Tomek - MH Warsaw

Hi!
My name is Tomek and I live in Moishe House Warsaw. It has been almost a year since I moved into Moishe and I’m writing on this blog for the first time. It was very hard for me to write this post and I’m posting it so late that Joel wants to kill me. I’m really sorry. My only excuse (and surely not a very convincing one) is that I somehow always return my writings after deadlines. That’s me...

Frankly, it took me so much time to get to write this post because I don’t realy know what to write in it. One thing is sure: this year, my first year in Moishe house was probably the most interesting year of my life. Most interesting of all were the people I have met living here. Not only guests at our events, but also those who come to visit Warsaw from other Moishe Houses. I have met wonderful people and have made fantastic friends. That certainly is the most precious thing I could ever get.
Celebrating holidays and having inspiring discussions and last but not least thinking over identity - those are things I owe to Moishe House Warsaw, and I look forward to experiencing more and more of it.

Ben Kiss - Budapest

I'm the youngest and newest resident of MH Budapest. What I love about my community, and the whole spirit of the Moishe House, is its openness and liberal attitude toward all. I had never expected to meet so many interesting and different kind of people before the MH became a part of my life. In my subjective map of Budapest, it is in the center. 

I moved to the capital two years ago when I started university. I went on a study trip to the Czech Republic where I met Dora, who later became one of my best friends, who took me to the usual Kabbalat Shabbat upon returning to the country. Since then, I had very few missed programs here. 

I spent the first half of the year in Israel, and on my first days back in Hungary I bumped into Anna, one of the funding members of the House here. She just asked me if I wanted to move in because there was a vacant place and I immediately said yes! I was waiting for this for such a long time but I never thought I would actually become a resident one day. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of free time at the moment but when I do, I love dealing with the things of the community. And in case I need to work until late on Friday, even though I'm deadly tired, I'm always enormously grateful for where I live and for the faces I see at the end of the day and at the beginning of Shabbat. 

I'm saying without exaggeration that having found this hidden spot in the heart of the city was the best thing that happened to me in the past years. The people I met here, my community, all the visitors that we have from all around the world, the thought that there's something that binds us together, these are all very precious to me. Had there been more places like Moishe House, the world would be a much relaxed place.

Gabi Altamirano - Johannesburg

Moishe House has always been an open one for the Jewish twenty-something’s in Johannesburg. Pairing Moishe House and Habonim creates a bustling, dynamic and interesting house that has a constant stream of fascinating and diverse people constantly running in and out. A Friday and Saturday night hardly go by without a take-away and some wine, before going out or enjoying each others' company in the house. The house is not just host to social events but educational ones too - with a strong focus on Jewish learning and Israeli current affairs.

This year Roxanne, Browde and I decided to provide a more cultural experience and try to accommodate everyone. So we’ve had a fun, jammed packed year, filled with unique events, such as a girls night which involved 18 girls coming together over cocktails and dinner to listen to a sexologist help us regain our “power”. We have hosted a delegation from Israel coming out against Israel Apartheid week. We have done regular dinners, had amazing guest speakers (from lawyers working at the constitutional court, to heads of the Jewish community speaking on the role of youth within the community). We have celebrated in true Moishe House style, all chagim through elaborate dinners, late night text discussions, and parties.

I think this year we have managed to cater better for everyone and at some point during every month there has definitely been something appealing for a wide variety of people.

I think Moishe is definitely one of the most challenging but exciting things I’ve done. It’s taught me to branch out, engage with people I wouldn’t otherwise engage with, and challenge my thoughts and opinions. And it's ensured that I cater for my desire to help my community, by attending weekly tutoring sessions.

Moishe House Williamsburg - Luanna's Post

For many years I often joked that one day I was going to move to New York, live in some crappy neighborhood in Brooklyn, and have the perfect job in a Jewish Non- Profit. This is definitely what I got, so I recommend being careful what you wish for. I was lucky that this was a good wish. From the neighborhood, I learned to be more humble, from the job I learned to put all my heart and soul into it. All was great, but being in New York for almost a year, I began to feel that there was something lacking. I began to realize that I spent so much time building community for others, that I had no community myself. Being in a city where over a million people are Jewish, one may think finding community may be very simple, but truly it was not. A lot of events targeted at my age group were very impersonal and not continuous. It was then that a friend who lived in a Moishe House in Buenos Aires let me know about the houses that were about to open in New York. Everything Moishe House stood for was exactly what I was looking for. Building community for people in their 20s and 30s that were post-college did not have a place to explore their own Jewish identities. I had the luck of being selected to be part of a house in December of 2011. Since then I have truly learned a lot about myself, others, been able to truly build a community around my house. Our community members all with their different personalities have truly become friends I cherish, and look forward to seeing them both inside and outside the house. Being part of Moishe House has definitely given me the tools to build a community for myself and young Jews like me, helped me grow as an individual, and a Jewish leader.

