Surrounded by the sweet smell of barbeque, civil-rights activist Felicia Kahn was seated on our porch, spinning stories about New Orleans to a young volunteer from Connecticut. The unlikely pair had struck up their conversation during a party welcoming synagogue members to the Broadmoor neighborhood, where they had volunteered to build houses. As the hosts, Moishe House succeeded in integrating the communal values and social activism of Judaism within the greater context of community building in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Moishe Nola—the Broadmoor house Jeff, Jon and I call home—is the New Orleans branch of the international nonprofit Moishe House. When David Cyglieman approached me at the Professional Leadership Project (PLP) conference I had no idea what was in store..
At first people were skeptical, due in part to New Orleans’ small Jewish population. Jeremy and David questioned whether there was sufficient interest to host five events per month, because of the drop in the overall population in the wake of Katrina. Yet we knew that if the house stuck to three basic missions, then Moishe Nola would be capable creating a unique, young Jewish community:
- Innovative and Comfortable Space: Create events and programs that reflect the diverse interests of our peers ranging from urban planning to cooking to guest lecturers.
- Pluralism: Welcome people of all ages, religions and denominations and let them decide their level of involvement in our functions.
- Commitment to New Orleans Community: Resolve to reside in Broadmoor and support the flood-damaged neighborhood’s recovery.
Our past events have been a success but as recovery transitions to revitalization and increasing events/affinity groups for young Jews emerge, Moishe Nola needs to re-examine how we can ensure its sustainability. In it most basic terms, Moishe House's sustainability is dependent on people committed to organizing its mission. While I know that we could find individuals that believe in the general Moishe House mission, our branch is interested to learn how other communities maintained program continuity while transition house members? Additionally, Moishe NOLA needs to empower other young Jews and Jewish groups to use the Moishe House space. For example, Jon Graboyes is on the Federation's Newcomer committee and hosted them at the Moishe House. Working in the Moishe House context and hearing the success stories from Jon and other leaders, helped propel the committee to consider more flexible newcomer programming.
This example resonates with one of Moishe House's greatest strengths, its commitment to empowering the programming decisions to be decided at the local level. Truly, I think one of the overarching themes for Moishe House's mission is encouraging diverse and active Jewish participation.
Cheers,
Jeff, Jon and Gill (JOSIE)
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