Hey all. Life in Boston is good, chilly and not really snowy... (probably a convenient, but sad, truth). We had a meaningful MLK commemoration where we sat and read, "Letter from Birmingham Jail" - I highly recommend a re-read of this relevant and inspiring event. My arts programming is building up steam and we are having a big benefit concert on Feb. 17th for Darfur. I'm psyched. People seem to be pitching in more and it's great to see that the house is not just another model of "full service" as in, people coming to be served, but that people are stepping up as servers and do-ers. Looking forward to Levi coming out and bringin' a little West Coast Sunshine...
Shavuah Tov.
Alyson
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Are Jews White?
As I sit here reading Ben's post from Boston, I am listening to the Roots album, The Tipping Point. Though it was apropos. Yahsar koach on their amazing work!
It is a season of Roots as we approach Tu B'Shvat. And I am often reminded of mine...just last week a guy named John Basior emailed me (found me on the internet) and asked if we are related. In fact we are, we figured out - we are 3rd cousins, once removed. And he has a son with the same name as me...and I thought I was the only one!
I talked to my grandparents just today too. They remind me of my roots. I also had a good conversation with a friend this morning about my own personal racism roots. I have some deep ones. What do you guys think about the whiteness of ashkenazi Jews in America? Most of us pass for white...are we white? Certainly we have some/a ton of non-whiteness in our history...
Would love to hear your thoughts...
D in SEA
It is a season of Roots as we approach Tu B'Shvat. And I am often reminded of mine...just last week a guy named John Basior emailed me (found me on the internet) and asked if we are related. In fact we are, we figured out - we are 3rd cousins, once removed. And he has a son with the same name as me...and I thought I was the only one!
I talked to my grandparents just today too. They remind me of my roots. I also had a good conversation with a friend this morning about my own personal racism roots. I have some deep ones. What do you guys think about the whiteness of ashkenazi Jews in America? Most of us pass for white...are we white? Certainly we have some/a ton of non-whiteness in our history...
Would love to hear your thoughts...
D in SEA
Growing
All I have to say is WHOAH! With another big program to go, we have had our biggest month yet, with 282 people passing through so far. On Friday we had 85 people show up to Shabbat, which was our biggest event EVER.
I'm excited that we seem to be reaching some sort of tipping point where friends are telling friends about our place, but I'm also a little overwhelmed. There is so much good stuff going on - our leadership teams are up and running, which means more leaders, more programs, more integration among everything we do. It's what we've been talking about, and so far it seems to be working. But it is strange to grow this fast.
On Friday night, our davening services were on fire. We gathered upstairs in a smaller room, so that despite our general lack of heating, the room was so packed I had to take off several layers of kabbalisticly white clothing. The 50 or so people at services were crowded, but all directed toward one thing - praying, singing, dancing - all to elevate Shabbat and express gratitude. And, everyone listened raptly as our speaker talked about a local campaign calling on Harvard use its resources to share essential medicines with people in the developing world.
But then at dinner, after another 35 people showed up, I started to notice how many new people there were. I felt a responsiblity to say hello to everyone, but also kind of wanted to hide. It is hard to stay authentic when having that many conversations in a short period of time, especially when your livingroom begins to resemble a New York subway platform at rush hour.
I decided to sit in the kitchen and eat this thai coconut ginger squash soup I made. It's a smaller space, with a table that only fits 4 or 5 people. A couple of close friends joined me, and I realized that, in the midst of the craziness, I could have a good conversation with people I loved. Then some new people sat down, and I remembered that, grounded by my close friends, I could also find personal strength engage new people. So I talked to an activist, a playwrite, a sociology phD, and found out what they were thinking about in their lives. Sharing our stories, gorging ourselves on kugel, it started to feel like home again.
In the morning, when just us and our SIX houseguests remained, our house had a quality of spaciousness that reminded me of the Jewish folktale we acted out in my second grade play. In the story, a man with many children and a tiny home, whose rabbi tells him to bring all of his animals into his house. Only when the Rabbi finally has him clear out the animals does the man appeciate what he has. So, 20 years later, I am gaining a greater understanding of the story -- that home feels spacious when we expand our hearts to love what's inside.
