I love...everything!

Life. Oh Life! So many things to think about. So many things to worry about. So many people to care about. But in the end...everything is great! Life. Is. Beautiful.

I spent the last 3 weeks of my life UBER stressed out with work, my love life, and I hate to admit it...Moishe House. Everything seemed to hit me at once. A few events crept up, kids at my work were being really obnoxious and hard to deal with, and for the first time in a while I was completely single (not even one date in the near future). I called my sister, cried to my mother, and then it hit me. "What am I doing?" There are SO many moments in my life where everything seems so tough and unbearable, but then I realize, I get to wake up tomorrow- healthy, well-educated, loved, etc. etc., and I get to start fresh. "Snap out of it Sonia...how lucky are you?"

I'm also lucky that this point in my life/year came at the end of the Jewish year. "Going home", aka driving 20 minutes into the San Fernando Valley, was a breath of fresh air. My cousin was in town from NY, I spent a few nights at my parents house, and I was able to really digest everything that was happening in my life and how I wanted to grow from it all. Erev Rosh Hashana was the bomb.com. I went over to my aunt and uncles house with my mom and grandma and was able to enjoy a dinner filled with fond memories from the motherland, prayers over food, and damn good challah and honey. It was easy to completely forget about all my stress and focus on laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. Moments and memories such as these seem to somehow erase all bad feelings and bad days. The bad days come and they go, but dinners with family and laughing until you cry are the memories I keep from year to year.

Moishe House was also something that made me super happy this week! Although it can sometimes be a stressful thing, Moishe House is sure to provide me with a dose of love, spirituality, and community that makes me forget about all my stress. This past week Moishe House LA hosted our biggest non-partnered event ever. We had 50 people at our house for Shabbat dinner. Being in the house all day, cooking, and setting up for 30 people only to watch person after person and group after group coming in to join in on our dinner made me smile from ear to ear. Sure there was a point in all of our nights where we thought "Oy! There's not enough food!" or "Oy! Not everyone can sit!" but...WHO CARES? There's ALWAYS enough food, and so what if people have to stand? They're still enjoying their night and meeting new awesome people. It was so beautiful, and I can honestly say I felt almost high the next day from the feeling of being so proud to be a part of our house and a part of our organization.

So I hope to share with all of you and I hope to remind myself next time I feel like crying....love! Love everything you do! Be happy! Happiness is the key to sanity! and Breathe! What ever that means to you- whether it's an actual inhale and exhale or whether it's a few nights away from reality- BREATHE!

Besos to all.

A new year, a new crew

Well, MH Chicago has gone through many transitions. September marked the departure of 3 of our treasured residents, Kelly, Wendy and Emma, and the arrival of three new residents, Benjamin, Elli and Danny, who are eager to take on the mission of living in a Moishe House. September, of course, also marked the beginning of 5772.

I've had many reflections on what it means to be a Moishe House resident. It was wonderful to live in MH Chicago, the past 2 years with 4 of my best friends. We developed a rhythm and a clear set of expectations for our responsibilities and came to function like a well-oiled machine when it came to hosting programs and dinners for over 40 people. Using the principles of community organizing as a foundation for our community, we watched as many of our community members became invested in the broader MH community and developed as strong leaders. Many of our programming initiatives came from requests of what people wanted to see from MH Chicago. Then we worked with them to make their visions a reality.

Now, our three new members, all of whom were community members before, have taken over the reigns. They bring a new energy and excitement to the table. They come with fresh ideas and a passion to see MH grow. It is great to see. As we grow, I wonder how we do it in a sustainable way and how we grow in a way that does not ostracize the original community.

In this season of self reflection, I am taking time to step back and think about what I like most about MH Chicago. While there is a wealth of synagogue based initiatives for Jews in their 20s and 30s, I think we have filled a niche for people who are seeking a less institutionalized form of Judaism. A community that is member driven. A Jewish community that is pertinent to our members' lives and that is attuned to their interests. I am reminded what an honor and privilege it is to live in a Moishe House. And I am inspired by the new-comers energy to reignite my own passion for building a strong, progressive, egalitarian Jewish community.

Fall transitions at Moishe House San Francisco

This fall (this upcoming Halloween actually) marks my 3rd year of living in Moishe House San Francisco. When I moved in, sight unseen, straight from Brooklyn 3 years ago, I never thought I'd live in the house for as long as I have. I moved in looking for connections with other Jews, looking for a social life, and looking for a network. I knew I loved planning events, hosting dinner parties, and participating in social justice. I also knew that the roommates I'd be moving in with were kind, passionate, and really welcoming. I didn't know how long I'd stay, and I didn't know where life would take me in the next few years. I didn't have a plan, but I had concieved of it as an interim move while I got settled in SF, maybe for a year or so before finding my own place.

