Compassionate Caring Community

"God is not the destruction of a hurricane, but the relief after the storm" -Rabbi Gersh Zylberman

University Synagogue Preschool Community has helped build the foundation for my passion to be a Jewish leader and dedicate my heart to helping Jewish families in need. For over three years I have volunteered for the Community Scholarship Program at USP and we help raise funds for our local community members in need. During the school year 2010-2011 we were informed of a family crisis within my classroom. The mother was diagnosed with cancer and the father lost his job simultaneously. This experience I developed strong leadership skills and my ambition to support my local Jewish community members in need. During this hurricane our Jewish Community rose above to support this family and I experienced the strength a quality community can bring. Additionally, I knew that I had to pursue lifelong opportunities to unite and lead local Jewish community members to support each other through out the roller coaster we call life. There are times we are up and down, but if you belong to a quality community such as, Moishe House we can share the blessings and struggles in life together.

MHDC - Lily

Humans seek belonging. We love to feel part of something, know that we have friends, be accepted. This fundamental characteristic is behind the Moishe House goal of creating meaningful experiences for young Jews around the world. Since living in the Washington, DC iteration of the amazing experiment in community-building that is Moishe House, I have gotten a chance to stretch my creativity and broaden my perspectives on what community is, how to create it, and how to nurture it. Luckily, around the time I stepped into my role as a Moishe House resident about year ago, I had a fantastic idea handed down to me: Sing for Your Supper (SFYS) has become one of the most successful community-building tools in my arsenal. Music has been a central part of every human civilization. We have different tastes and cultural paradigms, sure, but few people ever leave the earth without singing something. There is more to singing, however, than just creating music. Singing creates community. Last fall, I was reunited with a group of friends from a fellowship year in India. The focus of our group is not musical at all - we were volunteers dealing with various social problems of a complex developing country. But while living together, we had done a lot of singing just for fun. We were a group of very different people with different musical tastes and personality types, yet we got along surprisingly well. As our reunion weekend drew to a close, we walked arm and arm down the sidewalk in Manhattan, singing something that I'm sure was as cheesy as Frank Sinatra or the Backstreet Boys. Someone said, "Do you guys think we're so close because we sang together?" That question planted a seed. I thought about how people have historically connect across language, culture and social problems through song. The civil rights movement came to mind, old slave spirituals, and the critical role music played in the anti-apartheid movement. People empowered and united by music. I remembered how in my public health work in India, songs carried messages of health and nutrition to rural, uneducated communities. Would that message have been as effective if spoken? I thought about communities I'd met in my college days in Vermont, who gathered on cold winter nights to pass on songs as old as America through fiddles, guitars and voices. Could we appreciate the old traditions through recordings alone? I thought about how so much American music can trace its roots to church, and about the time my Rabbi told our congregation to sing because it was holy. "Angels move through you when you sing," he'd said on Rosh Hashana. Joining voices has a power beyond the song. SYFS has not always had its own acronym. It is an old Irish tradition wherein a host cooks a meal and the guests repay the hospitality by performing a song. When I hosted my first supper at Moishe House, the turnout was small. To make the experience more accessible, we decided that the songs not necessarily be performances, but rather sing-along style. It turned out to be a mixture of both, and we had a great time! Since then, the SFYS phenomenon has grown tremendously. The hosting is passed around, and each event is unique but consistently fun, joyfully noisy, and welcoming environment. Most importantly, I've found, the typical social ice is broken and people talk to each other more freely. We leave the communal music-making event with huge smiles on our faces. There is certainly no greater sign of success in the endless quest for human connection.

