Three months before my one year anniversary of living in a Moishe House, I sit in front of my computer and ask myself…what has the last year of my life been to me? What have I accomplished, what have I done for my community and do I enjoy what I’m doing with limited time on this planet? I seem to ask myself these very questions on a constant basis. I find this thought process to be a time of self realization where I can make the necessary changes in my life to achieve my goals.
To start with I recently obtained my series 7 general securities license which puts me one step closer to starting a career where I will hopefully obtain a sense of financial freedom and the ability to one day provide for a family. I have also been part of Moishe House OC in Laguna Beach where we host between 7-10 events a month that cater to our local Jewish community. From my conversations with our guests I would claim that they primarily come for four different reasons including: 1) meeting new friends 2) networking for business contacts 3) entertainment 4) finding that special someone.
I have had the fortune of all 4 of these reasons happening to me over the past year. I have meet hundreds of great individuals and been reacquainted with some old friends from temple that I haven’t seen in roughly 15 years. I have become close with my housemates who have helped build our community and host some amazing events if I may be so obliged to say. And I have met an amazing girl that makes me extremely happy and that I can only hope I bring her the same happiness.
I guess I have come to the realization of looking at Moishe House in a new way... After my first few months of living in the house I would say to myself, look at all the good you have done for MH and the community but now I realize it is Moishe House which has done so much for me.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
New Year, New Roommates
Lee'at and Ben have moved in and Moishe is growing already! Our events have been more diverse and we've added a recurring Discussion Group to our repertoire where we discuss relevent topics related to us--young Jews!
With my new roommates settled and helping me steer this endeavor, I have a newfound passion for Moishe House. The STL branch is more organized, energetic, and it's looking to grow with leaps and bounds! Lee'at, Ben, and I have such different personalities, ideas, and perspectives that we're able to combine all 3 to create unique and interesting programs and keep visitors wanting more, and bringing more visitors with them.
One initiative we'd like to instill is to partner with other organizations more, both locally and nationally, to branch out and make Moishe House STL a household name. I'm excited for the upcoming year with my new roomies and to unveil all that MHSTL has to offer!
Jordan
With my new roommates settled and helping me steer this endeavor, I have a newfound passion for Moishe House. The STL branch is more organized, energetic, and it's looking to grow with leaps and bounds! Lee'at, Ben, and I have such different personalities, ideas, and perspectives that we're able to combine all 3 to create unique and interesting programs and keep visitors wanting more, and bringing more visitors with them.
One initiative we'd like to instill is to partner with other organizations more, both locally and nationally, to branch out and make Moishe House STL a household name. I'm excited for the upcoming year with my new roomies and to unveil all that MHSTL has to offer!
Jordan
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
MOHOLO MONTHLY EMAIL - STEP RIGHT UP IT'S FESTIVAL TIME!
HELLO MOISHE CREW, New and old!
Hope you have been enjoying the crazy summer season. We have been taking full advantage of the weather having many days of reggae garden sessions, late night jams and general summer warmth.
We have an exciting month of bringing a fresh slant to the festival season. We are supplying an alternative way to experience and connect to the high holidays and beyond. Come and reflect in a way that you never have before, come and enjoy services that are inclusive, fresh, colourful and dare I say, exciting! Then come and party in our Succah, which will be bigger and better than it has ever been....Now there's a challenge!
So, we would firstly like to welcome Alli Zionts our new house mate who has come all the way from Pittsburgh, USA. It has only been a few days and we have already found out she bakes incredible Challah. She has come in as we have said goodbye to Tali, who is now parading the deserts of Nevada, and after saving lives in South America.
We also have Jess Lenza with us for a month while Rachel is spinning yarns in Edinburgh and Jess has already been getting down on the guitar and livening up the last few events with her tunes and singing.
So, onwards with the events....
Hope you have been enjoying the crazy summer season. We have been taking full advantage of the weather having many days of reggae garden sessions, late night jams and general summer warmth.
We have an exciting month of bringing a fresh slant to the festival season. We are supplying an alternative way to experience and connect to the high holidays and beyond. Come and reflect in a way that you never have before, come and enjoy services that are inclusive, fresh, colourful and dare I say, exciting! Then come and party in our Succah, which will be bigger and better than it has ever been....Now there's a challenge!
So, we would firstly like to welcome Alli Zionts our new house mate who has come all the way from Pittsburgh, USA. It has only been a few days and we have already found out she bakes incredible Challah. She has come in as we have said goodbye to Tali, who is now parading the deserts of Nevada, and after saving lives in South America.
We also have Jess Lenza with us for a month while Rachel is spinning yarns in Edinburgh and Jess has already been getting down on the guitar and livening up the last few events with her tunes and singing.
So, onwards with the events....
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| LOTS OF MOHOLO LOVE TO NEW AND OLD, AND FROM NEW AND OLD, X AVIAD, ALLI, RACHEL, JESS, JOEL & BRETT | ||||||||
Monday, August 23, 2010
MHSF - Sarah Curtin (personal blog?): Costco rules, or... does it?
Transitions are rough. Especially roommate transitions. Kiki and I found ourselves in just that sort of transition in June... looking for new roommates, saying goodbye to our old ones... watching furniture, decorations, and personalities leave our home. One of the biggest hits we took was we lost our connection to Costco. Now, I know you think that's sort of silly and trivial, but trust me, it's not. I've lived in the house almost 2 years, and it seemed to me as if without our highly-important, highly-used costco membership (and obviously, the members), Shabbat just wouldn't be feasible. How else do we buy enough food to feed an army of 25 hungry Jews, within our $100 monthly Shabbat budget? It seemed an impossible dilemma.
While I'd never been a card-carrying Costco member myself, the enthusiasm my former room mates held for the store was completely contagious. By the time they moved out I LOVED the place. But alas, I'm not on top of my game enough to get my act together and go just sign up for my own membership. July rolled around, and Dan, Ariel (the two newest MHSF additions!), Kiki and myself found ourselves lacking, and figuring out how to plan for Shabbat. Just in time -- I swear, literally the exact requisite 9 days in advance to sign up online -- the Birthright Israel NEXT partnership launched. We signed up our Shabbat, and boom, in a second, we had basically tripled our shabbat allowance. Whew. We could buy food!!!
We still could not, however, buy our trusted, well loved, Costco whole rotiserie chickens that had become a quick, easy, cheap Shabbat staple at our house. What to do? I'm excited to say that we took the opportunity to get cooking. We went big. We went huge. Not only did we cook a feast of both veggie and non-veggie options, but we were able to buy wine (thank you Moishe House and Birthright Israel NEXT for enabling our 2-buck-chuck habit!!), and most importantly, COOK OUR VERY OWN ROAST CHICKEN! I know it sounds silly, but it was a work of art. We got creative. We made a beer-butt chicken, with garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, and PBR. It was gorgeous, and delicious, and a team effort that was really a lot of fun. And it only happened, if you follow the string of events back to the very start, because of the roommate transition. Everyone loved it, and we celebrated Shabbat with our new roommates in style. Needless to say we didn't have any left over chicken. Change is hard, but great things can come of it. Especially if you like poultry.
While I'd never been a card-carrying Costco member myself, the enthusiasm my former room mates held for the store was completely contagious. By the time they moved out I LOVED the place. But alas, I'm not on top of my game enough to get my act together and go just sign up for my own membership. July rolled around, and Dan, Ariel (the two newest MHSF additions!), Kiki and myself found ourselves lacking, and figuring out how to plan for Shabbat. Just in time -- I swear, literally the exact requisite 9 days in advance to sign up online -- the Birthright Israel NEXT partnership launched. We signed up our Shabbat, and boom, in a second, we had basically tripled our shabbat allowance. Whew. We could buy food!!!
We still could not, however, buy our trusted, well loved, Costco whole rotiserie chickens that had become a quick, easy, cheap Shabbat staple at our house. What to do? I'm excited to say that we took the opportunity to get cooking. We went big. We went huge. Not only did we cook a feast of both veggie and non-veggie options, but we were able to buy wine (thank you Moishe House and Birthright Israel NEXT for enabling our 2-buck-chuck habit!!), and most importantly, COOK OUR VERY OWN ROAST CHICKEN! I know it sounds silly, but it was a work of art. We got creative. We made a beer-butt chicken, with garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, and PBR. It was gorgeous, and delicious, and a team effort that was really a lot of fun. And it only happened, if you follow the string of events back to the very start, because of the roommate transition. Everyone loved it, and we celebrated Shabbat with our new roommates in style. Needless to say we didn't have any left over chicken. Change is hard, but great things can come of it. Especially if you like poultry.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Joel, London - Personal Blog
Well, it's been almost three years of living in Moishe House London, since we started it up in October 2007. Back then, when a few of us were phoning each other about this crazy idea of creating a Jewish community house, we couldn't have envisaged how far we'd come and the way this community has blossomed.
A couple weeks ago we played host to Moishe House's very own David Cygielman, who had a few days in London on his way to Israel. I got to accompany him to a few meetings with local funders and spend some quality time getting to know him and what goes on behind the scenes at Moishe House. It was very interesting to see how impressed the funders were by the Mintranet, and I was relieved when David clicked on Moishe House London and all our photos and numbers were in place! It did make me realise why we're asked to monitor what we do here.
David arrived at a good time - he was able to meet a host of young Jewish movers and shakers at a '40 under 40' lunch, come to great communal Shabbat held by people who are very important in our Moishe House community, and experience a uniquely English MoHoLo event. We've been partnering with the JCC for some time now, hosting a monthly 'Hang Out at the House' evening for Darfuri refugees and our regular community. On David's visit we decided to make the event a 'sock-wrestling' tournament. Basically two people get on hands and knees on the carpet and have to steal the sock off their opponents foot. David ended the evening undefeated, 2-0, but retired with a nasty set of carpet burns!
Now we're gearing up for the high holidays when we're hosting Grassroots Jews, independent Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services - 150 people expected in a marquee in our garden. David said one of our strengths as a house is our level of integration with the local community, and Grassroots Jews promises to be another such example.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Friday Night Lights
The biggest Jewish scene in Texas on a friday night has nothing to do with football. Candle light replaces bleacher blare as Jewish twenty-somethings fill Moishe House Dallas to capacity. They stir, and mingle, and drink wine in anticipation for the Shabbat meal. The MoHost's gather everyone around three full-length tables to sing the traditional Friday night blessings, followed by Kiddush and Ha'Motzi. Each time new faces mix in with the ever-increasing number of “regulars” at MoHo Shabbat dinner. Jews from all over the Dallas Metroplex walk over from down the block or drive-in 45 minutes to be at MoHo, beer or wine in hand. It is the singular event that speaks to every one who comes to MoHo Dallas seeking a true Jewish community of their peers.
This past Shabbat, a now-regular occurrence happened that made me think of the extraordinary affect MoHo Shabbat dinner is having on people's lives. Hillary, a 24 year old post-Communications major now living in Dallas walked through the MoHo doors. This was her second Shabbat and her smile revealed her instant comfortability. By her side was her friend Brian, an import from Miami. While at first a bit anxious, Hillary introduced Brian to friends she met at the previous Shabbat. By the end of the night Brian was mingling through the crowd on his own.
Raymond - Moishe House Dallas
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Thoughts on Community in Chi Town (by Kelly V.)
Two weeks ago the age range at our Shabbat varied much more than normal. Five year olds and twenty sometimes; thirties, fourties, fifties, sixties…maybe seventies (i'm an awful judge of age). It is safe to say that most ages were present. Why, you ask? It was Moishe House Chicago's Intergenerational Shabbat!
People sat according to different questions that defined their generations. A "I used a typewriter regularly" was sitting next to a "I was a huge fan of 'Nsync" and not next to a, "I remember what I was doing when JFK was shot." (see above) It seemed that perhaps Moishe House Chicago, a community for those post college and pre-adult/synagogue life, was straying off mission a little bit…or was it? I would argue, not at all. The conversations happening around the room as generations mixed was among some of the most interesting and diverse that we had ever had. I talked about healthcare, about the difference between being young and jewish today and being young and jewish thirty years ago, and about the changes that the city of Chicago has gone through. I felt inspired by the different perspectives. The Moishe House community had opened its doors to outside of our typical age range and for this evening, all ages were better because of it.
People sat according to different questions that defined their generations. A "I used a typewriter regularly" was sitting next to a "I was a huge fan of 'Nsync" and not next to a, "I remember what I was doing when JFK was shot." (see above) It seemed that perhaps Moishe House Chicago, a community for those post college and pre-adult/synagogue life, was straying off mission a little bit…or was it? I would argue, not at all. The conversations happening around the room as generations mixed was among some of the most interesting and diverse that we had ever had. I talked about healthcare, about the difference between being young and jewish today and being young and jewish thirty years ago, and about the changes that the city of Chicago has gone through. I felt inspired by the different perspectives. The Moishe House community had opened its doors to outside of our typical age range and for this evening, all ages were better because of it.As proof, look at all these smiling faces:
For me personally, Moishe House is most powerful because it is a welcoming community. And in this community is energy, contagious energy, that people (even adults with families who mostly find their jewish communities in synagogues) want to be a part of for a night every once and a while. I felt lucky to be able to take part in this event and to know that I was a part of this unique community.
Even better follow up to this event was running into one of the Shabbat attendees, Dr. Anne, at a labor rally downtown. We were able to reconnect over our interest in worker justice. This was a further solidification of the way that Moishe House can bring people together. If we had not held the intergenerational Shabbat, Dr. Anne would just have been another face in a crowd.
I'll end this blog with another feel good story. It's also about community. You might even say that I'm developing a theme here. Last friday evening before Shabbat I got a wonderful phone call. It was from Karin, a moist house regular who had moved out of the Chicagoland area calling from her summer post as a camp counselor. She was wrestling with the possibility of moving back to Chicago, and wanted to know if there were any spots in the Moishe House that were open. "If there were, I'd move back in a heartbeat, it would make the decision so easy," she said. She continued by saying that Moishe House was her community in Chicago, and a community that she hope to recreate if she stayed on the East Coast. It felt amazing to hear feedback about the positive impacts of the community; the fact that Moishe House was a marker for her about feeling settled in a city speaks to the power and importance of Moishe House.
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