Well, i think enough time has passed for me to be able to be fashionably late with my first blog. So, i'll start with a quick intro... Hi, i'm Yoni, i'm 21 and i'm the (now) 2nd newest member of Moishe House Cape Town. woohoo! Whilst i may be relatively new, make no mistake...I rule Moishe house cape town with an iron fist... (In other words, all you Moishe House europeans i'm the guy you beg to accommodate you for free during the 2010 football world cup and yes we do live 10 minutes from the stadium.....)
So, i'm originally from a city in South Africa called Durban and i find myself in Cape Town as i'm studying law at the University of Cape Town (and i would be lying if i said Durban wasnt a bit of a social hole..). The best part of all of this is that i get to live in Moishe House Cape Town, mainly as it happens to be a massive house on the side of the mountain (my bedroom window overlooks the city and table mountain-you cant beat that). The reason i came to live in the house is pretty much because all of the house members have at some point been a part of the youth movement habonim dror. So thats how we all know each other....
Anyway, thats pretty much me in 3 lines. Just been on holiday at the moment so i dont have to much moishe house cool stuff to blog about. My holiday consisted of seeing my parents so it walked the line between lame and boring, though i did manage to factor in an incredible amount of sleep..awesome.
anyway cheers for now...
Yoni
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Efthesis Mundus
Im a naïve child, bent on world contemplation
I walk with the underground
I tread the dusty paths of elapsed shooting stars, losing myself in the jesters Rubicon before realizing the sun broke the horizon again at dawn.
I trade myself for laughs
My garments are silk-screened projections of spirituality.
I cannot decipher their pigment.
I dance the salsa, but know not the steps
I think in colorful spices
I often wrap my head in multicultural produce,
to ensure freshness,
to ward off canned spirits
My documents are as leafy figs,
Tend as they do towards Newtonian inevitability
Ancient quills long replaced my fingers
Soaring wings trapped under paperweight
My guess is as good as yours,
But you are probably wrong
I reserve the best seats for angels in the night
And-
They-
One day
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Absince Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - MHJ
After a 8 month sabatical I am back and more importantly Im back with a new Moishe House - Moishe House Johannesburg. Opening now - Moishe House Johannesburg is the beacon of light in the religiously dominated community that is Johannesburg. Myself, Adam Sack and Doron Moshe will be taking up the guard and rocking our new house 24/7. I am working for Habonim Dror and the Jewish Community in Johannesburg and so far this year has been an exciting one for me.
I know that with the introduction of MHJ (nice abbreviation hey - it was ment to be), my year will only get more exciting. We have a ton of exciting events and idea's planned and I cannot wait to be apart of Moishe House again. Moishe House has a lot to give the Johannesbug community - it will create a secular Jewish space that will enable the young-adult section to come Alive and fun some real fun together.
Anyways - I got to run. Im in Durban and need to eat some curry now. (Durban has the second largest Indian Popoulation in the world, the 1st being Indian [obviously[)
Shalom.
Ilan
I know that with the introduction of MHJ (nice abbreviation hey - it was ment to be), my year will only get more exciting. We have a ton of exciting events and idea's planned and I cannot wait to be apart of Moishe House again. Moishe House has a lot to give the Johannesbug community - it will create a secular Jewish space that will enable the young-adult section to come Alive and fun some real fun together.
Anyways - I got to run. Im in Durban and need to eat some curry now. (Durban has the second largest Indian Popoulation in the world, the 1st being Indian [obviously[)
Shalom.
Ilan
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Zvi from MHSS
Hello.
I am feeling rather appreciative of the Moishe House project and its supporters. I feel like I have the ability to do some good in the world becuase I have this great platform to stand on. This month I taught Yoga at a local synagogue. I am from Brooklyn and many Jews in Brooklyn are not healthy people, from the physical to the emotional, mental, spiritual. Yoga did not make me into a stringbean, but it helped me to get in touch with my body in a respectful way that is connected with heart, mind, and spirit. I think Jews need a body centered practice that is more focused then shuckling (bowing back and forth ... looks like air-humping) during prayer. So I was glad to share this with some Jews on Sat. morning before we went to pray in a more formal way. I will teach Yoga this month too as an event on the astroturf in Downtown silver spring. I also have been really happy with our Shabbat events. We now pray as a group in our living room with a text that everyone seems to be able to access. Then ppl just explode into friendliness as the blessings are made and the food is eaten. We do not even have much drinknig at our events. As one of my Rabbis in Yeshivah would say, "Good for the Jews."