Now, it's hard to imagine anything else. Moishe House is my home and a huge part of my life. My boyfriend moved in with us about 8 months ago, and now we are both completely involved in the workings of the house. It's my 'hobby,' my 'second job' and a lot of my social life. I've been in the house now long enough to see so many people come and go. Resident changes, guests, etc.

It's fall and it seems apt that there are some more changes in progress. First, we had to say goodbye to Kiki Fabian, who had been a great roommate, but had to follow her heart and started med school in Israel at Ben Gurion. Then, we got a new roommate - Monique Arar. Just as she is settling in, I'm starting to think about moving along. I don't know how I'll know that I'm absolutely 'ready' because how would anyone ever feel ready to leave such a gorgeous house, such great friendships, and such a great project?

I do know though that I've grown and learned a lot in my time at moishe house, and whenever it is that Jordan and I decide to move on, I'll take all that with me. Moishe House has changed me. It's pushed my schmooze skills to their absolute limits, it's taught me a lot about Jewish ritual that I never learned growing up in a very reform, hippy synagogue, and has connected me with hundreds of young San Francisco Jews and Jewish organizations. It has taught me about collaboration, team work, communication, and how not to be passive-agressive with routine roommate issues like dirty dishes or loud noises. I know that I'll keep hosting shabbat dinner, keep volunteering, and keep connected once I leave. My Jewish identity has grown stronger over the past few years, and really all I've done in that time that's 'Jewish' is everything moishe.
Thanks to moishe house I build a sukkah once a year, and now I frequently get to light candles, say kiddish, and eat challah; all things that really mean a lot to me. Once I leave I know I'll find a way to keep this aspect of my life in my identity and in my social plans.

We've got a lot of great September events coming up, so definitely check the moishe house website and our calendar if you'd like to join us. It's a fun filled and busy high holiday season for sure!

Bye bye MoHo-Fo now :)

It's that time we all know exists, but have no idea when it will happen. It's my time to spread my wings, and move on out of the wonderful, beautifully, loving Moishe House LA.

I moved to LA a year and a half ago, and my transition into my new life would have been far more difficult had I not had the Moishe House Community. Over the past 15 months I have built some of the most loving, strong friendships which I know will continue to flourish, post-moho.

I could go on thanking the moishe house for providing me this amazing opportunity, however I feel it would be more entertaining to leave you with a couple lessons I have learned from living in a communal house.

(1) Men don't do dishes. This may be an exaggeration, because sure, occasionally, the sink will be clean. HOWEVER, for the most part, I am prepared for the sink responsibilities for my future relationships.

(2) Communication, respect and love are the most important factors in creating positive, beneficial relationships.

(3) The moishe house is not just a non-profit organization, but it is a home dedicated to providing a safe and warm space to the lost community of wandering Jews.

I am sad to say farewell, but am excited to move on with my life. I look forward to being a part of the "attending" moho community, and cannot wait to see the wonderful events mohola will throw in the future.

If you miss me and are hungry, come visit me at Whole Foods in Venice, Ca.

I love you all,
:),
Julie Auerbach
Mohola-'10-'11

September Fun!

Hey Moisheniks, 

Hope you're enjoying the summer! Although as I write this it is pouring rain, but I guess it's the summer thoughts that count... 

Here at the House we are busy busy busy-- between festivals, holiday travels, planning for Rosh Hashana, and getting ready for our newest member. We have said goodbye to Joel, and are welcoming Rebecca/Becky who (in her own words) has been spending the last year in goat poo and is nervous to return to a place with WiFi and a decent public transport system. I am sure she will fill you in on the details if you only ask!

Anyway, September is jam-packed with events from geeky films, Tantra, Rosh Hashana spiritual and physical preparations, services, and even Craniosacral therapy-- read on for details! 

Have a beautiful month, 

Alli, Aviad, Rachel, Brett, and Clive x

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, 30 August

Geek Week pt 1- Back to the Future

Moishe House

Tomorrow 19:00

Welcome to Moishe House London's "Geek Week". 
Three nights, three different "geeky" films. 

Come to one, come to all-- dress up if you want, bring some snacks and drinks, and be prepared for some fun. 

