New Moishe Houses Opening in Palo Alto, Baltimore, Kiev and Moscow Summer 2010 - posted 7/15/2010 8:03:43 AM

Author - Kellyn Foxman

It seems that we are at a crossroads. The number of applicants to Moishe House are at an all time high – each one with a unique story of how they want infuse their local community with vibrant young adult Jewish life. However, as an organization, we are working to ensure that we can first support our existing 29 Moishe Houses.  I wish the answer to this continual dilemma was not as simple as it is: we cannot open any new Moishe Houses unless they are fully funded from day one. Although this rational makes sense, it is still difficult to grapple with when we receive such amazing applications. For example, I received a letter from three applicants in Riga, Latvia who started off by saying, “Latvia's Jews NEED a Moishe House!” As you can you illicit from my writing, there is an intense combination of excitement and pressure to provide the Jewish life needed for this generation of young Jewish adults.