We're at a pivotal moment in the life of Moishe House London: the first of our original 5 residents has just moved out (Mazal Tov on getting married Gideon!) and we're expecting someone else to move out in the near future. We have a new house mate (the wonderful Daniel Lichman) and we're speaking to more people interested in moving in. So things are in flux. The halcyon innocence of our first year is eking away. We're thinking about the future of MoHoLo and how we shepherd into its next phase.
And yet we're still working our magic. January and February have brought more than their fair share of truly memorable - dare we say it, epoch making - moments and events.
We started 2009 in spectacular fashion, welcoming 100 people for a Shabbat service and dinner that can only be described as... rocking. Guests were fresh from Limmud, hungry for more, so we joined forces with local minyanim Wandering Jews and the Carlebach Minyan to give the people what they wanted. Yossi Chajes, a speaker at Limmud and original friend of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, led the service. I'm surprised you didn't hear us in Cali.
January was also, of course, a month of tension and concern over events in Israel. We wanted to respond as a house in some way, but also wanted to avoid the polemic, partisan positions much in evidence across the Jewish community, Facebook, demos etc. So we held a 'listening evening', in which guests were invited to speak for 4 minutes each, without interruption or argument, on their feelings on the situation. The idea was to create a space big enough to hold conflicting opinions. The assumption was we all benefit by being able to sit down and accept opinions and ideas that may be difficult to hear. Collectively, we come to a richer, fuller picture as a result.
And then last night we held held a Tu Beshvat seder which surpassed all our expectations. Over 60 people turned up - at least double the number who came last year - which shows just how far we've come since we started. Our living room looked magnificant, filled with gorgeous happy people and lovingly prepared, multicoloured platters of delicious fruit. Together we ascended the 4 worlds of physicality, emotion, the mind and holy oneness via a series of exercises and guided meditations. We also laughed, chatted, shared and sang, finishing on a high with a jubilant conga line.
Feedback we've been getting has been marvellous. Really, it's times like these I know why we're doing what we're doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment