Moishe House Buenos Aires - December house blog - Newcomers

We often have newcomers in MHBA. Lots of American, Israeli, Brit and Aussie tourists and expats come to the House as well as Argentine locals who have only just heard about the House. We are always very warm and welcoming to newbies. When newcomers come for a Friday night meal we help to break the ice by encouraging them to help to prepare food / lay the table. In getting involved in team work, they have to talk to people and then immediately conversations are flowing and they have someone they have already spoken to before the meal starts. Between us we speak Spanish, English and Hebrew and so far every newcomer has been able to speak to us in their native language. We get lots of inquiries from newcomers to Buenos Aires by email, so we tell them about upcoming events and also give them advice and help them out in the move / visit to our city. Newcomers always seem to come back and become MHBA regulars, so we think we’re doing something right!

Personal Blog - MHP

Happy New Year everyone! It's been a whirlwind 3 months since my last personal post - regional retreat, Thanksgiving and the solid holiday programming MHP put on in December - all leading up to this moment! The regional retreat was a great day, it was amazing to see everyone from the East coast and meet our Rabbi in residence (some for the first time). I was (am actually) so inspired by all of the houses and the various personalities living within. One thing I find compelling is that, no matter what the make up of the house, everyone is working toward the common goal of bringing unique Jewish community to their larger communities and all have a real intention about it. I think that's grand and can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for us all!

First a big thanks for Moishe House Staff and Partners! that makes, all the great things happen.

So this is actually my first contribution to the Moishe Blog. My name is Danny so far life in the house has been pretty exciting, with our regular official events,

One of M.H. most active events in Vienna, is Shabbat, praying in our living room, kiddush, delicious dishes, talking and also about Jewish culture and history bringing knowledge and understanding about our tradition, singing & laughing & staying as long as you want -- even till the following evening, as some regularly do. (Eytan one of the housemate organized that lot of families from the Jewish community in Vienna cook for the dinner)….We are trying to make nice family atmosphere I'm very grateful for the opportunity that MH has provided us to build up, a young Jewish community.

Wish you all the best

Smile, introduce him/her to others, tell him/her about this wonderful project; but of course, we don't over look after them to much, we think they should get time to look around and chill out a little. The atmosphere is generally so nice anyway that they feel home very fast.

To integrate someone, we first have a formal meeting, with evaluation and test... no only joking, each newcomers is unique and will integrate in a unique way.

Shalom from Vienna

Michael, Eytan and Daniel

Eytan blog's

Shalom! Guten tag! Hello! Bonjour!

I hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying your programming!!
Normally, I write very looonng blog, so for a change, I will stop it here. (:

But! let me wish a wonderfull month!!

Eytan

Ps: be prepared to ready my "longer than usual" blog next month!

hey eytan how are you?

please post my blog, i cannot login, thx
cu tomorrow

Michael's blog:
I moved in MH in nov 2008.
MH changend my life and the lifes of the guests who take
part at the events.

Some guests were telling me that they feel being home at MH.
during the events i can forget about bad things and have
fun.

When i moved in the MH it was really hard organizing the events,

But now with my one year experience of planning events and hosting people
it is much easier and more fun.


During this year i have been able to meet
a lot of new people and learn more about Judaism.

The past year was amazing and i am looking forward to a much better
year 2010

Rachels Individual Blog-New Years Retreat/Shabbat

We just had an awesome ski trip retreat in Whistler Canada for New Years. It was great to have an event away from the house for an extended period of time. Although it was small and intimate, the people that came got to experience what it is like to be shomer shabbat. There were a couple people who had never had that experience and it was very rewarding to be able to share that joy. I remember when I moved into MH a year ago and had never kept shabbat fully. The first time was a definate struggle. It was hard not to want to check my cell phone or turn on the TV. At first I felt confined and restricted. But then I sat down and played cards with my roomate and had some drinks and I started to see how amazing a break like that can be. I am not the kind of person who normally sits by the window on a saturday afternoon with a good book or eats a long meal and naps for two hours. Normally that would stress me out because I would feel like I should be doing something "productive." But I must say it is an amazing feeling to be surrounded by a community of people eating good food, playing board games, napping and having enlightening discussions. I mean what could be better than that? Being shomer shabbat is not something you can do by yourself. If you do, it can be isolating and lonely. However if you have a community of like minded people that you can share that joy with I have found that it is one of the most amazing and recharging experiences. My boyfriend told me a few weeks ago that I was glowing on shabbat. At first I thought he was just trying to get browny points :) however I realized that I felt like I was glowing. If done right, Shabbat can truly be an amazing experience. I feel very fortunate that I get to try it out in such a great environment and I feel proud that we are able to share it with others, that otherwise would never get such an approachable experience.