Moishinspiration from Rae at MHP

I constantly find myself getting inspired with ideas for new Moishe events, and Thanksgiving was no exception. We had a small quite Thanksgiving this year, which left us with way more left overs than ever (for some reason we cooked for the usual 20-ish guests even though there were only going to be around 10 of us this year), and the opportunity to actually sit down and all talk to each other. Every year for the past five or so years a Cambodian family, friends of my mom, spend Thanksgiving with us. Since they're first visit I discovered the mother and daughter make rocking spring rolls, but at our bigger Thanksgiving meals, I hadn't really gotten to learn much more about them. I vaguely realized that the mother and father had both come to America as refugees, but I hadn't really taken the time to think about what that implied about the type of things they had experienced. This year though, after dinner as I wandered into the living room after finishing the dishes, I heard my mother's friend talk about what he had gone through under the Khymer Rouge. He talked about occasions in which there is no explanation for his not being killed. He told us about how devastating it was to hear that the Americans were not going to help the Cambodians, and to be turned away at the Thai border and sent back to the killing fields. I had read a book about life under the Khymer Rouge by a doctor who had escaped Cambodia and later starred in the movie "In the Killing Fields," so I was not unfamiliar with what had gone on, but it was so different to be in the presence of someone who had been through it. And that made me think, what if my mother's friend came to speak at MHP? We've all heard so much about the Holocaust, but many of us are unfamiliar with other genocides. How can we say "never again" when it has happened again, just not to us. So from Thanksgiving, came the seed of what I would like to be a series of "No More" lectures.

On a less somber note, a shout out: Thanks for visiting us Brady! We had a blast. Can't wait to see you and the rest of team Moishe USA in Jan!

Natasha of Moishe House Minsk

Привет, Друзья!

Вот и подошел к концу ноябрь – 2-ой месяц существования Moishe House в Минске.
Хотелось бы поделиться с Вами своими впечатлениями о проделанной «работе» с одной стороны и «прекрасным временем препровождения» с другой.
Самым, на мой взгляд, суперским событием в Доме Мойше был Rosh Chodesh Kislev (начало месяца Кислев). Собравшиеся за накрытым столом 8 прекрасных девушек очень замечательно провели время за женскими разговорчиками на разные темы. Нами были затронуты такие вопросы как: какой я вижу настоящую еврейскую женщину? Что бы я хотела изменить в себе, чтобы быть лучше. Все это происходило в очень уютной атмосфере при свечах.
Могу сказать, что было ЗДОРОВО не только от своего имени, но и от имени всех девушек, которые в будущем будут собираться на каждый Rosh Chodesh.
Кстати, следующее наше женское собрание в сауне ☺ Мы все ждем этого с большим нетерпением.
И в завершение, хочу, чтобы все порадовались за нас. Следующее мероприятие Дома Мойше – катание на коньках в Ледовом Дворце (Ice Skating at Ice Palace). Уже сейчас я знаю, что это будет очень весело и смешно, потому что практически все из нашей компании не умеют кататься на коньках ☺. Но, тем не менее, я думаю, у нас все получится!
Целую всех! ☺

Aliyah of Moishe House Minsk

Brr...It's Cold in Here! It must be Rosh Chodesh Kislev in the Atmosphere!







Well, friends, winter has definitely arrived here in Minsk. The cold hard truth (pun intended) really hit me when my wet bathing suit, inside my gym bag, froze (!!!) on the 10 minute walk home from the local pool.
Seriously. It's cold.

Our Street!

But what better way to combat the plummeting temperature than to celebrate the beginning of a new Jewish month so filled with warmth and light! On the evening of Sunday, November 11th, Moishe House Minsk celebrated its first women's Rosh Chodesh gathering*, in honor of Rosh Chodesh Kislev.
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Eight of us sat together in our living room, ate dinner, discussed what it means to each of us to be a Jewish woman, learned about Rosh Chodesh and its meaning as a woman's holiday, and shared our hopes for personal character improvement in the coming month. Light being a key theme for the month of Kislev, we each lit small candles as we shared our thoughts. Though I feared that my friends might find this aspect of our activity just a tad kitschy, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it created an atmosphere of warmth and sharing.

It was so interesting to hear how my lovely lady friends here in Minsk interpret the role of the Jewish woman. One idea that seemed to resonate with nearly all women present was that it's difficult to think about a Jewish woman as a single person; her role seems to always depend upon others: her children, her partner, her parents, etc... We discussed the challenges of being a single, modern, Jewish woman and how complicated this identity truly is. I couldn't help but marvel at how paradigmatic our discussion was.

It was an informative and enjoyable evening of learning and sharing.

Warmth abound, for a short while I even forgot how cold it was outside!

*Click HERE to read about starting your very own Rosh Chodesh group!

ChillaJewropa/ Where is the world is Yaakov

Its been intense guys.

I have been in London, Vienna, and Jerusalem all in the past 10 days. I just got back to Vienna last night, My parents are coming to Vienna on Saturday, will stay a week, then I am off to France for a weekend, then back to Vienna, then to New York, then back to Vienna, then to London, then home to Tucson... all in the next month.

What is going down>? you may ask>?

I am organizing a crazy international Heebish throwdown festival/conference Shabbaton. The event has wings, and I am now being flown across the world by wealthy donors to structure and develop funding for the project. INTENSITY!!!

