One of my personal challenges during my time at MH so far has been getting my friends involved. Particularly those friends of mine who are Jewish by birth but not much else. I know it has been strange for them to watch my social and religious involvement in Judaism grow over the last five years. Because of my own transition I have been hesitant to push them too hard or appear like i was preaching. I have been pleasantly surprised to notice that recently they are attending more events both social and religious. They genuinely seem interested in their own personal Jewish growth. They continue to give me positive feedback and show interest in attending future events. We have engaged in religious and philosophical conversations and I can tell that they would like to explore their own Jewish identity more deeply.
What I have come to realize is that part of the block I had was my own insecurities regarding my Jewish background. I am very much in a transitional period in my life and my Jewish identity is constantly changing and evolving. As we at MH Portland struggle to offer disconnected Jews a social and spiritual outlet, I think it is important that we remind ourselves and our community that we are all constantly in a period of change. Labels such as Orthodox, Conservative, Reform etc.. only serve to brand us in a way that is often incomplete or superficial. The truth of the matter is we are always in a period of change and fluctuation. I see it as part of my job at the Moishe House to continue to offer people outlets for exploration. This is not always easy but what I have come to understand is that most people are receptive to new ideas as long as they do not come with labels and associations.
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