Monday, December 31, 2007
the kitchen theory - Karen - Chicago Moishe house
so there is this thing that happens at almost every large event. We have this great apartment - nice living room space with couches and chairs and an upstairs with more couches and room talk, and then we have this kitchen - great kitchen - not all that small but shaped the long way - a part of the hallway really. What i find remarkable is the way people congregate in the kitchen - whether we are cooking or not- they lean against the counters, wedge themselves next to the fridge, block the dishes, hide the knives - they love it in there - and for a while i figured it was the food, but then i noticed it occuring even when the food was in the other room - so here are my theories that i will testing in the coming months - maybe it is closeness - it forces people to stand close to eachother and they are craving this human contact- tiny spaces feel more safe like my dog and the way she crams herself under the shed in our backyard instead of sitting out in the open? Maybe in during the times we are cooking and cleaning while they are standing there it makes them feel more helpful? or maybe they just like the bright lights. Anyway - don't worry, i'm on it - i will seek the answers - i will unveil the secrets of the kitchen.
Joe and MHChi December
So December was a slow month here at the Chicago house. We had a rockin' hanukkah party, but i was sick then so didn't have too much to do with it. For other events, i'm sure you can look at what my roommates write; I'm going to take this opportunity to talk instead about biking in a winter city.
So i bike to work most days, and for the past month or so it has been dark out by the time i leave. Also, for the past month or so the roads have been a good combination of icy, sludgy, wet, etc. I have two lights and wear a helmet, so don't go pointing fingers. I'm a pretty safe biker, I go fast and run red-lights, but I'm terrified of every car, moving and parked, so that keeps me in check.
So now that that's established, here are some of my thoughts (ranks?). First of all, talking on cell phones while driving should not just be illegal (it is in Illinois) but also be enforced (it is not, ever). People who are on their cell phones are by far the scariest, the ones who turn right from the left lane all of a sudden w/o a signal and don't even notice you almost flying off your screeching bike trying to stop in time. also, the ones most likely to open their door right after they park right into the bike lane. taxi are pretty bad too, but i'm pretty sure they notice and just don't care. also, honking is so annoying, and on a bike there is no way to reciprocate (maybe i should bike with an airhorn). cities plow the streets, but not the pot-hole strewn shoulder, so i have to bike at the edge of the lane which pisses every car behind me off. ok, and here is a weird one. when cars get near the entrance ramp to the highway, it is like when you open the dog food bag and the dog gets all excited, so much so that it is hard to push the dog out of the way to get the scoop into the bowl. i cross an expressway entrance on the way to and from work everyday and it is by far the worst part of my ride. 50% of cars making left turns onto the highway will go if i'm the only one coming, as if to say, "i see you, but i also know you have to break, so suck it up".
enough ranking. biking is great because a) i get to work faster b)i don't have to worry about parking, c) rush hour/traffic d) one way streets E) gas prices f) insurance or breaking down, etc. g) it it exercise and i'm wide awake when i get there and h) no emissions, sucka. also i) freedom!
for those who don't bike, but live in an environment where it is a viable method of transportation, you should think about it/try it. it is very liberating. no buses/trains/parking. just think about it.
checking out.
happy new year l'kulam!
So i bike to work most days, and for the past month or so it has been dark out by the time i leave. Also, for the past month or so the roads have been a good combination of icy, sludgy, wet, etc. I have two lights and wear a helmet, so don't go pointing fingers. I'm a pretty safe biker, I go fast and run red-lights, but I'm terrified of every car, moving and parked, so that keeps me in check.
So now that that's established, here are some of my thoughts (ranks?). First of all, talking on cell phones while driving should not just be illegal (it is in Illinois) but also be enforced (it is not, ever). People who are on their cell phones are by far the scariest, the ones who turn right from the left lane all of a sudden w/o a signal and don't even notice you almost flying off your screeching bike trying to stop in time. also, the ones most likely to open their door right after they park right into the bike lane. taxi are pretty bad too, but i'm pretty sure they notice and just don't care. also, honking is so annoying, and on a bike there is no way to reciprocate (maybe i should bike with an airhorn). cities plow the streets, but not the pot-hole strewn shoulder, so i have to bike at the edge of the lane which pisses every car behind me off. ok, and here is a weird one. when cars get near the entrance ramp to the highway, it is like when you open the dog food bag and the dog gets all excited, so much so that it is hard to push the dog out of the way to get the scoop into the bowl. i cross an expressway entrance on the way to and from work everyday and it is by far the worst part of my ride. 50% of cars making left turns onto the highway will go if i'm the only one coming, as if to say, "i see you, but i also know you have to break, so suck it up".
enough ranking. biking is great because a) i get to work faster b)i don't have to worry about parking, c) rush hour/traffic d) one way streets E) gas prices f) insurance or breaking down, etc. g) it it exercise and i'm wide awake when i get there and h) no emissions, sucka. also i) freedom!
for those who don't bike, but live in an environment where it is a viable method of transportation, you should think about it/try it. it is very liberating. no buses/trains/parking. just think about it.
checking out.
happy new year l'kulam!
