Mark Friedman of Port Orchard, Wash., hopes to visit the landmark brick edifice known as Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in New York City, but he can’t get there just yet. With two young sons at home, a four-year-old and an eight-month old, now’s just not the time. But, he says, “if you can’t be at the original, the next best thing is to have a replica.”
Now he does.
On Sunday, Chabad of Pierce County will welcome Friedman and a host of his fellow Jewish community members and VIPs for the grand opening of its new building, a communal and educational space modeled on the Brooklyn address from which the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, presided over a global revolution in Jewish life. It’s reportedly the first new synagogue to open in Tacoma since 1968.
With the state’s Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland, and Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy in attendance, the ceremony will also include a procession to bring the Chabad House’s treasured Torah scroll to the new synagogue. After a special guest affixes a mezuzah to the building’s front door, an award ceremony will recognize supporters before the organization’s Hebrew school puts on a performance.
Friedman, who with his wife attends classes and services at the Chabad House and has a child in its preschool, says the new space means something special to the community, from what it represents as a larger prayer and event space to the hopes it expresses with its façade.
“It gives us the potential to really establish a significant Jewish community here,” he explains, adding that their previous space in the rabbi’s basement had been a limiting factor for their growth.
With two good-sized classrooms and prayer space for 120, as well as a social hall, the new building translates into more possibilities for current participants and space to welcome new ones, he says.
In the long run, Friedman would like to see young Jewish couples moving to the area and taking up residence in the reasonably-priced houses nearby, as well as the establishment of a Jewish ritual bath. The community already has access to kosher food.
“We have a number of the ingredients, and I think we’re all hoping we can build this community,” he explained.
Chabad of Pierce County directors Rabbi Zalman and Miriam Heber moved to the area in November 2003. They ran their activities out of a rental house, then the first floor of their home.
“As time went on, we realized we needed to build a center,” says the rabbi.
They bought the property next door, broke ground two years ago, and began construction last August.
“Everyone’s excited. We waited a couple years for this and we’re going to open up,” states Heber, adding that they settled on the “770” look because of its spiritual symbolism. “For me, 770 represents a beacon of light, an epicenter of Judaism; so I wanted to bring a part of that there to Tacoma.”
Growing up not far from Lubavitch World Headquarters, Heber was moved by its role as a house of outreach, and the symbol it became for such activity. Having it right next door will serve as a reminder of “where you came from, and what our mission is,” he says.
“It sets the tone in the proper setting,” adds the rabbi. “It’s a real synagogue, it’s a real school, it’s a real social hall. It’s the real deal.”
It’s also home to the only commercial kosher kitchen in Pierce County.
For Earl Vernon, having a replica of 770 means the building brings a lot of history along with it. He hopes the Rebbe would be proud of what they’ve done.
“I feel proud to be part of a great community,” he says. “We built a house for G‑d in which to pray and remember and study.”
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