Happy New Year

New Year here isn't as big a deal as in the US. No fireworks in the streets- that is saved for Chinese New Year, which my inner pyromaniac is looking forward to. There were a few special shows on TV, featuring singing, dancing and other performances. I was watching one of these TVs show at a restaurant. The performance was traditional Peking Opera. I think it's interesting to listen to Peking Opera for about one minute, but at lengths longer than that, it sounds like a cat being run over by a car. Apparently I'm not the only one who shares this sentiment, because as soon as Peking Opera came on TV, the restaurant owner scoffed and changed the channel.

But you know what is a big deal here? Christmas! There are Christmas decorations everywhere. Shopping malls have those giant, animatronic santas, Christmas trees and so on. I even saw a manger in a complex near the office building I work in. And everyone wants to wish me a merry Christmas. I guess there is no escaping Christmas, even in a country where most people are officially Atheists.

We had a great latke making party here. My mom had sent me a care package, and was thoughtful enough to include matzoh meal, an essential ingredient in my grandmother's latke recipe. I think it was a big success.

I have today and tomorrow off from work, as per the government's official holiday calendar. However, the government wants to make sure that I don't get lazy, so I only have three days off. Let's see, Thursday, Friday, Saturday- that's three. What about Sunday? Oh, I have to go into work on Sunday. Thanks for looking out for my work ethic, government. If I had four consecutive days off, I might lose The People's Work Ethic.

Sarah from MHSF -- My Community

One of the reasons I moved back to CA a little over two months ago was to re-ground myself within a true community of friends. I'd built some solid friendships in New York, but there was always something missing. I had friends, but my friends weren't all friends with each other. The something missing turned out to be those friends who knew you when you were 'yea' big', the ones who saw you through your dorky teenage years, and the ones who studied with you in college. I missed being surrounded by those who knew my history. I also missed having a true community instead of individual relationships.

Reconnecting with old friends has actually also enabled me to branch out and meet new ones. Its as if my old friends remind me of my true self, help me to feel comfortable in my own skin, and give me the courage to reach out to new faces and make a connection. Something magical seems to have happened this month; due mainly to my living and participating in Moishe House, I've had this merging of new and old friends and all of a sudden ''wham!" a full-on community of peers, almost all of whom are Jewish. (I guess that figures...) It's been great to see how my old friends have embraced my new friends, and vice versa. It's also been great to meet so many Jews in San Francisco. There is something easier about starting a new friendship when people at least share a somewhat similiar cultural and religious background. After the initial transition and adjustment to a new city, I can say that I now feel like I have found my place.

I was at a Channukah party this last weekend hosted by Birthright Israel NEXT and Bay Area Tribe with my new 'community' and danced and sang the night away to an amazing 80s cover band. Smiling and screaming the lyrics alongside me were my best friend from the first day I walked into the dorms of college 7 years ago, one of my Moishe House roommates, and a ton of other awesome new friends I've made through Moishe House in the past 2 months. It's amazing how quickly I've been made to feel at home. I couldn't be happier.

I'm so excited for the new year ahead and all the connections, fun, and adventures it will bring with friends both new and old. May 2009 be a great one!

~Sarah

MHSeattle, Joel: Chanukah, Gaza, and Adolescence

As we go about a cheerful Seattle Sunday making preparations for Moishe House Seattle's Last Night of Chanukah potluck and party, I can't help this sinking feeling over the news from Gaza. The death toll is sickening -- and what the Times doesn't mention is that most of the "Hamas personnel" killed were probably low-ranking policemen who signed up for jobs in an embargo-strangled Gaza economy, not Islamist idealogues (like many of their brothers and sons will now become) -- but besides that travesty, one less-noticed headlne really depresses me: In protest of Gaza attacks, Syria halts indirect talks with Israel. Not that this is any kind of surprise. Really, it must have been expected as a result of this Gaza campaign.

Say what you will about the negotiations with Syria. At least they had a long-term strategic purpose. They represented hope, however tenuous, for a transformed future. What is the long-term strategic purpose of bombing the hell out of Gaza? What are we to hope for? Regime change? Has regime change by force ever not backfired in the Middle East?

Obviously unending rocket fire in Sderot and Netivot is unacceptable. I spent much of this month on the phone with my girlfriend at her parents' house in Ashqelon, where sirens call them into bomb shelters in the dead of night and the hospital is now moving its operations underground. I am not sanguine about the rockets.

