Home is Where the Moishe is...

After many meetings, extensive planning, a bit of consulting, lots of inviting, and the purchase of an abundant array of snack foods, Natasha and I announce to you the opening of MOISHE HOUSE MINSK in our apartment!

What is a Moishe House?

Moishe Houses are a collection of homes all over the world. In these homes, the residents receive a rent subsidy and project budget in order to host events and activities. Moishe House Minsk will hold 5-7 events per month; We promise they will be fun, creative, and somehow Jewishly inclined!

Moishe House is funded by the Forest Foundation, which has partnered with the Center for Leadership Initiatives and the Schusterman Foundation in order to expand their program.
There are currently Moishe Houses in:

• Boston, MA
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Chicago, Illinois
• East Bay, CA
• Hoboken, NJ
• London, England
• Los Angeles, CA
• Minsk, Belarus
• Moishe Art House Santa Cruz
• Philadelphia, PA
• Providence, RI
• Sacramento, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle
• Silver Spring, MD
• Tel Aviv, Israel
• Vienna, Austria
• Washington D.C.

Moishe House Minsk is the first Moishe House in the Former Soviet Union!

To see the Moishe House Minsk web page with a description of the house, our bios, and our calendar of events, click HERE.

Our First Event

Our first event, a “Chanukat Bayit,” Hebrew for “House Dedication,” was held on Saturday, October 27th. About seventeen guests joined us for homemade cookies and cakes, tea and coffee.

First we did Havdalah together, complete with lalalalalalalalas.















Then, Yoni the JDC Representative, helped me attach a mezuzah (Lablogski Jewish symbol of the month!) to the inside of our front door. We all said the blessing together:

Next, Natasha and I showed a power point presentation that we prepared on the history of Moishe House and about ourselves as well. Take a look!
(Can you spot Alf's cameo appearance???)

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At the last minute, we feared the power point presentation might not work, but our friendly mullet-donning comrade, Dima, saved the day with his computer savoir-faire. Thanks Dima!












Then we did what Minsk Jews do best. We schmoozed the night away over tea and sweets.










Shiny Happy Moishe House People!

So, thank you Moishe House, and thank you JDC, for enabling us to work on this fun project!

Meet Moishe! Psychologist Morris Bear Squire originally established the Forest Foundation the 1950's