Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Moishe's in the House

Monday morning, I returned from a very interesting experience in the nation's capital... having missed my flight the night before (damn yellow line)

What was this magical mystery tour, which paid for my flight, and threw me into a room with 20 or 30 twenty-somethings? It was none other than a Moishe House retreat.

After seeing college, camp, Cincinnati, and youth group friends, and some family... it was time to get down to Yidness.

I showed up at the predetermined address, not quite sure what to expect.

Here I am, a relatively new member of the MH crew, showing up in a well established House. Would I like the kids? Would they be the kind of Jewish kids who are quite nice, but wouldn't really make it onto my interesting list? Would they out Jewish Geography me?

The answers ended up being yes, remains to be seen, and everyone's a winner at Jewish Geography.

Really though, I have to admit that I enjoyed the group. All stereotypical Jewish mixers and discussions of Jewish identity blah blah blah aside, it was fun, and interesting.

And I was able to bring up a core incongruity that underlies the tension in the Jewish humanist leanings and feel comfortable about saying it (ask me later).

Not only that, I got to sit in with a jazz band at Adams-Morgan day, free-style, and connect with some people all over the country.

The retreat reinforced my belief that all over the US, and really the world, 20-some-year-olds are redefining and breathing new life into ancient traditions and culture, adding a new twist to an old standard, and finding any excuse to party with fellow MOTs.

As we move into our new Moishe House, to create an better space for us, we invite you to hit us up and join us in building an exciting young Jewish community.

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