Building Community - Vancouver

Four years ago, I moved from Israel to Vancouver. I left my family and friends back home. Today I owe many of my present relationships and some of my new skills to the vibrant young Jewish community of Vancouver. Due to the fact that I grew up and lived in Israel most of my life, Jewish culture and ideals are strongly embedded in my lifestyle and are second nature to me. After I finished my army service I went travelling around the world for a few years. Everywhere I landed I found amazing unique Jewish experiences. I found Jewish communities that were more than willing to help me out in any way possible. It was through these experiences that learned the importance of helping others in need and welcoming new comers to the community. I quickly came to realize that being Jewish is not only a privilege but also a responsibility. During my first year in Vancouver, my close friends and I saw a need for more tailored Jewish events and programming. We took upon ourselves to independently create such events. We hosted many busy Shabbat dinners and a 30-plus guest Passover Seder among others. The visions and values which spurned these events coincided with other Jewish organizational missions of building a strong Jewish community. Not only did these events help strengthen friendships, but they also allowed newcomers to meet an already thriving young adult Jewish community. After a year of successful gatherings we decided to apply to Moishe House. Thankfully our application was accepted and we obtained founding for our house and events. This has allowed me, my roommates and the community to take our Jewish values to the next level. Now we have at least two Tzdakah and Tikkun Olam events a month and a Shabbat and other social events as well. The help and skills that we get from the Moishe House is unbelievable. Moishe House has helped us build a stronger community that is proud to help the greater community grow and thrive. This drive to create and maintain community is integral to my personal Jewish identity. By being part of Moishe House I am able to give back to the same community that helped and supported me back when I was travelling. I wouldn’t have made it this far, if it weren’t for all the invaluable help of my Jewish community. Thank You Moishe House for all your help and support!! Rotem Tal Moishe House Vancouver B.C

Lessons from Capeside - Rachel Hodes, Moishe House Murray Hill

On this lazy, summer vacation Wednesday, I’ve decided to catch up on all of the Dawson’s Creek episodes I failed to watch during my teenage years. As I sit here watching the angsty teens of Capeside navigate through their melodramatic lives, I find myself continually rolling my eyes at their verbose and ridiculously dramatic explosions of love. However, as I have just completed watching the series finale, it struck me as I watched Jen Lindly, who upon her death bed had asked her best friend, Jack to “help my daughter find a place…I never really felt like I belonged,” that all they were trying to do (for six seasons) was find their community! Which, in reality, is really what we’re all trying to do. For me, I see this as a life-long process, an evolution, of which Moishe House is currently a huge part. Growing up, the Jewish community was a constant, I went to Hebrew school two days a week, and worked there as a teacher’s aide for another two, I participated in my local Young Judaea chapter, and was on the temple youth group board for three years. It was only when I entered college that I began to really engage with what being a member (and leader) of the Jewish community really meant…and what I decided was that it wasn’t for me.

It was this moment in my life that has shaped every other decision that I have made. What I realized after quite a few months, and with the help of a truly magnificent Hillel professional, is that the answer to solving my qualms with the Jewish community wasn’t DIS-engagement, but rather RE-engagement. How could I, as a thoughtful, smart, motivated individual form a place where people could come together comfortably? And thus, began the journey that led me here…helping to create small pockets of Jewish life on my college campus, and after moving to NYC last year, starting Moishe House Murray Hill. I see our job as young, Jewish leaders not to determine the direction of the Jewish communities we reside in, but rather to help empower the community to decide for itself – provide the space for any individual to explore what their Jewish identity means to them, and how that will manifest in their own lives. We have such a unique opportunity to organically grow our peer’s ideas and dreams, and as Jen Lindly so sagely advised us, to help them belong. 

House on the Table by the Sea - Dan Kruss, MH Cape Town

This is my second year that I am lucky enough to live in the best house in the best city in the World.

Moishe House, Cape Town, is my home (as temporary as it may be).

I share it with my housemates -People that are as awesome and chilled as me.

We work like dogs to make events awesome, engaging and magnetic. And in the end of the day, it's all worth it.

Our home is always filled with our friends, friends of friends and we love it.

The table tennis table never rests. The kettle works overtime, pumping out copious amounts of tea and hot chocolate in this cold weather.

This vast, omnifarious, crazy group of people have become a community.

We may all be made of different fabric, but we share a thread.

We are all Jewish. We are all Jewish young adults in a city filled with both opportunities and hurdles.

The important and fascinating thing is that we embrace and tackle every one.

I work from 9 to 5 everyday. I work late at night.

But when I get home and there's 10 people there to greet me. All worries and stress seems to wane away.

It has been amazing living in Moishe House CT.

People ask me why I live here.

I ask them why not.