Jul 11 2012
This week, Aaron Herman had the opportunity to speak with Oren Kashi, who is a member of Moishe House.
How do you build community? We had the opportunity to speak to Oren Kashi member of Moishe House Great Neck. Moishe House was founded in 2006 and has quickly grown from four friends hosting Shabbat dinners for young adults out of their home in Oakland, California, to 46 thriving centers of Jewish life, spanning 14 countries. Moishe House is the largest organization of its kind, serving an international cohort of more than 50,000 Jewish young adults around the world annually. Moishe House has become an essential component in serving the Jewish post-college young adult population, by providing opportunities for community involvement, Jewish learning and leadership.
THE MOISHE HOUSE MODEL
We have developed a creative, low-barrier, cost-effective and scalable model for building vibrant, peer-based Jewish communities and learning opportunities for Jewish young adults in their twenties. Given that emerging adults are the true experts on their generation, Moishe House cultivates young leaders to create Jewish community — on their own terms — for their peers, in ways that are meaningful and relevant.
The center of the approach is an open, welcoming home, created and facilitated by a group of 3-5 young adults (residents).
Moishe House residents come from a wide variety of Jewish backgrounds and are selected for their demonstrated leadership abilities and outgoing personalities.
Working together as a team, the residents plan and host a diverse range of low-barrier religious, cultural and social events in their home, including Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, Repair the World programs, and more.
In addition to planning their own programs, the house residents also support existing community resources by partnering with local Jewish organizations such as JCCs, synagogues, federations, and other institutional providers.