Margie
I'm excited that we seem to be reaching some sort of tipping point where friends are telling friends about our place, but I'm also a little overwhelmed. There is so much good stuff going on - our leadership teams are up and running, which means more leaders, more programs, more integration among everything we do. It's what we've been talking about, and so far it seems to be working. But it is strange to grow this fast.
On Friday night, our davening services were on fire. We gathered upstairs in a smaller room, so that despite our general lack of heating, the room was so packed I had to take off several layers of kabbalisticly white clothing. The 50 or so people at services were crowded, but all directed toward one thing - praying, singing, dancing - all to elevate Shabbat and express gratitude. And, everyone listened raptly as our speaker talked about a local campaign calling on Harvard use its resources to share essential medicines with people in the developing world.
But then at dinner, after another 35 people showed up, I started to notice how many new people there were. I felt a responsiblity to say hello to everyone, but also kind of wanted to hide. It is hard to stay authentic when having that many conversations in a short period of time, especially when your livingroom begins to resemble a New York subway platform at rush hour.
I decided to sit in the kitchen and eat this thai coconut ginger squash soup I made. It's a smaller space, with a table that only fits 4 or 5 people. A couple of close friends joined me, and I realized that, in the midst of the craziness, I could have a good conversation with people I loved. Then some new people sat down, and I remembered that, grounded by my close friends, I could also find personal strength engage new people. So I talked to an activist, a playwrite, a sociology phD, and found out what they were thinking about in their lives. Sharing our stories, gorging ourselves on kugel, it started to feel like home again.
In the morning, when just us and our SIX houseguests remained, our house had a quality of spaciousness that reminded me of the Jewish folktale we acted out in my second grade play. In the story, a man with many children and a tiny home, whose rabbi tells him to bring all of his animals into his house. Only when the Rabbi finally has him clear out the animals does the man appeciate what he has. So, 20 years later, I am gaining a greater understanding of the story -- that home feels spacious when we expand our hearts to love what's inside.
Margie
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Kicking off phase II of the master plan!
So let's be honest. We've got this baby warmed up. MoHouse Boston is good and humming, prompting random outbreaks of AC/DC's "For those about to rock, we salute you" around the house at the most unexpected of moments.
But seriously, something like 90 folks showed up for our Shabbat last night (props to Margie and Ari for building that thang up to the point that the downstairs neighbors are witholding a lil bit of love these days), and Alyson has voiced a bold thought: "We need to start farming some of this sh*t out!"
Preach it, sister.
Towards that goal, we held our first team dinners this month, pulling together folks to talk about spirituality and learning, arts activities, and a spring social justice campaign. Ideas have been flying around, new folks have been coming out of the woodwork, and it seriously looks like we're about to pick it up a notch.
Since I'm coordinating our social justice work (with much help from the rest of the 'mates), let me just recount what that team meeting was like. About 16 folks showed up, thought seriously about how our community could best contribute to some awesome campaigns going on around town, and picked a few concrete issues to move on.
With the Jewish Labor Committee, we're going to take the lead on this year's Labor Seder. And don't tell Morris, but we're also going to work with Tekiah to further the efforts of the Islamic Society of Boston to build a house of worship for our city's growing Muslim community (since the right-wingers at the David Project have sued to stop 'em...ugh).
In addition, we've got point people figuring out how best we can plug into some pretty solid environmental and immigrant justice campaigns that are already moving. With any luck (and some good organizing, of course), the Moishe/Kavod House will be starting to make a splash in Boston progressive politics pretty damn soon.
All of which is just to say, we're gonna rock tonight...till the guitar bite.
But seriously, something like 90 folks showed up for our Shabbat last night (props to Margie and Ari for building that thang up to the point that the downstairs neighbors are witholding a lil bit of love these days), and Alyson has voiced a bold thought: "We need to start farming some of this sh*t out!"
Preach it, sister.
Towards that goal, we held our first team dinners this month, pulling together folks to talk about spirituality and learning, arts activities, and a spring social justice campaign. Ideas have been flying around, new folks have been coming out of the woodwork, and it seriously looks like we're about to pick it up a notch.
