Te agradezco, Roi -- I appreciate you, Roi

Hey buddy, with your tzitzit hanging low, and your forehead so shiny. You are beautiful on the inside and the outside. Your gums go on forever as you flash a "I'm kinda fed up with your antics, Matt" smile, but I know you really love me as much as I love you. An addict of Seinfeld and the Torah, you keep Zev and I guessing, "Who is Roi's next girlfriend going to be?" But seriously, thanks for keeping me clean, and sane, and for enabling me to laugh at others that aren't just me. Your belly is deliciously jellolike, and you play basketball like a 5'9" Michael Gordan (not Jordan). Ok, no more joking around. Really, Roi, you inspire me with your wisdom and dedication. I don't know how you can be so Jewish and I love it. Thanks for being understanding and welcoming of me, the outsider, and for always being there to listen to my issues. Next game of b-ball is mine! You da man, always and forever.

APRIL APPRECIATION

I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to one of my flat mates. She hails from the Bear Flag Republic, the great state of Cali. Rachel has been such an integral part of the Jerusalem Moishe House. Really, Jacob and I wouldn’t be able to function without her- her cunning wit, delicious carmalitas, budget organizing, glass breaking, harif loving, lacto mongering, mitz gezer serving, sour candy craving, chocolate craving, chai with extra milk craving, love for that guy in her ulpan class who gave her that ugly shirt as a stam present that she didn’t like at all but pretended to even though she never ever wore it and it made him kind of upset, constant Facebook and Couchsurfing updates, impeccable scheduling, perfect karaoke to Alanis Morrisette’s rendition of My Humps, and irresistible smile; we really aren’t capable of handling the emails and other such administrative work that Rachel thrives on. This one goes out to you, Rachie Bear, my motek. Thanks for everything.

Props to Ari and Alyson

As May creeps in, we approach Spring here in Boston with bittersweet anticipation. Our community is booming, we have fabulous new housemates coming in, after a tough selection process and lots of great candidates. But Ari and Alyson are leaving, off to Mali and Israel, respectively, and we are going to miss them dearly.

To explain why we will miss Ari so much, I look to this past Shabbat. We had over 40 people at our home, lively services, our usual complicated kashrut system at dinner, a dvar tikkun - jewish social justice teaching - about the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, awesome food, lots of clean up. And through the whole thing, our house members didn't say a word. I mean, of course we talked to people, but the leaders that Ari helped develop created volunteer roles and divided them up, and several different people took responsibility for set up, clean up, announcements, ritual stuff, food stuff, teaching. When I got upstairs, one of our volunteers was already there greeting everyone at the door. This is really a testament to Ari's organizing of the Shabbat team, putting faith in our volunteers to take our community to new heights through their own creativity and commitment.

On a similar note, I look to a lively debate happening daily in my email account about when we are going to schedule our next Artist's way session. Alyson got our friend Shira, who is the head of a major arts education program, to reframe the Artist's Way creativity program into a three part Jewish arts workshop. Alyson built the group and worked with Shira to develop a program, that included sharing, making art - including my favorite - finger painting! - and reflecting on what our work meant to us and how we could continue to grow as creators. The 3-part series went so well that when it was over, the members of the group didn't want it to end. So now, they are working on their own to make the group keep going without our money. Members of the group are also working together to infuse our all-night Shavuot celebration with an arts track, so that people can alternate between Torah study and workshops in dance, drama, and other creative things. And tonight I get to come home to a poetry workshop with one of my favorite Jewish poets!

We don't know how we will live without the bright eyes, brilliant minds, big smiles, and big hearts of Ari and Alyson, but we will work hard to honor their legacy by continuing to believe in our leaders, and by promoting spiritual and creative programming that we hope will be even half as cool as what they've pulled off.

We love you guys!

O the days go by...from Strauss's Log....

Shalom Comrades

Howdy to everyone, I wonder if anyone actually reads these things. We should set up a system where u buddy up/pair up with a house mate from another country - this will make sure that you will read at least 1 other persons blog! (And its always nice to meet people!)
Anywayz, things in South Africa are good. The weather is changing, the crime is buzzing, the health Minister is dying (*yay*) and life goes on for The Moishe house of South Africa. The German land lady still hasnt fixed the gate, our internet is back up and our maid still comes in for half a day every week cleaning the shit that we drop into the toilet bowl. The mystery continues- the smell in my room (which I share with Daniel B) continues and we are still not sure where it is coming from...a single item or from a general tipping point having been reached.Hoe hum.
So the theme of this months blog is to do with...someone. A person or individual who you appreciate or you hang around with etc.Hmmm.....well I will devote this to Justin van Zyl, who has been one of the pieces of furniture in the background as a regular house rat. He eats our food, sleeps on our floor and generally blends into the background like a warm painting who sleeps too much.
I write this memorial blog because sadly he has left us, very soon he will be gone. Lost ....for the next 6 months as he goes to Johannesburg to live with significant other as he attempts to inject some vitality into habonim in JHB. I wish him well and I hope that has ha a great time, his nick name Nabazela, says it all... he really is a great guy.

Now a rant before I end off: I saw on some Moishe house blog site some1 advertised something from the Anti-Defemation League of America to do with Rosenfeld's latest rant slandering Jews with a moral consciouse. He attempts to deligitimise their moral voice by alginging them with anti-zionists who do not recognise Israels right to exist and who, due to their unfit metaphors linking Nazi's with Israel, cause the 'new antisemitism'. All Rosenfeld exposes is his own inability to quote acurately from 'anti-zionist' books. For more info on this check out: http://www.zeek.net/704debate/

Viva debate Viva!


