Israeli Holidays

I have come to realize that in Israel, there is a holiday for everything. There's a holiday for planting trees, two valentines days, two new years (one which they call Sylvester), and way too many days in which you are supposed to fast. Tomorrow is holocaust remembrance day, in which a siren is rung that can be heard all around the country. Rumor has it that for that minute, the whole country freezes and stands in silence and thought. Even the cars stop on the freeways and the drivers step out onto the highway to stand in memory. On a brighter note, Israeli independence day is next week (preceded by memorial day), in which there are parties and festivals all around the country. What an emotional roller coaster...

Aliyah of Moishe House Minsk

On the evening of Sunday, April 27th, Jewish Minskers celebrated their very first Mimouna, organized by Moishe House Minsk! Originally a tradition observed by Jews from North Africa, a Mimouna is a party held on the evening when Pesach is finished and Jews get to trade in their bread of affliction for chametz-o-licious treats. Accordingly, the Mimouna is an evening filled with songs, dance, and most importantly, said treats. One especially traditional and tasty Mimouna delicacy is called moufletta. It is basically a folded crepe with honey and butter inside. Nothing says chametz-o-licious quite like moufletta.

In Israel today, the mimouna celebration is enjoyed by Jews from all over the world, Sephardi and Ashkenazi alike. Inspired by this synergy of traditions, I decided to organize a Mimouna in Minsk. Basically every Jew in Minsk is Ashkenazi. At least one grandparent of nearly all my friends here speaks Yiddish. But Jews here are still hungry for knowledge (and moufletta!) about Jewish traditions from around the world. Thanks to Moishe House and the JDC, Natasha and I were able to organize this event in the big hall of the Minsk Jewish Campus. Preparations began weeks in advance, with our advertisement which we posted in many of the Minsk Jewish youth clubs and organization offices.

Then we decided the "program" for the evening. Here in Minsk, people rarely just throw a casual party. An unwritten social rule is that there must be a program for the evening.

Mimouna Minsk Program

We began the evening with Havdalah, which in this case sanctified the separation between the holiday at the end of Pesach and the rest of the week.
Mimouna is said to celebrate the luck of the people of Israel that God parted the Red Sea and allowed them to escape the Egyptians. While Pesach remembers the moment of the exodus from Egypt, Mimouna remembers the arrival at the Red Sea, which occurred seven days after leaving Egypt. Thus, we decorated the stage and curtain to look like the red sea, complete with waves and fish.

Our emcees, the charming Olga and Dima, also connected quite literally to the theme of the parting the sea. Olga dressed as Moses and held her staff high to part the sea curtain for the first act. And Dima dressed as Moses' sister Miriam who lead the women with their timbrels in a victory song and dance after the seas had parted. They introduced themselves in character and lead our audience through the Mimouna performances with grace, aplomb, and, well, gender fluidity.

Our first performers were from the Hillel dance group and they performed an Israeli folk dance in pairs.

Later in the evening, the ladies and one brave young man performed a middle eastern style dance for us as well.

Our next act was the wonderful singer, a true Belarusian Jewish diva, Anya Shalutina.

Each act was separated by the presentation of some slides with information and pictures of Mimouna celebrations throughout history. The presentation was translated into Russian and can be seen here, and for the English version, click here. Use the arrows to control the slides.

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And last but not least, a professional belly dancer named Karima performed two dances for us and then taught our guests some moves. One of her dances was choreographed especially for us to a song in Ladino sung by Yasmin Levy. The audience was surprised to hear that just as the Jews from this region once commonly spoke Yiddish, the Jews of pre- and post- Inquisition Spain spoke Ladino.

Then the evening continued with Israeli, Turkish, and Arabic disco dancing. And sure enough, by 11pm, there was not a trace of moufletta left. When the last song was over and everyone began to leave, I overheard one friend remark that she hopes they'll have a Mimouna again next year. I hope so too.

Natasha of Moishe House Minsk

This post is about our first 100+ person event: a Moroccan style Mimouna!

Этот месяц для Moishe House Minsk был особым. Начался он с того, что нас приехал навестить Кевин и мы отлично встретили Шаббат в кругу самых близких друзей Мойше Хауса. Погодка, кстати, тоже нас порадовала, было очень тепло и солнечно. Даже в Ледовом Дворце, когда мы катались на коньках, нам было даже жарко. Да, да, мы катались на коньках, и я думала, что Кевин будет падать через каждые сто метров, но глубоко ошибалась, он катается еще лучше, чем я могла даже себе представить. Он был отличной моей поддержкой! Спасибо, Кевин, что не дал мне упасть!