Since I'm coordinating our social justice work (with much help from the rest of the 'mates), let me just recount what that team meeting was like. About 16 folks showed up, thought seriously about how our community could best contribute to some awesome campaigns going on around town, and picked a few concrete issues to move on.
With the Jewish Labor Committee, we're going to take the lead on this year's Labor Seder. And don't tell Morris, but we're also going to work with Tekiah to further the efforts of the Islamic Society of Boston to build a house of worship for our city's growing Muslim community (since the right-wingers at the David Project have sued to stop 'em...ugh).
In addition, we've got point people figuring out how best we can plug into some pretty solid environmental and immigrant justice campaigns that are already moving. With any luck (and some good organizing, of course), the Moishe/Kavod House will be starting to make a splash in Boston progressive politics pretty damn soon.
All of which is just to say, we're gonna rock tonight...till the guitar bite.
Bless Up
A crazy start to a new year. As usual, the crowds pour in for Shabbat dinners. Sometimes I think we should start a little restaurant with all the in-kitchen experience we are getting. We could call it, well I don’t know what we could call it. I guess we could have a restaurant naming event. It’s been about four months of Moishe and all is going quite well. It might be time to diversify, maybe attract some different kinds of people or do different events. I think we should internationalize…which is why I am here starting the first Caribbean Moishe House (it’s a pirate Moishe house, unauthorized, so don’t tell the forest foundation).
From
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Beadazzled in 2007
How did you bling in the new year? Did you roll with your homeys to a club or a house party? Were you wearing your stunner shades and throwing back bottles of Crystal? No? Why the hell not? Usually NYE is one of the more disappointing holidays. You spend a lot of money getting into a club or a show. You get so wasted you don't really remember it. Oh yeah, and if you are not with a special someone you are searching desperately for that midnight smootch.
Ah but this year was different. This year I had a plan. Maia and I threw a great party
at our house (no wandering bar to bar, no spending money... thanks Moishe). The theme was black white and diamonds and as you can see I went all out. In addition creating a fun atmosphere to ring in the new year for our friends and Moishe-community, we raised over $500 for a local non-profit. Oh and as for that midnight smootch... it worked out. Happy 2007!!!
Yum Yum
Ever get the yum yum without the boom boom? Different than shukling while davening, different than orgasming while f*$@ing, and even slightly different than having a house in Cambodia, yum yum without a boom boom is like instant, random bliss. This is kind of what my last month has been like. Kind of. A month ago, I, still vasking in my post-Moishe-Santa-Barbara-retreat-seeing-the-LA-House-painting-with-a-Squire-added-dild* glow, flew to the fine city of Baltimore, MD for the Hillel International Staff Conference. Did you know that Hillel is international? That's right, there are Hillel's in the Former Soviet Union (cutely called the FSU), Argentina, Uraguay (no Moishe wasn't first), Chile, Israel, and yes, even (though not quite international), Canada.
I attended sessions featuring JDUB and PresenTense and Guilt & Pleasure, some of the more innovative Jewish projects in North America right now. I sang songs (Moishe House Retreat Kabbalat Shabbat style) with Reconstructionist, Orthodox, Hiloni, Reform, Unaffiliated, Daati, Secular, Conservative, Renewal, Transdenominational, Post-Denominational, Culinary, and Just Jews. I met interesting people like Rabbi Yonah from Jewlicious who directs the Hillel at Long Beach and was homies with Shlomo Carlebach. He told me what guitar to buy if I want to learn some Jew-tunes.
After staff conference I traveled to the Great State of Florida. I will only refer to this fine wasteland sarcastically as GSF from now forward. My family happens to live in GSF. I still ask them, every time I go, why they are still there. See, we moved there when I was in 10th grade, back in good 'ol 1994 - you know...pre-Myspace. I finished high school as a band nerd at a public school where we didn't have snow days, only hurricane days and half days due to bomb scares (suburban kids are bored). And, while I left right after college (the only thing good about GSF is the University of Florida Gators, the only team in the 5767 years of history to hold both the national championship in basketball and american football), my parents have stayed and continue to sweat every day of the year. I get pneumonia everytime I visit because of the dichotomy of humid heat to air conditioning. Anyway, I went there this time with my sweetheart, Ariel and she met the fam (not the fockers) for the first time.