MH Williamsburg - DeJohn

Wow, it’s amazing how time flies. It seems like just yesterday we were searching for an apartment to start our brand new Moishe House here in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I guess the saying rings true, “time flies when you’re having fun” because these last four and a half months have flown by. Let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is DeJohn, and I make up one third of the amazing trio that is Moishe House Williamsburg. Just like the “Real World,” we were three strangers picked to live and work in a house together, and it is amazing what we have accomplished in a short time. When we moved in two out of the three of us knew almost no one in the city, and now we have 15-20 guests for each of our Shabbat dinners while attracting regular crowds to events such as challah baking and happy hours. In this post I want to focus on one particularly meaningful event for our house and myself, our second night Passover Seder. Passover is probably my favorite Jewish holiday. I love reflecting on the journey our ancestors made to make our current existence possible, sharing the holiday with friends and family, and enjoying some of my favorite foods. One of my favorite parts of it seems every Seder I have attended is the community aspect. Whether it was my parents inviting in college students and non-Jewish friends, or being invited myself into friends’ family’s homes in Israel or at school in Arizona, Passover always seems to bring new friendships and family into my life, and so I thought it would make the perfect Moishe House event. Armed with my mom’s recipes and guidance, I went about preparing to host my very first Passover Seder. For attendees I reached out to our regular Moishe House community, my friends, the other NYC Moishe Houses, and Facebook, inviting anyone and everyone to join me in celebrating our exodus from Egypt. At the same time I finalized a menu, my mother’s brisket recipe, roasted potatoes and salad, to go along with Passover staples gefilte fish, charoset, matzo and of course lots of wine. For haggadot I went to my trusty friend Google and found a great (and relatively short) Haggadah to help guide us in recounting our ancestors journey out of Egypt. After hours of cooking and cleaning, I finally welcomed 12 guests into our home for the second night of Passover. We had a wide variety of guests, Jews and non-Jews, first time Moishe House attendees and regular attendees, Israelis and Americans. To say the Seder was a great experience would be an understatement. We each took turns reading passages from the Haggadah, enjoyed four glasses of wine, and got to know each other over stimulating dinner conversation. Like all Passovers it seems, I enjoyed my favorite foods, made new friends, and renewed my appreciation for the struggles of the Jewish people. The experience I had hosting a Passover Seder is the perfect example of what an amazing organization and opportunity Moishe House is. Without Moishe House my dozen guests and myself would have had to go to an unfamiliar Seder that may not have felt like home. Instead we were able to gather together and feel like a family celebrating an important Jewish holiday. Like NFTY in high school and AEPi in college, Moishe House has given me a new Jewish family where I can grow and develop with amazing friends, and I can’t wait to continue seizing this amazing opportunity. If you, or someone you know, might be interested in getting involved in Moishe House Williamsburg or is interested in more information send me an email at dmrose14@gmail.com and I can tell you more about our house and invite you to our next event!

Rafi - MH Buenos Aires

Three months ago the "Moishe House Experience" started for me. I was recently graduated from the Industrial Design Career in the University of Buenos Aires and I was ready to move in to Moishe House Buenos Aires. I lived all my life in this city, being an active member of my jewish community and I was really happy about this opportunity. 

Many things and events happen during those first days and lots of new people start being part of my life.

And suddenly only one month after I moved in, a trip opportunity to the USA came up and with that, the possibility of visiting many other Moishe House during my journey.

See you later Moishe House Buenos Aires! And Welcome Moishe House New Orleans, New Jersey, Brooklyn and Boston! I prepared my luggage, went to Ezeiza Airport and the travel started…

MH NOLA received me and my friends during Mardi Gras celebrations. We arrived a Saturday night, it was a strange city for me and as soon as I saw the Moishe house Carpet in the floor I felt a little bit like in home. Immediately this great group of residents: Zake, Malory, Barry and Laura made us feel like part of their group of friends.

MH Hoboken was next and this time I arrived alone to New Jersey.  Josh, David and Shira invited me to every event , we share a great Shabbat dinner together and enjoy so much with all of them. We even went together to a Purim party in the Moishe House Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

Last stop was MH Boston I only spent one day there, people in the House was so nice with me, and it was enough time to see how they live, and the kind of events and activities they do.

What an amazing experience! Such a great trip! Meeting new friends around the world! Feeling in home away from home, even when I wasn’t talking my first language.

I came back to Buenos Aires with a better knowledge of what all this “Moishe House thing ” is about. It was a very inspiring travel. Met new friends, learn how jewish young adults from abroad live, what kind of activities other Moishe house residents organized.  

It is so exciting to be part of this great project that aims to change the life of many… well it is certainly starting to change mine!

Thank you Moishe House! Gracias!! =)

Rafi Zelmann - MH Buenos Aires

Rachael - Moishe House West LA

Since I moved into Moishe House West LA in December, I've received weekly emails from Zvi offering up his take on the weekly Torah portion and some learnings to help make the ancient texts relatable. To completely come clean, I tried to read them a few times but would get distracted by something else and never went back. Then I just started to ignore them since they'd pop into my inbox during work, I'd save them to read for a few weeks and they'd pile up until I'd admit to myself that I probably wouldn't get to them. In general, I don't really consider myself a "torah studier" and liked the idea of giving it a try once in awhile, but wasn't making the time.

This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting Zvi at the Moishe House National Conference and quickly realized that I'd been missing out on his weekly nuggets of Torah gold. He presented teachings to our group in a way that paid tribute to the words that have been studied for ages but boiled it down to relatable, modern ideas and ways to bring these lessons into our daily lives, however we see fit. It was really refreshing.

So yesterday, Zvi sent another email and I marked it unread. But this afternoon I read it and I'm so glad I did. It was about the counting of the Omer which is something I'd never heard of before. I read the article he attached and then put his webinar on in the background while I updated my production schedule. I was really inspired by the conversation that he led and decided to pitch an idea to my roommates that we incorporate the counting of the omer into our events between Passover and Shavuot by collecting food items in our SOVA bin, with the goal to collect 49 lbs of food to donate. And at the end we can deliver the food and have a celebratory dinner with food we've grown on our rooftop garden (planted on Tu B'Shevat!) as a symbol of our own harvest.