Ilana Schuman-Stoler; MHCHI; 12/31; so long oh sleven!
Well...
It's time to say goodbye to two thousand and seven and what better place to do it than on a public blog! This year has been fun! Delicious! Delightful! I still feel like there is so much left to figure out as I move through the beginnings of figuring out my existence. Becoming a part of Moishe House these past few months has pushed me to do things and go out to find things that I would otherwise have skipped or overlooked and for that I am so grateful! I also started a new job during these past few months that has been extremely tiresome and frustrating but I have definitely learned from it and I continue to go forth and work hard and to be honest, Moishe House has kept me focused and has forced me to go out and have fun even on the hardest nights after the longest day of work. I hope that next year I will find more ways to live my life happy and satisfied and I will continue to work hard and push myself towards a life that I am proud of.
It's time to say goodbye to two thousand and seven and what better place to do it than on a public blog! This year has been fun! Delicious! Delightful! I still feel like there is so much left to figure out as I move through the beginnings of figuring out my existence. Becoming a part of Moishe House these past few months has pushed me to do things and go out to find things that I would otherwise have skipped or overlooked and for that I am so grateful! I also started a new job during these past few months that has been extremely tiresome and frustrating but I have definitely learned from it and I continue to go forth and work hard and to be honest, Moishe House has kept me focused and has forced me to go out and have fun even on the hardest nights after the longest day of work. I hope that next year I will find more ways to live my life happy and satisfied and I will continue to work hard and push myself towards a life that I am proud of.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Our first Moishe month
I felt we had a very successful first month as a Moishe House here in Montevideo. We hosted 9 events, some big, some small, an average of about 17 guests at each one. For me though, the real measure of success is how much fun people are having at our events, and those levels seemed pretty high.
Coming into the month I had no doubts that our events would be fun, since we have fun just living together, but I was worried about planning so many events and getting people to come. It averages out to one event every three or four days, and to have any variety that requires a lot of ideas.
The task of bringing the community together seemed daunting, and it does take some time and effort. Fortunately our house works well together, and everyone's willing to help out to make sure the place is always presentable and welcoming, and to spread the word about our events. For this it helps that we're already so active in the community and know a lot of Jewish people our age. (Lior, Elkana, Yonatan, and Zev are Shlichim at Yavne, one of the Jewish day schools here. I work at Hillel Uruguay.) All of our event promotion has been through word of mouth, which seemed to work just fine. Between the five of us inviting people, and the guests who wound up bringing more of their friends, getting a lot of people to come over turned out not to be as hard as I thought.
My other main concern, hosting a sizeable amount of events, also somehow seemed to resolve itself. Some of the events, like the Israeli sleepover and Sunday Night Futbol, were pretty spur-of-the-moment. I actually believe that more and more of our events will be that way as we develop as a Moishe House. People will wind up coming more and more often just to hang out, and as a group we'll do what we feel like doing when we feel like doing. It think we will have accomplished a lot once our community starts gathering itself together automatically like this.
Aside from our Moishe House helping bring the community together, our events have also helped me personally to meet more people, which is great, something that I really enjoy. And I feel that the five of us residents have grown closer through working on a shared project together too. My Moishe experiences have all been very positive so far, and I'm looking forward to having many more.
Jay Krefman
Moishe House Montevideo
Coming into the month I had no doubts that our events would be fun, since we have fun just living together, but I was worried about planning so many events and getting people to come. It averages out to one event every three or four days, and to have any variety that requires a lot of ideas.
The task of bringing the community together seemed daunting, and it does take some time and effort. Fortunately our house works well together, and everyone's willing to help out to make sure the place is always presentable and welcoming, and to spread the word about our events. For this it helps that we're already so active in the community and know a lot of Jewish people our age. (Lior, Elkana, Yonatan, and Zev are Shlichim at Yavne, one of the Jewish day schools here. I work at Hillel Uruguay.) All of our event promotion has been through word of mouth, which seemed to work just fine. Between the five of us inviting people, and the guests who wound up bringing more of their friends, getting a lot of people to come over turned out not to be as hard as I thought.