It went swell. It was a busy (emotionally) time because as I was introducing Ariel to my parents, they were introducing me to their new sweeties, my mom to her Syrian-Jew-Jdate-friend, Sid, and my dad to his Gentile-Cat Breeding-commitment ring-business partner and lover, Wayne. Yes, Wayne is gender male. Yes, my dad is gay.
I saw my grandparents and we went to see the Pursuit of Happyness (sic). Will Smith has a moment of yum yum without any boom boom in the film, and it is so good that you almost feel it with him. But not quite.
10 days in Israel culminated my month long tour of yum. I staffed a bus of 18-26 year old Israel virgins with Israel Outdoors for birthright israel. Everytime I do that I remember why I say I hate staffing birthright trips. I mean, free trip to Israel is pretty hard to beat, but I'll take my chances next time (well, actually, I am most likely staffing a trip in June that guarantees to be better than this past trip). I got sick (as did most of the participants) and came home to Seattle last week ill, tired, disoriented (a month just went by? for real?), and not wanting to work. I went to work for a day, called in sick a day, took an already scheduled vacation day, and went away for the weekend...to staff a Reconstructionist youth movement retreat. I liked it.
It snowed again last night and that brings us to now. Thanks for listening. If it wasn't for this blog I would have been holding all this inside and as a result, might have gone boom boom without any yum yum. Baruch HaShem for Moishe House. I look forward to feeling like I actually live here again.
I attended sessions featuring JDUB and PresenTense and Guilt & Pleasure, some of the more innovative Jewish projects in North America right now. I sang songs (Moishe House Retreat Kabbalat Shabbat style) with Reconstructionist, Orthodox, Hiloni, Reform, Unaffiliated, Daati, Secular, Conservative, Renewal, Transdenominational, Post-Denominational, Culinary, and Just Jews. I met interesting people like Rabbi Yonah from Jewlicious who directs the Hillel at Long Beach and was homies with Shlomo Carlebach. He told me what guitar to buy if I want to learn some Jew-tunes.
After staff conference I traveled to the Great State of Florida. I will only refer to this fine wasteland sarcastically as GSF from now forward. My family happens to live in GSF. I still ask them, every time I go, why they are still there. See, we moved there when I was in 10th grade, back in good 'ol 1994 - you know...pre-Myspace. I finished high school as a band nerd at a public school where we didn't have snow days, only hurricane days and half days due to bomb scares (suburban kids are bored). And, while I left right after college (the only thing good about GSF is the University of Florida Gators, the only team in the 5767 years of history to hold both the national championship in basketball and american football), my parents have stayed and continue to sweat every day of the year. I get pneumonia everytime I visit because of the dichotomy of humid heat to air conditioning. Anyway, I went there this time with my sweetheart, Ariel and she met the fam (not the fockers) for the first time.
It went swell. It was a busy (emotionally) time because as I was introducing Ariel to my parents, they were introducing me to their new sweeties, my mom to her Syrian-Jew-Jdate-friend, Sid, and my dad to his Gentile-Cat Breeding-commitment ring-business partner and lover, Wayne. Yes, Wayne is gender male. Yes, my dad is gay.
I saw my grandparents and we went to see the Pursuit of Happyness (sic). Will Smith has a moment of yum yum without any boom boom in the film, and it is so good that you almost feel it with him. But not quite.
10 days in Israel culminated my month long tour of yum. I staffed a bus of 18-26 year old Israel virgins with Israel Outdoors for birthright israel. Everytime I do that I remember why I say I hate staffing birthright trips. I mean, free trip to Israel is pretty hard to beat, but I'll take my chances next time (well, actually, I am most likely staffing a trip in June that guarantees to be better than this past trip). I got sick (as did most of the participants) and came home to Seattle last week ill, tired, disoriented (a month just went by? for real?), and not wanting to work. I went to work for a day, called in sick a day, took an already scheduled vacation day, and went away for the weekend...to staff a Reconstructionist youth movement retreat. I liked it.
It snowed again last night and that brings us to now. Thanks for listening. If it wasn't for this blog I would have been holding all this inside and as a result, might have gone boom boom without any yum yum. Baruch HaShem for Moishe House. I look forward to feeling like I actually live here again.
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