The greatest thing about Moishe House that I took away from the National Conference is that the organization gives its residents access to a plethora of valuable resources and our job is to take advantage of them however we see fit. I heard it several times this weekend, but the Conference did sincerely make me feel like part of a huge, tight-knit network. I love the community that we've started to create in Moishe House West LA, and even more the community that the three LA houses have created by bringing their communities together, but this weekend took that feeling to a whole new level! I realized that our West LA house has just scratched the surface and that the resources that Moishe House offers us are ours for the taking. Rent subsidies and monthly budgets are just the beginning. It's really the knowledge and ideas and passion for the work that the Moishe House staff does that makes this organization so special and unique. But the most amazing part, as a resident, is that they're encouraging us to take all of their resources and gifts and make them our own, however we see fit.

Dovi - Moishe House San Diego

At some point in the recent past, and I am not sure exactly when, both I and MHSD have gone through a transformation of sorts. It used to be that when people would ask me about Moishe House I would reply with something along the lines of “we are trying to start an active and engaged community of Jewish young adults set in a comfortable, pressure-free environment.” Now, however, my response is different. It sounds more along the lines of “we ARE a community …” Somewhere along the line we matured from a goal into a realized product. This is not to say that the community is now static; we are still learning and growing each and every event, but we are certainly a true community in every sense of the word. We are there to celebrate simchas together as well as to grieve with or console one another when necessary. We learn from one another, inspire one another, and create a synergy that is far greater than the sum of each of us individually. It is no longer a question of whether the Moishe House models is right for San Diego or do young adults want to be engaged and a part of the Jewish world. Rather, the question is how much can we accomplish as a community. How can we better one another? What can we do to benefit the larger community? How can we make the world a better place?
Moishe House San Diego also recently experienced its first personnel change. The four original residents have lived together and planned events together since the inception of the house. This has been great and we have worked hard to help facilitate community growth, so we were not sure what the dynamic would be when someone moved out. In February we found out. It was hard to say goodbye to one of our roommates, but it was exciting to bring in a new mind and heart with fresh ideas and invigorating passion. Our new roommate reminded me of the excitement that I had when the house started and the transition prompted me to take a moment to reflect on our progress as a community. Seeing someone new come into the role of community leader so effortlessly gave me renewed hope that as each of us transitions out of living in MHSD, we will be replaced with someone equally devoted to the goals of the house. This shows me that we are a sustainable community and not just the product of four roommates. I am not sure how we as a community reached this point, but I am proud to know that I have been a part of it. Now, I look forward to seeing how Moishe House San Diego continues to grow and what we are capable of achieving together.

Ido - MH Cape Town

Living in Moishe House – A home in foreign country

I would like to start with a short intro about myself, in order to emphasize the uniqueness of my experience living in MH Cape Town.
My name is Ido Shapira, I’m 23 years old and I’m from Israel.
Like most Israelis, after finishing my service in the IDF I packed a bag and went traveling. But just a bit before I started my trip in South America, I volunteered in a Jewish summer camp in Texas USA.
I was exposed to a side of the Jewish world that I barely knew, the bigger side - Jews in the diaspora. After two and a half months of working in Texas and eight and a half months of thinking (while traveling in South America), I decided that before I’m going to start studying, I want to explore this side of the Jewish world a bit more.=

Six months ago I arrived in Cape Town and joined MH.
I’m volunteering in the Jewish community in Cape Town, working for the Jewish schools, the Union of Jewish students in the University of Cape Town (UCT), the various Youth movements and other Jewish organizations in Cape Town. My job is to strengthen the connection between Israel and the Jewish community of Cape Town.

Living in a foreign country is always a hard thing, but trying to integrate in a Jewish community in a foreign country is even harder.
Moishe House gave me the opportunity to mix and mingle with people of my age (more or less) and through them to get to know the community (and to get the community to know me).

When growing up in Israel, Judaism is taken for granted; only when leaving Israel can you perceive the difficulties of being and maintaining one’s Jewish identity in the diaspora. Moishe House allows young people to interact and meet other Jews and actually makes it easier for them to be Jewish. Participating and leading activities that deal with Jewish culture and tradition, practicing Jewish values through outreach programs or just creating a Jewish group of friends (a thing that sometimes can be really hard considering the size of the Jewish community in SA) - all of this is a result of a changing group of people who have lived or are still living in one Moishe House in Cape Town.

Looking back over the last six moths, knowing that there are six left to go, I have no doubt that I made the right choice. Living in MH puts me at the center of things and allows me to accomplish my main goal – getting people to know Israel and strengthening their Jewish identity, while experiencing living in a Jewish community in the diaspora.

Who knows, maybe when I’ll be back in Israel I’ll open an Israeli MH.