Peace
I am feeling rather appreciative of the Moishe House project and its supporters. I feel like I have the ability to do some good in the world becuase I have this great platform to stand on. This month I taught Yoga at a local synagogue. I am from Brooklyn and many Jews in Brooklyn are not healthy people, from the physical to the emotional, mental, spiritual. Yoga did not make me into a stringbean, but it helped me to get in touch with my body in a respectful way that is connected with heart, mind, and spirit. I think Jews need a body centered practice that is more focused then shuckling (bowing back and forth ... looks like air-humping) during prayer. So I was glad to share this with some Jews on Sat. morning before we went to pray in a more formal way. I will teach Yoga this month too as an event on the astroturf in Downtown silver spring. I also have been really happy with our Shabbat events. We now pray as a group in our living room with a text that everyone seems to be able to access. Then ppl just explode into friendliness as the blessings are made and the food is eaten. We do not even have much drinknig at our events. As one of my Rabbis in Yeshivah would say, "Good for the Jews."
Peace
Rachael - MHSS - July
Getting a head start (seems I keep neglecting these blogs) -- perhaps I'll Part II it later in the month.
July says:
- In June, my sunflowers began opening up! yay!
(Other planting experiments and attempts have not proven so successful.)
(Hm.)
- Did I ever mention my gorgeous cousin Baby Brooke being born in May??
- Also June: John Marks, as Alan mentioned -- AWESOME
(At the John Marks event, magically I was the only gal -- except for, thank goodness, this new gal we haven't had at the house before. Very cool chick; glad to have her on Team [Female] MHSS. :) )
- Saw a couple friends I haven't meet up with in YEARS
- Saw one friend I haven't seen in a year and another I haven't seen in two
(- What's up with my social life?!?)
- Cousin's bar mitzvah (another one -- not of the LA variety)
- Block party: met our neighbors! A cool bunch. I <3 this place. (Way different from where I grew up.)
- A very successful Artsy Craftsy Night here @MHSS (complete with JEM -- clearly an awesome crowd), double doses of some of the best humans ever (Cheryl & Shelly), free concerts in D.C., sumo bean bag slams, fun w/ cooking, minor league baseball, hermit crab bonding -- and only good times to come.
July says:
- In June, my sunflowers began opening up! yay!
(Other planting experiments and attempts have not proven so successful.)
(Hm.)
- Did I ever mention my gorgeous cousin Baby Brooke being born in May??
- Also June: John Marks, as Alan mentioned -- AWESOME
(At the John Marks event, magically I was the only gal -- except for, thank goodness, this new gal we haven't had at the house before. Very cool chick; glad to have her on Team [Female] MHSS. :) )
- Saw a couple friends I haven't meet up with in YEARS
- Saw one friend I haven't seen in a year and another I haven't seen in two
(- What's up with my social life?!?)
- Cousin's bar mitzvah (another one -- not of the LA variety)
- Block party: met our neighbors! A cool bunch. I <3 this place. (Way different from where I grew up.)
- A very successful Artsy Craftsy Night here @MHSS (complete with JEM -- clearly an awesome crowd), double doses of some of the best humans ever (Cheryl & Shelly), free concerts in D.C., sumo bean bag slams, fun w/ cooking, minor league baseball, hermit crab bonding -- and only good times to come.
Rachael - MHSS - June
Life = nuts
=D
The remainder of June included, for me:
- I think I picked strawberries one day with my sister
- the last day of Sunday School -- I really like this Jewish community!
- a week in my beloved Ocean City with my parents, sister, and grandparents -- I love love LOVE that place (& those people! !!!!!)
- a couple days of work at the beach, a temporary tattoo that wouldn't come off, a sunburn (which never happens), and a now-very-white spot on my leg where the temp tattoo was (we think the chemicals in the tattoo + the sun leeched the pigment out of my skin -- cuz there's no way I'm that pale)
- a week solid of work in Silver Spring and Baltimore -- new buddies, new connections, new jobs, local film friends, new MHSS events & recruits, reunion with someone I haven't seen since he was 7 probably (our fathers have been friends since high school), lots of tea, JEM, motocross & vert finals . . . am I missing anything?