But there are adult and there are adolescent ways of responding to assault -- which is another way of saying maturity means knowing when and how to Be Patient.

When I was fourteen, I awoke to find a particularly juicy zit on my nose, front and center. I hated it, of course. Being in middle school is hard enough without an ugly red bullseye on your face. So I took the bastard between my thumbnails and squished and scraped it into a pussy, bloody little ruin. It looked worse that day, but I felt avenged and figured at least the infection was gone -- until the wound developed a new infection, Staphylococcus no less. No amount of repeat popping could kill that zit once it had staph in it, so I had to go to the doctor and take pills. Still I took aggresive revenge against it every morning, making the antibiotics' job more difficult and ultimately leaving a scar that I carry on my nose to this day.

Two morals, for two different situations: The first situation is one where natural forces, given time, stand a good chance of working things out. The average zit is no match for a healthy immune system, so leave it alone! The second situation is more serious, where it's so bad you can't just do nothing. The moral here is to pick your remedy carefully, and then let it run its course fully before throwing others after it. If I had just taken the antibiotics and ignored my nose in the meantime, I probably wouldn't have this scar. But giving a remedy time requires patience, and I was not patient. I was fourteen.

The chosen remedy in Gaza was, rightly or wrongly, isolation. It was having some effect. The Gazan economy was frozen, people were desperate, and Egypt was motivated to be somewhat cooperative, fearing a flood of refugees. The rockets hadn't stopped, but they had slowed. Would they have eventually stopped? Would mounting domestic frustration and bankruptcy have eventually toppled the Hamas government? We'll never know. Now Israeli bombers drop blood and chaos on the streets so every Gazan can see exactly who is to blame, and will rally behind Hamas without a second thought. All the volatile peace talks will evaporate completely and a new generation of anti-Israel ideologues and militants will be fortified by the 300 dead. Scars will be long-lasting.

I am not a rabbi any more than I am a foreign policy expert. I can only grasp military strategy in broad strokes, and likewise I think I'll leave analysis of the conflict through manifold Scriptural references to rabbis like Arthur Waskow (not to mention countless sermonizers politically opposite him). My Chanukah-Gaza drash is very simple: being Jewish is all about playing the long game.

After a rousing Chanukah singalong at our Shabbat table, a friend told me I was wrong, "Maoz Tzur" is not the Jewish holiday carol, it's the Jewish "Star-Spangled Banner": all about military might, plus it has that high middle section nobody can sing. But I still think if you just start low enough that high part is fine, and in context the Chanukah story is not mainly about fighting power, it's about staying power. Why else are we still singing about escaping Pharaoh, or Assyria or Rome for that matter? Is the "Maoz Tzur" takeaway that G-d made us really badass then so he'll make us really badass now? Or is it that history is kinder to those who genuinely believe in what they're doing, than to those who opt for political, or military, expedience?

I asked an Israeli friend who supports the Gaza bombardment, how will this stop attacks against Israeli civilians? She replied that bombing Gaza must stop the rockets, because diplomacy didn't. It's illogical, but the frustration could not have been better stated. Pursuing diplomacy in the Middle East is like watching paint dry -- with a legion of fire ants in your underwear. Who wouldn't want to drop bombs if he had them?

But the Jewish trump card never was, and never will be brute strength. It's persistence. So let's get back to playing the long game. I think we're better at it.

An end-of-year reflection

Margie has been away for the last six weeks. For those who don't know, Margie Klein founded Kavod House here in Boston about three years ago, and two + years ago we proudly became the Moishe/Kavod House.

So the question in mid-November was: with our founder away, would MH Boston slow down? Would we have problems keeping our programming running or engaging new leadership?

The answer has been an emphatic "no." Our December programming was as strong and lively as ever, highlighted by a huge exotic latke party bottom-lined by a number of our emerging membership corps. Our January looks to be just as exciting, with Shabbatot planned, our food justice campaign taking off, and the long-delayed painting of our prayer space taking place as a community event.

The key to all of this has been our leadership development efforts. By asking people to step up, they take ownership of our community. And when leaders step up, we can afford to say farewell to someone important -- even a Margie -- knowing that others are there to make sure things keep running smoothly.

It's an important lesson, and one I hope we build on in 2009.