Tuesday: Back to the Future Trilogy
Wednesday: Indiana Jones (best two we can think of)
Thursday: X-Men Trilogy

Wednesday 31 August

Geek Week pt 2- Indiana Jones

Moishe House London

Wednesday 19:00

01 September

Geek Week pt 3- X-Men Trilogy

Moishe House London

Thursday 19:00

08 September

Mini-introduction to Tantra

Moishe House London

08 September at 18:30

After Leora Lightwoman's fantastic session at the Moishe House in December, we decided to team up with Diamond Light Tantra again. We will be their venue for this mini-introduction session. It is open to the general public for £25 per person if booked in advance (£30 on the door) but MOISHE HOUSE LONDON COMMUNITY CAN BOOK IN ADVANCE FOR JUST £10 - just call Diamond Light on 0845 388 2231 with a credit/debit card and say you're from Moishe House London, or book using the following link: http://diamondlighttantra.com/content/september-7th-tantra-introductory-evening-individual

YOU MUST BOOK IN ADVANCE WITH DIAMOND LIGHT FOR THE £10 OFFER - IT IS £30 ON THE DOOR.

Please do not re-post this special offer on any other public forum.

18 September

Elul Through Art & Learning (link to event page)

Moishe House London

18 September at 11:00

Elul is the Hebrew month preceding the High Holidays. It is a time dedicated to preparing ourselves for the upcoming Big Days. Come to our Elul day so that when we hit Rosh Hashana you feel ready instead of bewildered. Guaranteed to enhance your Grassroots experience or I'm wrong.
Freel free to join us regardless of whether you will be with us for the Grassroots Jews services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
For more about those services though, see: 
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=146199175464786

Grassroots Art Camp:

Create our space. Rutie Borthwick, Alli Zionts and Gaby Pomeroy will be coordinating this day of creation, decoration and adornment for the Grassroots temporary home in Moishe House. Come and crochet a part of our new trichitza will Rutie and help make beautiful things to make our space beautiful.

Grassroots Elul Learning: 

Program of talks, shiurim and lectures by the best in the business. More of the high quality approachable learning that Grassroots hosts. Speakers include: Rabbi Judith Rosen Berry, Benedict Roth, Daniel Lichman, Prof. Vic Seidler. Subjects range from Talmudic insights into fasting to understanding Rosh Hashana through the lens of submissive/dominant sexuality. 

Full program to be published nearer the date!

28-30 September

Grassroots 2011 (link to event page)

Moishe House London

28 September at 18:30

*Please take care! Saying you are 'attending' on Facebook does NOT secure your place at Grassroots. To ensure your spot, click this link: http://grassrootsjewishnewyearproject.wordpress.com/booking and look around the blog for all the crucial info you'll need!*

Daniel Kingsley

Craniosacral Therapy at Moishe House with Daniel Kingsley – Individual Sessions

Available every Monday from 2pm to 9pm

[link to a facebook event/page for the individual sessions]

Craniosacral therapy is a very gentle yet powerful hands-on form of bodywork, developed from Osteopathy. It is great for relieving stress, helping to resolve headaches, neck and back issues. Because it supports the body in its own rebalancing and self-healing it can also be used to treat many other conditions that conventional medicine can't such as insomnia, digestive problems, low energy, depression and hormonal imbalances. Sessions are usually experienced as deeply relaxing and revitalising.

Daniel Kingsley will be offering individual 50 minute sessions every Monday. Sessions cost £60. Free consultations are available either by phone or just by dropping into the house.

For more information call Daniel on 07958 655 406, check out his websitehttp://www.facebook.com/l/TAQATYGjOAQBMTM1eCXSacG0tdkSit2_tI4B0vs9kvr6qBQ/www.reconnectohealth.co.uk or his facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/Daniel.Kingsley.Cranio

Of All the Little Surprises

In my determination not to help at all during the transition of Moishe House OC from Laguna Beach to Costa Mesa I decided to break my ankle in two places, confine myself to a couch for six weeks or so, and have a bunch of metal installed in m body. This is the obvious solution to laziness. I mean really who enjoys packing up a house and moving, when I say “I will do anything to avoid moving.” I mean it.

I am writing this from a well worn patch of couch situated in the living room of our new house. Strewn about me are the necessities of daily life, IPOD, water bottle, crutches, pen , paper, and of course my laptop. My world is really small right now, and yet the community it holds is larger than I ever imagined. After the break I disappeared home for 3 weeks to recuperate, drawing on the support of family leaving my roommates to run the new MoHo. Now that I am at our new home, my wonderful roommates are helping me, I get to enjoy events from the couch perspective, we plan events together better than ever, and out turnout skyrocketed after with the location change.

I want to return to the community though, never before in my life have I sought out a strong network of support. Yet here I am on a couch, getting messages on Facebook, phone calls and emails from community members, the very people that make this organization thrive asking how they can help. When one member of the community is in trouble, we all help. I think that this simple idea of community helping its members is often forgotten, it is the original social safety net. At our house we have not missed a beat, participants are helping with breakdown of events, moving us in, bringing extra food for Shabbat, even though we are down one person (me!) we have ten more people to help out.

