourselves vulnerable to the power and mystery of the natural world.

A sukkah can’t promise us that the rain won’t come. But we can help build it, bring more chairs around the table, and keep each other company beneath its branches. There is so much of what we’ve learned about community in that.

To everyone who has pulled up a chair, brought a friend, made a contribution, or taken responsibility for some piece of this: you’ve made this community yours.

Come spend time in the sukkah with us this week. We can’t wait to gather, eat, welcome, shmooze, reflect, and sing. You’ll find the details below. 💜

Two years in. So much still to grow.