My other main concern, hosting a sizeable amount of events, also somehow seemed to resolve itself. Some of the events, like the Israeli sleepover and Sunday Night Futbol, were pretty spur-of-the-moment. I actually believe that more and more of our events will be that way as we develop as a Moishe House. People will wind up coming more and more often just to hang out, and as a group we'll do what we feel like doing when we feel like doing. It think we will have accomplished a lot once our community starts gathering itself together automatically like this.
Aside from our Moishe House helping bring the community together, our events have also helped me personally to meet more people, which is great, something that I really enjoy. And I feel that the five of us residents have grown closer through working on a shared project together too. My Moishe experiences have all been very positive so far, and I'm looking forward to having many more.
Jay Krefman
Moishe House Montevideo
MH Chicago, Caren M.
I was recently forwarded an article published on Nextbook about the Moishe House program. In the newest Foundation Flash there were also comments and a link to the article. I personally believe that all Moishe House participants should read the article and believe it would be a valuable discussion topic at the retreat in January. I found the article to be a negative portrayal of the program, it's participants and it's funders. It made me question my connection to the program and this network of community we are building. What I admire about the program is the flexibility and freedom that is encouraged but in reading this article it comes across as being the major weakness. I believe that the staff at the Forest Foundation have a lot of trust and commitment to our work and it was truly discouraging to read something with such a negative tone. We were selected because of our experience and interest in social justice, Judaism and community- this hardly seems the case in the article. I strongly believe in critique and was interested in reading an outsiders view of the program, but was saddened by the tone and overall theme of the article. I am curious for other reactions...
Moishe House London - Joel - December
Here in London it makes sense that December should be a time for hibernation. The shortness of the days - light at 8, dark by 4 at times - is more pronounced here than many other places. Back at the start of the month I felt I was doing quite well with the season, but by two and a half weeks in, the solstice still to come, the darkest time of the year, I felt ready for a change.
It's at times like these you look for extra stores of will and resource. I feel now, looking back, like I got through that pre-solstice dip on pure energy, resilience, faith and creativity. As the long term at college finally reached its end I turned my attention more firmly towards 'Yeshivah of the Absurd', the theatre project I've been working on, first for performance in the house to an audience small enough for the space and then taking it up to Limmud Conference in Warwick for a Christmas Day show to who knows how many. In the end it was a tremendous success. We created a kind of interactive fantasy Jewish learning playground (if you thought such a thing were possible), with a healthy dose of misanthropy and darkness. I think from the photos below (taken from shemspeed.com) you'll get an idea of the kind of spectacle and stir we caused. 150 people turned up and to us performers it felt like a shot of adrenaline.
It's at times like these you look for extra stores of will and resource. I feel now, looking back, like I got through that pre-solstice dip on pure energy, resilience, faith and creativity. As the long term at college finally reached its end I turned my attention more firmly towards 'Yeshivah of the Absurd', the theatre project I've been working on, first for performance in the house to an audience small enough for the space and then taking it up to Limmud Conference in Warwick for a Christmas Day show to who knows how many. In the end it was a tremendous success. We created a kind of interactive fantasy Jewish learning playground (if you thought such a thing were possible), with a healthy dose of misanthropy and darkness. I think from the photos below (taken from shemspeed.com) you'll get an idea of the kind of spectacle and stir we caused. 150 people turned up and to us performers it felt like a shot of adrenaline.
One more picture for you - at the end of last month I said I was to be featured in a Time Out article on fashion and faith. Well, link to the article is here and this is the photo they featured:
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Lone Soldier Galore
This week has probably been the busiest week in Moishe House Tel Aviv’s history. We have seen about 20 different lone soldiers, representing France, Canada, Scotland, England, and the U.S. Many times soldiers leave directly from the Moishe House where they have been relaxing as civilians, and go directly to their bases on the borders or even inside of ‘enemy territory’. While they are probably used to the stark contrast that may come from morning to afternoon on any given day, it has been strange knowing that a guy sitting on my couch in the morning may be facing or letting off shots that very afternoon. It is nice to give them a real break from the stresses of being a soldier in such a tense situation.
On another note, we went to Bethlehem for Christmas day and saw the beautiful city and all the tourists from all over the world. We made a video that you can check out here...
- Tamir, Tel Aviv
On another note, we went to Bethlehem for Christmas day and saw the beautiful city and all the tourists from all over the world. We made a video that you can check out here...
- Tamir, Tel Aviv
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