Honestly all of this sentiment is feeling rather maudlin, but the truth is had anyone asked me when I started here, “If you broke your ankle what would you do?”
I would’ve said “I have no clue”. During all my forced vacation time I’ve done too much reading, and one very talented author’s words bring me comfort right now,
“…we cannot possibly know what it is we’ve yet to make manifest in our lives…”.
I couldn’t have planned for any of this, Moishe House happened to me just as accidentally as my broken ankle. All I am certain of right now is that our house is going to keep going strong, and that we have a wonderful group of people around us that will make sure we are here for quite some time to come.

Parker
Moishe House OC

August: a fond farewell

It's been an unbelievable four years, but I'm moving out of MoHoLo at the end of August. If all goes well, I'll still be involved in Moishe House, working with the other MoHoLo residents and Moishe Houses in other countries, but my time living here is coming to an end.

When five of us decided to start a Jewish community house in 2007 we were prompted by a deep sense of personal need, for a type of community that was almost within reach but didn't yet exist. On my part, I wanted a better Jewish life.

Four years on and my Jewish life is completely transformed, through Moishe House London and other stellar clusters of creative Jewish community. So for this individual, it's mission accomplished.

MoHoLo continues to evolve, with all of us shaping it. If you want to run an event, get in touch - I certainly plan to be part of things.

Clive Selwyn has been a resident since before the summer and he'll continue to bring his special brand of madness to the Moishe House. And in September, again all going well, you'll be able to meet a sixth resident, arriving back in the UK with fresh ideas.

Indulge me here. I'd like to sign off with my top 5 Moishe House London events from the last four years - evenings of magic:

5) Shotei Ha'Nevua (January 2011)

4) Gaza Listening (January 2009)

3) Dining in the Dark (February 2011)

2) The Big One (December 2009)

1) Moishe Fest (July 2009)

And the future...? READ ON

Love,

Joel

-

We've got two Tisha B'Av events, dancing, drumming, geeky movies and, moving into September and beyond, Tantra and - oh yeah - Grassroots Jews Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services.

One more thing first: Facebook groups are changing and their new format doesn't let us do the things we need to do as residents of MoHoLo. Please help us transition to a new system of alerting you to events by filling in this form: http://tripler.wufoo.com/forms/moholo-contact-list/

It only takes a few seconds.

-

EVENTS

08 August

Yachad Beit Midrash - Tisha b'Av Tikkun Where: Moishe House London When: 08 August from 21:00 to 23:00

The first of two Tisha B'Av events at MoHoLo is presented by Yachad. Study texts on Jewish sovereignty, ask difficult questions and search for answers together.

09 August

Footsteps in the Sand - Tisha B'Av Event Where: MoHoLo When: 09 August from 19:00 to 20:30

Aviad presents his personal take on Tisha B'Av and Gush Katif, looking at the expulsion of 8,600 Jews from their houses six years ago. We will learn some Talmud and more recent Jewish approaches to suffering, before watching the film 'Footsteps in the Sand.'

10 August

Dancing the Philtrum Where: Moishe House London, message us for specific address When: 10 August from 19:30 to 22:00

Free dance movement, meditation, voice, breath and automatic drawing/writing to get in touch with our innate wisdom. This session is full but there is a waiting list - email tanyabenardout@hotmail.com for more info.

11 August

Drumming Workshop Where: MoHoLo When: 11 August from 19:30 to 21:30 Back by popular demand. Bring your own hand drums and percussion, and learn how to play it!

30 August

Geek Week pt 1- Back to the Future Where: Moishe House When: 30 August from 19:00 to 22:00

Three nights, three 'geek classics' - projected on our big screen. Dress up (if you want), bring some snacks and drinks, and be prepared for some fun.

31 August

Geek Week pt 2- Indiana Jones Where: Moishe House London When: 31 August from 19:00 to 22:00

Three nights, three 'geek classics' - projected on our big screen. Dress up (if you want), bring some snacks and drinks, and be prepared for some fun.

01 September

Geek Week pt 3- X-Men Trilogy Where: Moishe House London When: 01 September from 19:00 to 22:00

Three nights, three 'geek classics' - projected on our big screen. Dress up (if you want), bring some snacks and drinks, and be prepared for some fun.

08 September

Mini-introduction to Tantra Where: Moishe House London When: 08 September from 18:30 to 21:00

After Leora Lightwoman's fantastic session in December, we decided to team up with Diamond Light Tantra again, for this mini-introduction session. Enhance connectedness, harmony and compassion - with a special offer for MoHoLo community.

September 28th-29th Grassroots Jews Rosh Hashanah services: Watch This Space!