Snow days and Ice Cream, how I heart thee

Say it with me: “one, two, three, snow daaaaaaaaaaaay!!” One of my favorite parts of being a Northerner in the DC/Maryland area is that more than an inch or two of snow means life shuts down!!! Definitely no complaints about the two hour delay, but if I was able to ride my bike to school, the roads couldn’t have been too bad, right? But I digress, and am talking about the wrong month. We kicked off the second month of the year with International Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, and I think all months should start that way. In fact, I think every day should be IICFB day. Rest assured, Moishe House foundation – we made all participants sign a waiver saying MH would not be held responsible for any newly developed health conditions related to the overconsumption of waffle, ice cream and hot fudge sandwiches. Some people can’t seem to lay off the ice cream, but it’s OK, because if you eat it with a fork, then calories fall through the tines. It’s science. And by science, I mean lies.

So, as I’m reminiscing on the February events, I’m realizing that they all involved food. I could list them, but I think I’ll just leave you wondering. If you’re dying to find out how well we feed our constituents, you’ll just have to come to an event. I think that just about wraps things up. I’m getting super excited for Purim next week, but I can’t decide what to dress up as. I think my best previous costume was a mermaid, but I can’t find my seashell bra, and besides, I need something fresher. If you have any advice, shoot me an email. Until next month!

Aaron, from MHSS.

Snowfall

It’s snowing here in Hoboken. Gentle crystals of white frozen water float down from the sky and begin to pile up on every surface. Night’s darkness is pierced not solely by light reflected of the moon, the Earths harsh mistress, but by the millions upon millions of little falling flakes each refracting, reflecting, and magnifying that same little bit of light. Bouncing from each flake of snow as it falls, it brightens the deep dark night sky transforming it into perpetual twilight. It has not snowed more than a token in some time and a cold blast from the past, several inches of white powder, cover the land causing a deep chill to set in.
This is the winter of my discontent. For political introverted-ness and nouveau isolationism have begun to coat the land with despair. One need only look towards “stimulative” policies which freeze economic growth with an artic blast. Pretty to those not stuck in it, snow is cold, unwelcoming, and working under its unforgiving rules draining and dangerous. One need only look at the unbridled energies, the blizzard of activity, of former 08 Presidential campaign warriors who unleashed a storm of new activism against Israel. Ostensibly, these winded assaults are in response to actions in Gaza. That is as silly as saying the snow needs a reason to fall, for these people needed something to keep them warm even if it makes other feel the cold.
This is my discontent. It is winter outside Moishe Hoboken. And whilst all is well inside - a fire burning of friendship, hope, and ideas, outside coldness grows. A deep chill has set in across the land and soon I worry it will form a figure and knock at the door begging entrance. Disarming from a distance, the approaching blizzard appears pretty but the packed white powder is draining and unrelenting. No one can know what danger it conceals. Our community is gathered, our desire for a better, warmer, caring world is marshaled. It is still snowing in Hoboken but we are ready for the storm.

MHSS Alan wrote a creepy love haiku

i call it "Facebook":

you defriended me
but i'll always remember -
i copied your pics

*snapping*snapping*snapping*snapping*snapping*snapping*snapping*

In honor of friday the thirteenth and valentines day, we had a "creepy love" haiku share at MHSS Shabbat this month! It was a fun way to end a great night with MH first-timers and new food experimentation (I made citrus and salsa baked salmon, and the other MHSSers made some great salads, pastas, and kugels). Pre-dinner living-room-style services were relaxing and song-filled, as usual, and all the new faces led to some spectacular conversations.

Celebration of Trees

What's not to love about a T'bshvat Seder? Fruits, nuts, trees, people, singing, talking about the cycle of life. For me, the whole seder is just delicious and something I had been looking forward to since last years seder.
We co-sponsored the event with Shomreih Adamah and several other local jewish groups and hosted bye the historical 6th & I synagogue. The event was such a success that we keep squeezing chairs at the tables to make sure everyone had a seat. It was great to share the seder with Moishe House Silver Spring community members and to meet many other people in the area. It was also wonderful to share the evening with friends who were T'Bshvat seder virgins (as I had been last year) and know that it will be their first, but most definately not their last.
The seder was lead by variety of people in the community, jewish leaders, jewish farmers, jewish singers, etc. We also focused on creating as little waste as possible that evening. We purchased (and then donated to the synagogue) plates and silverware that they will now use for future events. Hopefully, these gifts will help 6th & I avoid using disposible plates and silverware in the future. And after the seder, there was a group of us bonding while we washed and dried all the dishes.
I look forward to next years seder and working towards more ways to reduce our garbage and sharing the gifts of the earth.

FeBrUaRy WrAp-Up!

Hellooo hello...! Lets see..sooo basically...to sum it up ..
-We receieved MH of the month for January andddd got our trophy :)~ (Thanksss J!)
-Shana and I had the pleasure of meeting David Cygielman for lunch yesterday! We had a really good time and he told us a lot about what is going on with MH right now and whats in store, etc etc so were really glad we were able to do that!
-we had a huge turn out for our superbowl party!
-We are planning a big joint-Purim party for March, along with a few other events that should be a lot of fun !

aaand thats about it!! Hope all is well and as always, all my best to everyone :)

Grassroots partnerships

I don't care how he spells the word "hustle," I appreciate Adam Rose's suggestion that we talk about Moishe House's sustainability. And for me, one of the pieces that I think is important is that we think of ourselves as part of a network of grassroots Jewish groups in our communities, and act accordingly.

So I recently joined the board of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, a Boston-based progressive Jewish organization. They do great work activating our local Jewish community on public policy concerns, especially regarding civil liberties, and we have built a strong relationship with them over the past three years.

Now JALSA is going through tough financial times, and one of the ideas they discussed at their board meeting last week was jointly applying for a grant together with us, the local Moishe/Kavod House. To me, it was not just a sign of respect that their E.D. made such a suggestion -- although it was clearly a recognition that we have built our own Jewish social justice base here in Boston -- but it was also a strong signal that others agree such partnerships are critical to helping grassroots organizations like ours both weather the hard times and then thrive in days to come.

I think it's a model a worth pursuing around the country, and I know that we are going to follow up...

On A Serious Note...

I do not know if it is on the minds of everyone else who reads this blog (which by recent tabulations is 5 people), but the longevity and security of our beloved Moishe House is on my mind. This may be rhetoric, but times are tough. And when things get though it requires Hussle. Hussle is what creates new ideas, Hussle is what introduces people, Hussle is what can bring in more money, and Hussle is what is required to make large changes to a program or organization whose prosperity and stability relies on improvement.

Hussle is what I am trying to do.

So are you hussling? Are you thinking about the same things that I am? Are you worried? In a time where there may be some significant and vitally important changes in our organization I want to know what you are thinking. And I think that this blog can be a place for this conversation.
Topics include:
- Size of organization
- Role of fundraising
- Organization's structure (central vs. local)
- Anything else...

I hope that this post can generate some response, as this is our organization and we all have a stake.