- saw a friend I haven't seen in over a year
- a week of LA -- more family, more good times: cousins I don't remember ever having met before, cousins I never did meet before, cousins I last saw 3 feet (and many years) ago), bonding with cousins I *do* know, swimming, beach, a great-uncle's 90th birthday, a couple friends I haven't seen in many years, and a possible love connection between one of them & one of my LA relatives. :) I {3 LA. (I've always liked palm trees.) I {3 my family. SoCal = home-like now -- & with increased familiarity when listening to Dragnet or watching The Rockford Files, well, how can you go wrong?
And, of course:
i {3 MHSS
my housemates rock
man, oh, man....
Go team.
=D
The remainder of June included, for me:
- I think I picked strawberries one day with my sister
- the last day of Sunday School -- I really like this Jewish community!
- a week in my beloved Ocean City with my parents, sister, and grandparents -- I love love LOVE that place (& those people! !!!!!)
- a couple days of work at the beach, a temporary tattoo that wouldn't come off, a sunburn (which never happens), and a now-very-white spot on my leg where the temp tattoo was (we think the chemicals in the tattoo + the sun leeched the pigment out of my skin -- cuz there's no way I'm that pale)
- a week solid of work in Silver Spring and Baltimore -- new buddies, new connections, new jobs, local film friends, new MHSS events & recruits, reunion with someone I haven't seen since he was 7 probably (our fathers have been friends since high school), lots of tea, JEM, motocross & vert finals . . . am I missing anything?
- saw a friend I haven't seen in over a year
- a week of LA -- more family, more good times: cousins I don't remember ever having met before, cousins I never did meet before, cousins I last saw 3 feet (and many years) ago), bonding with cousins I *do* know, swimming, beach, a great-uncle's 90th birthday, a couple friends I haven't seen in many years, and a possible love connection between one of them & one of my LA relatives. :) I {3 LA. (I've always liked palm trees.) I {3 my family. SoCal = home-like now -- & with increased familiarity when listening to Dragnet or watching The Rockford Files, well, how can you go wrong?
And, of course:
i {3 MHSS
my housemates rock
man, oh, man....
Go team.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Let my people vote!
Next week, at our "Let my people vote" event, Moishe House Boston is storming the statehouse with hourglasses and rugalach in hand, to tell our state legislators that time is running out to pass a bill that would allow same-day voter registration, and a sweeter, more democratic future for MA. The bill would allow low-income people to vote without having to take off extra work-time to register, which we think is a good idea.
This action is just one of the many things happening in our community around the election. On July 27th, we are holding an interfaith voter registration drive in a couple of low income communities, in September we are doing a ritual theater media event as part of the "fighting poverty with faith" interfaith week of action, in October we are helping run a big debate watch party with AJWS and AVODAH, and in November we are doing voter turnout.
Our work is all non-partisan so can't support any candidate or party, but we can call on the candidates and voters to focus our attention on key issues such as poverty and the environment, and reframe them as moral priorities. We've gotten a big volunteer response from our community in Boston, I think because our friends are excited to be part of a Jewish community that is focused both inward and outward, and engaged with the major events of our day (namely the election).
If you are interested in making this kind of thing happen in your community, please contact me at margieklein1@gmail.com. Parallel work is already happening in Chicago, DC, SF, and LA, and likely also in Seattle, so it would be awesome to plug folks in.
Si se puede!
This action is just one of the many things happening in our community around the election. On July 27th, we are holding an interfaith voter registration drive in a couple of low income communities, in September we are doing a ritual theater media event as part of the "fighting poverty with faith" interfaith week of action, in October we are helping run a big debate watch party with AJWS and AVODAH, and in November we are doing voter turnout.
Our work is all non-partisan so can't support any candidate or party, but we can call on the candidates and voters to focus our attention on key issues such as poverty and the environment, and reframe them as moral priorities. We've gotten a big volunteer response from our community in Boston, I think because our friends are excited to be part of a Jewish community that is focused both inward and outward, and engaged with the major events of our day (namely the election).
If you are interested in making this kind of thing happen in your community, please contact me at margieklein1@gmail.com. Parallel work is already happening in Chicago, DC, SF, and LA, and likely also in Seattle, so it would be awesome to plug folks in.
Si se puede!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)