You Made This Happen

This first week of the new year has left us with more than a handful of stories that we've just gotta share.

On Wednesday, Dimitry brought home a Torah. From the sofer’s shop in Brooklyn to Harlem, a newly repaired sefer Torah made its way back into our community’s arms (see pics below!). There is more to share about what this means for our growing community. For now: a little anticipation, and a very big reason to smile.

Before the holiday, a community member offered to sponsor our Rosh Hashanah meals. They wanted everyone to have a place at a full holiday table, and helped us make that welcome possible. They asked to remain anonymous, but we wanted you to know about the generosity that helped make those meals possible. Sometimes we are held by people whose names we don’t even know.

On Friday afternoon, Dimitry made one more stop: West Side Judaica, for twenty additional machzorim. We needed more High Holiday prayer books for the people coming through our doors. Within just a couple of hours, Tziburniks had raised their hands to sponsor half of them. And that evening, some of the people opening those books were attending Rosh Hashanah services for the very first time in their lives. What a privilege to be the community where someone tries something brand new.

On Saturday night, there was singing and dancing in our home. Our daughters, a new baby in our community, and all the other people gathered around our Rosh Hashanah table became part of the same happy swirl. A new year, welcomed with little feet and many hands.

On Sunday, we found each other by the river. At the West Harlem Piers for Tashlich, a young girl brought her own shofar. So did an older woman. From babies in carriers to neighbors in their eighties, and everything in between, we stood together at the water’s edge, making room for everything we hoped to release and everything we hoped to begin.

And, as always seems to happen at Tashlich, we met people we hadn’t known before who just happened to be at the Pier. There is something special about finding each other in public spaces in Harlem. You come to the river for a ritual, sometimes knowing almost no one, and leave discovering a new neighbor or making a new friend.

Looking back over these days, we keep thinking about how many people helped make it all possible. Someone offered to feed us. Someone put a prayer book into another person’s hands. Someone brought a shofar, or joined the singing, or walked into services for the very first time. Each brought something that only they could bring.

There is more ahead: this Saturday morning, Dimitry will be speaking at the Shtiebel at JCC Manhattan with Rabbi Adam Mintz. On Monday, we’ll gather for Yom Kippur Ne’ilah services and break fast. And next week, we begin building our sukkah — making another place to welcome one another in.

Below, you’ll also find opportunities to join the Harlem Service Corps, a Black-Jewish bridge-building cohort focused on service and volunteering, and Embark, our six-session cohort for mixed-heritage couples. Take a look for yourself, and think of someone who might be glad you passed the invitation along.

Thank you for the generosity, in so many forms, with which you have begun this year alongside us.

With love and wishes for a g’mar chatimah tovah.