А еще, самым долгожданным и, на мой взгляд, просто отличнейшим мероприятием была МИМУНА. Если кто-то еще не знает, что значат эти слова, то я кратенько объясню, это Пост-Песах вечеринка в восточном стиле. Пришла она к нам от Сефардских евреев, которые обычно в МИМУНУ поют песни Сарит Хадат, танцую восточные танцы, вкусно кушают и просто отдыхают душой. Так вот, мы делали тоже самое! Очень приятным был тот факт, что наши друзья из Гилеля и Сохнута и других еврейский организаций очень сильно помогли нам в организации этого чудесного мероприятия. Ребята из Гилеля показали себя в танце, Аня Шалютина просто сразила всех наповал своим голосом. И кульминационным моментом был танец живота от Каримы. Она не только поставила отличный танец под музыку «ладино», но и провела отличное активити с гостями нашего праздника. Это было незабываемо!

И еще, огромное спасибо Алиичке!!! За то, что наконец-то и в Беларуси люди узнали о МИМУНЕ, и надеюсь, будут праздновать ее каждый год!

Dima as Miriam, Natasha, Olga as Moses, and Nastia

Aaallo

Hello to all my Moishe House brothers and sisters. Just a quick check in for all of us over here at the Moishe House Tel Aviv. Our door remains open, and the lone soldiers keep coming through, to sleep over, or just drop some stuff off so they don't have to schlep it around town. Tamir and I are still working diligently, establishing ourselves as experts in the cinema verite' style of filmaking. If anyone is interested, feel free to check out this link:
http://current.com/items/88799913_taste_the_revolution

it is a piece we made for Current TV about a microbrewery in Palestine, and I am rather proud of it. I hope everyone had a good Pesach, and is ready to face the new week with a renewed sense of purpose.
-David

Pesach: Tasting the Winds of Transformation – by Yaakov Lehman

Pesach: Tasting the Winds of Transformation – by Yaakov Lehman


A sudden gust of gratitude tussles elemental emotions… an inner world of substance wrapped around its proverbial axis… seeking to unwind an entangled mind…

The genesis of spring has arrived, thus gathering the glowing force of emergent potential, awakening sprouts of dedicated aspiration- these far from passing notions embedded within the deep recesses of stealthily encased dreams.

Axiomatic roots tingling beneath the soil; bright showers of revitalization beaming their redemptive grace through concentric pairs of prismatic windows, valiantly floating at an intrepid altitude atop crisp streams of convergent consciousness.

That elegant pattern, replicating itself in all the right places- all the right times; humming its perpetual melody up the highest of peaks- chanting its steady rhythm down into the most desolate depressions the earth can bear, where only the quaintest subtleties avow steadfast truth: the shrill cry of fearful doubt can never drown the buoyant tune of unswerving persistence.

Passover has arrived and with it, all of the spiritual, psychological, and ecological energies of renewal and release. This is the time to assert our freedom, to take a stance and assume the responsibilities inherent in our autonomous disposition. It is a poignant opportunity for us to overcome our direst difficulties, pursue of our most virtuous visions, and don that coat of confident compassion in our daily stride.

I wish all of you a fully reJewvenating Passover, and am sincerely grateful for your presence in my life, and the world at large.

Wishing you the Shalomest of Shaloms,
Yaakov Lehman
Vienna

Insightful Passover mp3s can be found here http://www.simpletoremember.com/audio/Rabbi_Akiva_Tatz.html

RRR London - March

Our alternative Megillah was maybe my best experience of Purim ever. It's a pretty controversial festival, what with all the death and revenge, but it was pretty well met by a bunch of amazing people with film, music and art aware of the contradictions between the festival and our somewhat more peaceful feelings. And then a couple of hundred came to our party... And then we still had space for a more conventional version the next morning.

It has been great to welcome temporary house member Rosella for this month and thanks to her for joining us. It's nice to shake things up and take new inspiration.

Looking forward to meeting Warsaw house members next week.
Anyone know how to turn pre-pesach cleaning into a house activity? :)

MHLA Lee Levin, April 08

Alright kiddos

Passover

Bball

Poker

BBQ

It's spring time and I want to party and learn some Hebrew with dave. Check out our events this month they are gonna rock.

Lee