For all Ya'll digital grazing pleasures, here is the mission statement of ChillaJewropa.

DAJUS TORAH is excited to announce the first annual ChillaJewropa2008: Gathering the Tribes of Israel. This unique occasion promises to be the most extraordinary Jewish event of the year, as we literally intend to ‘gather’ thousands of young Jews from more than a dozen countries with the express purpose of facilitating dynamic interaction between fellow Jews. We intend on accomplishing this mission through crafting a creative, comfortable, and wholly conducive space for European Jews to celebrate, congregate, and holistically culminate their diverse Jewish backgrounds into a blissful and enlightening global Jewish experience. The event will manifest itself in three distinct forms: an interactive conference, a Shabbaton, and a music/arts/cultural festival. Festivities will include world-renowned Jewish reggae musician Matisyahu (among others), distinguished Jewish artists, world-class speakers, as well as a host of other entertaining and informative activities. It is our hope that through providing an insightful, empowering, and all out awesome Jewish experience, ChillaJewropa will serve as a catalyst in elevating the Jewish consciousness of our attendees. Additionally, we will seek to harmonize our actions with the global consensus on planetary responsibility though employing sustainable practices wherever possible, utilizing renewable energy, purchasing reusable/biodegradable dishware, and implementing ‘Zero-Waste’ principles in our production model. Far more than a one-time event, the ChillaJewropa experience is primarily a symbolic representation of a larger social transformation we wish to bring to world Jewry. ChillaJewropa will take place in an undetermined rural retreat/lodge setting within continental Europe in late June 2008.

Email me (chillavista@gmail.com) for more info, Ill send you the festival outline, and hopefully I can glean all your suggestions, questions, ideas, criticism, desert dwelling tortoises, and the rest.

Yaakov

Ilana Schuman-Sto; MHCHI; Noviembre

Helllooo!!

Hai. Hello thanx for coming. This month has been crazy!!!!!! Summer came to visit that was dope. Caren went to Israel, and I went to Pennsylvania! I am so happy to have had such a great Thanksgiving. This year, I didn't really feel that this dinner was in any way deep or meaningful the way I think it is supposed to be, but I did really appreciate the time to hang out with people I don't see often and take some time outside of the midwest. All the events we've had so far in November have been really great. We had a really nice Shabbat where the group of people who came over brought delicious food and even helped to clean! We've been able to see art, eat, listen to music and attended an entirely interesting religious service in the city. Coming up we still have a chill night of poker and a volunteer experience to look forward to. I think we've really started to get the hang of planning our months out and coming up with new and interesting ideas and for that I am so happy. I can't wait to meet everyone from the other houses so that we can all talk about all the things that have worked and program ideas that are really fun and cool! yeew!

Silverbeans in the Holiest Land

There is a restaurant called Felefal Base on Rechov (Street) Yahanan Ben Zakai, in the Catamon neighbourhood in Jerusalem.

Never, ever, ever, eat there, unless you desire to enter another world - a world where you do not have the control you may be accustomed to over your bodily fucntions.

This world also comes with cut-price delirium, hot and cold flushes and a temperature of 110 degrees.

On the up-side, whilst languishing in my hospital bed and being told all kinds of rubbish by my various tormentors (who were cunningly disguised as medical professionals), I conversed with various heavenly entities who channeled their divine light into my weakened body.

The upshot of these inter-dimensional communications was that I awakened from my feverous wrestlings on Saturday morning with a gentle certainty that I should set a date for my transition to the Holy Land.

So, I did - and it's not for at least 18 months, but it feels great to have a framework for all my other decisions...

In the mean time, I arrived back home on Tuesday night to the warmest Moishe-welcome in London history, and was have since enjoyed a a couple of lovely gatherings in the homestead.

And tonight, we're gonna go party as a house-crew for the 1st time.

Rock, rock on.

What's cookin' good lookin?

Im not gonna lie, I helped with the blog below, so Im kinda short for words right now. But, here’s a helpful recipe for your next moishe house dinner. Easy to make and feeds plenty. Ingredients should be found at an open air market with fresh veggies and recently deceased chickens.
Red Curry Classic

First you go to the chicken guy in between meat street and the Shuk Ha Carmel. Tell him you want enough chicken for as many people as you anticipate coming to dinner. Also tell him you want the fat trimmed off and it chopped into cubes. This should be of no extra charge.

Say Todah and take your bag of chicken over to the veggies guy. Your gonna want 1 big eggplant, 2 red bell peppers, two yellow onions, one spicy pepper, some small white-cap mushrooms, and some lemmon-grass if he has it. Wait for the clerk to stop arguing with the guy in front of you, and proceed to pay. This shouldn’t cost you more than 7 shekels.

Now you head over to the dairy guy who also sells hummus. Hummus has nothing to do with this meal, but is always delcious and reliable, and always seems to make its way in somewhere.

Directly to the left of the dairy guy there should be a cart selling the most important ingredients of the meal: Ask for one can of red curry paste, and 2 cans of potent coconut milk….on second thought make that extra potent coconut milk.

Finally head to the baker and ask for some lafa, (a big flat and floppy Indian style bread)

Head home, throw everything in a pot. And you got yourself some some good ol’ Red Curry Classic. Bete avon!
-Tamir Moishe house Tel Aviv.