When I was a kid, my parents decided to make a big move. My mother and father both left Iran at the age of 15 and settled in Los Angeles where they established their home over the span of 20 years. The Iranian Jewish community of Los Angeles—which had grown dramatically just before and immediately after the 1979 Iranian Revolution—is an insular and tight-knit one. That’s why, when my parents decided to relocate the family to Denver, Colorado in the summer of 1994, it was a really BIG move.
Finding a Jewish community in Denver was an interesting challenge for me when I started at a Catholic school that fall. I didn’t have the advantage of the daily curriculum of Jewish learning, traditions, and heritage that most Jewish day schools around the country offer. However, throughout the years, I was able to retain my Jewish identity through local Jewish organizations, my family’s connection to the community, and my individual desire to learn more and find my place in the ever-evolving Jewish world.
That’s why, when I moved back to Los Angeles in 2008, I decided to take a deeper personal interest in the Jewish community in a number of ways. I served on committees, went to events and educational seminars, and became involved in a number of Jewishly-focused organizations.
After doing a good amount of research on the vast spectrum of L.A. Jewish life, I was disappointed to find that options for young adults were sparse, and those that existed felt dated and irrelevant. More and more, my single friends in their 20s and 30s were floating away from their Jewish identities. The institutional structure that had existed and thrived for over a hundred years, now felt archaic in relation to their nimble and amorphous lives.
This is why when I was finally introduced to Moishe House, I was ready and willing to embrace it. It all happened so quickly. Three touch points simultaneously introduced me to Moishe House in different and unrelated ways, and from that moment on, I was hooked. One minute I’d never heard of the organization, and the next, I was serving on its international Board of Directors.
Though I never lived in one of the over 70 (and growing) houses around the world, and I wasn’t a frequent participant in the more than 2,500 programs that are organized annually, I saw what these thousands of young adults around the world were doing, and I knew it was working. I wanted to be part of the movement.
After being on—what I consider to be—the most functional board in the young adult Jewish world for 2 years, I quickly realized that we were onto something big, and my experiences in the changing Jewish world were not unique. More and more, young 20-somethings are seeking their Jewish identity through experiences that are peer-driven and appeal to their lifestyle. And yet, the question arose, how could a concept that works in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Atlanta, and Cleveland, also be effective in Beijing, London, Odessa, and Sydney? Are these not different countries with vastly diverse cultures, traditions, and Jewish communities?
We soon realized that the Moishe House model is completely universal. Why? Chalk it up to globalization, the explosion of social media, or the World Wide Web, generally, but the truth remains; young adults all over the world are seeking connection to their Jewish identity through their generational peers. This is why I helped to launch a new initiative through Moishe House called the Global Community Fund. This Fund ensures that groups of young Jews in communities all over the world will have the opportunity to open a Moishe House in their city without having to worry about the challenging task of raising local support.
The truth is, some countries outside of the U.S. have different cultures of giving. This should not be an obstacle for young people who are dedicated enough to come forward and say, “Yes, we are ready to form a family under this roof and be the heart of Jewish life and camaraderie for our communal peers!” It takes dedication, hard work, and a ton of time to be a Moishe House Resident. If you’re willing, I, and many others, will support you.
Welcome to the new age of Jewish life. It’s beautiful, it’s booming, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Sabrina Merage, founder of the Sabrina Merage Foundation