Peace,

Strauss's Log

An end and a new beginning:

An end and a new beginning:

There is so much going on my life its hard to try to summarize it into
a single blog but I'd say that the key theme is one of transition. The
end of the old and the beginning of something else and Moish House is
just very important aspect during this key time in my life. I have to
say that the things I've learned from opening up my home to so many
strangers and letting them into my life has really impacted who I am
during these very important formative and transitional years of my
life.

At work I've just confirmed my last day of employment as the 27th of
July. On July 12th, I'll be going to London for pleasure and then a
conference in Berlin and will be traveling until the end of July. I'm
also hoping to make it over to Israel\West Bank towards the end of the
month and then Turkey � that's all if the region doesn't see another
war this summer.

I'm also attending law school this coming August and I'm still not
sure where I will be attending. This sort of dominates my mind now but
I'm currently torn between Michigan and Cornell.

Events at Moishe House are getting more and more creative and I'm sad
that June will be my last month with Moishe House. I want to give a
shout out to my super cool roommate Joshua Einstein, the real Einstein
of Moishe House who has come up with some super fun and successful
events most notably the intellectual shindig. I think it's an event
that should be mimicked in as many MH as possible. You can check out
people opinions on our photo website for more details.
- J.R. (Hoboken)

Somone to appreciate

Thanks for the idea on what to blog about Levi, so today I will start with some appreciations for one Daniel Aaron Blum (or Dennis as he is so affectionately known by our landlord).

Since moving in with Danny there has been many ups and downs (strikes and gutters), but there has been one constant...the food scene. Danny is into it, and I mean deep. Since living with Danny I have learned s0 many new things about food. For example, did you know that Trader Joe's sells a ten pound bar of chocolate? Or did you know the Kielbasa is officially a meal all by itself, or that it can be had as dessert? Danny has taught me quite a bit about breakfast. Danny likes to stick to a simple bowl of granola, with yogurt and some fresh blueberries, but on weekends he can get crazy and start to get into eggs, ham, smoothies, challah French toast with homemade strawberries, etc, etc, etc. Danny reinvented the cream cheese bagel with, dried mangoes and raisins...it was incredible (I am kicking my feet in the air just thinking of it). Speaking of the dried fruit scene, Daniel A. Blum is INTO IT. Just last night he ate 9 prunes in under 2 minutes, a new house record; and he had a BM following that lasted for 37 minutes (a second place record in the house).

But to say that Danny is only into the food scene is to limit him, and we dare not limit a human with such limitless potential. Danny is incredibly emotionally supportive, almost like a parent in some ways. Often consulting with friends before the go to talk to their parents about difficult issue, Danny is an incredible counselor and friend. He is very wise for his tender age of 25 and often blesses us with riddles and poems that give us glimpses into his insight. It is truly a pleasure living with someone of this nature.

In other news East Bay Moishe is alive and kicking despite our teams drastic softball month. Stating in May we will be starting a book club and if anybody is interested in joining and reading along check out our calendar for our monthly book club meeting. Our newest member Ashley Warner moved in yesterday, heck yeah. Lets get ready to Moishe the world.

And to those in Moishe Mobile, have fun, be careful, only eat a little bit of that at first and then wait...

Brady Gill's Big Softball Birthday

They say a pictures is worth a thousand words. Let's examine this one. I'm on the right with a big Jewish-nose profile, a scraggly beard, pearly whites and my "Go Giants" inscribed in Hebrew on the bill of my hat. Despite having just played a softball game (the long-awaited match up of the East Bay House vs The San Fran House) I am wearing a collared shirt; part of the business casual themed costumes our house sported (and yes, I did slide head first into third base with a pair of slacks on and yes I do have painful rasberries on my thighs still).

Brady Gill is on the other end of the hug. He's wearing a hideous 2nd-hand jacket that our house gave him in anticipation of his 24th birthday this coming Friday, May 4th; he loved it more than anyone else I could possibly imagine. Brady has changed my life significantly in the last year and a half - mostly by following me in my footsteps aggresively and pulling me along into new ideas that Brady has which have changed the direction of my life (see Brady Gill's proposal in the appendix of the Moishe House binder).

Over my left shoulder and Brady's right hand is Naomi Cytron - my girlfriend Vivi's best friend from work. Naomi has been a pleasure to hang out with - and is the ideal student; eager to learn the secretive details of softball stardom.

Over Brady's left shoulder and my right hand is Sarah Stoner-Duncan. I went to high school with Sarah but really got to know her in the Spring of 2000 when she left high school a semester early and I delayed going to college and we travelled around Europe together for 2 months. Sarah is the core of our batting order and infield, is a great hugger and is generally a wonderful person to be around.

On the far left, with a camera in his face, is Danny Blum of the East Bay Moishe House. Danny is wearing a classic Giants hat from Barbados - he also got one for me on his family trip - and takes the most amazing pictures. I met Danny briefly in the summer of 2000 - his first year working at Camp Tawonga - and we have become closer and closer since, working parts of each summer at Tawonga together the last 6 years. Danny is an incredible cook, loves Bay Area sports and is generally an all-around good guy.

This is a snapshot of a Moishe event, my month as a member of Moishe San Fran and moreso - a snapshot of my life as a friendly guy surrounded by wonderful Jewish peers.

Life is good!!