MHSS - Zvi December Post

Hi Moishe World

Happy Channukah.

Yesterday a few MHSS community members joined up with other local Jews to serve Christmas lunch at the Third Baptist Church in DC. The atmosphere was full of love and kinship. There was an awesome piano player/soloist that sang some beautiful jazzed up version of carols and there was a young brother - sister duo that sange like to angels. It was very inspiring to see their freedom to sing in front of people that they do not know. Anyway, there was a lot to learn from organizing this experience. I waited waaaaaaaaaaay to late to get the plans grounded down of where we would all be volunteering. And you can never plan fully as I wanted to get us a gig going to the Hebrew Home senior village to put on a Channukah party (crazy idea right, volunteer with Jews on Christmas!! -- Why don't we do that !!) Well, the seniors had an oral virus and werre quarentined. That was sad to learn aobut, BUT I am planning something with the seniors in February. An intergenerational discussion about Jewish community.

Shabbat with witches! Yes, there are Jewitches in the world and they offer a pagan/Jewish blend. You might say they take Judaism back to its roots. I beleive that all religion has grown from the Earth, or grown from the relationship between the divine and the tangible world, so why not pay homage to mama earth. We had a creative Kabbalat Shabbat that was not pagan inspired. It was from the Jewish Renewal style of prayer: Chanting, interactive experiences, and acknowledging that we are (At least) holders of the divine spark. We followed up with a great meal! And then a ritual involving tarot cards and telling stories. 'Twas sweet.

Alright ! Peaceful bright light night and day.

building community and changing the food system: off to monterey for a conference on the day

so im off to the hazon food conference in monterey, ca on thursday (a jewish conference on christmas--brilliant except for folks who celebrate both!) to connect/learn/share about moishe house boston's food justice campaign in the context of the larger jewish food movement. crazy that there are 600 people passionate enough about this issue/challenge to make their way out to california, and im one of them.

as context, mh boston has recently embarked on our food justice campaign, a project aimed to educate/organize/build excitement about the importance of supporting local, sustainable agriculture given the negative consequences of conventional ag on the environment, but more pressingly on people (see info on agriprocessors and discussion about kashruth and jewish ethics). in particular, we'll be running a local farm/jewish community tu b'shevat seder as well as educational seminars at congregations around the greater boston area (and beyond?). we've joined together to watch king corn, and have built amazing community and connections on the way folks connect to and around food, justice work and jewish values/culture. weve started conversations with mh providence regarding sukkoth activities and would love buy-in/brainstorming with other houses about local food/food justice-related work youve been a part of.

a marvelous handful of folks from our community will be off to monterey this thursday for this 4-day, intensive and community-building conference in monterey. we plan to build excitement around our campaign, learn what other communities have done, build relationships, and have a great time. aliza wasserman, an organizer and community leader at mh boston, will be doing a seminar around the farm bill and work done around the country to organize for more equitable distribution of funds away from conventional subsidies. and we'll come back pumped for our campaign and to the scores of amazing people that want to work on building our jewish community via this project.

while ive only officially resided in mh boston for a bit over three months, its been incredible to see how a community group like ourselves can really do exciting and engaging work in a way that a c3 non-profit tends not to--and i find the root of that in the relationship being built, the deeper motivations around wanting to build a community together and the respect we all share with each other. a much different experience than my day job, where community building, relationship building and a sense of belonging is much more sparse. here here to community.

sounding off.

isnt the festive period lovely

Dear all,

I dont know what christmas time in all the MH countries is like, but wanted to share a little bit about what it is like here in old blighty.

Well it is actually pretty lovely. People have been in wind down mode for a week or two now, mixing work and pleasure a little bit more and generally enjoying life more. Random people wish you merry christmas (like the women I chatted to at the bus stop this morning) and the high street is all sparkly and and colourful.

Being a jew, means that we get a double helping. The festiveness of Christmas and the jollyness of chanukah. At Moishe House London we will be taking advantage by throwing a big chanukah bash and really letting our hair down.

All this festivity and fun makes me wonder whether we have the right balance between work and play here in the UK. We need more to celebrate and more excuses to have fun and be open to people. Maybe MHL can play this role for people by providing our community with as much opportunity to have fun as possible.

Here's to a happy, healthy and FUN year ahead for at MH.

Best

Gideon, MHL