MOISHE HOUSE—Jodi Berris and Matt Peterson stand in the (as yet unfurnished) main entertainment area of Portland’s new Moishe House. The two Jewish activists, who are seeking two more housemates, will host at least seven events for young adults each month.
Jodi Berris opens door for young Jewish adults
By Deborah Moon
article created on:
Jewish Portland’s whirlwind planner of cool events for young adults now has a hub from which to launch her multitude of programs.
On Jan. 1, Jodi Berris, 29, opens a local branch of Moishe House, a subsidized housing program that enables “young, eager, innovative Jews to live in and create their vision of an ideal Jewish communal space.”
Created by the Forest Foundation (TheForestFoundation.net), Moishe House also receives funding from the Center for Leadership Initiatives and the Schusterman Foundation. The Forest Foundation lists 13 Moishe Houses across the United States (not including Portland) and eight international houses.
Berris, who describes her philosophy for young adult events as “keep it cool, keep it cheap,” has planned events for young Jewish adults in Portland for the past three years. From 1-800-Shabbat to Maccabees and Microbrews, her events consistently have drawn large crowds and rave reviews.
Now she will have a site for many events as well as a programming budget from The Forest Foundation. Being the hyper planner she is, Berris of course elected the maximum number of monthly events—seven plus—which means housemates receive a 75 percent rent subsidy and $500 programming budget each month. She and housemate Matt Peterson, 23, would like two more housemates to share the four-bedroom home located at 6217 SW 33rd Place, near Vermont.
January will feature four meetings of Berris’s already established Dodgeball and Drinks League. The 60 players will meet for an hour of round-robin dodgeball games at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center and then head to Moishe House for drinks and kosher snacks.
The other January events include “casual Jewish learning” in the form of two sessions each of Torah on Tap and Hebrew with HeBrew. The two programs, each of which will meet six times, will alternate Wednesday evenings through March.
On Jan. 9 and 23, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Hebrew with HeBrew will feature an hour of learning to read Hebrew followed by an hour of Hebrew conversation, both of which will be broken into beginning and more advanced groups. HeBrew kosher beer will be served during the evening and participants are welcome to attend one or both hours.
Berris said Moishe House programming funds do not cover alcohol, so donations will be accepted to help pay for the beer. HeBrew beer, produced by the Schmaltz Brewing Co., is a sponsor of the event.
She decided to apply to open a Moishe House here thanks to two events that coincided in September. She became one of 75 young Jewish adults from across the nation to be selected for the year-long Professional Leaders Project, a Los Angeles-based national organization created to train the next generation of Jewish leaders. The same month after services at Kesser Israel, Steve Bloom told Berris about Moishe House.
By accepting the PLP nomination, Berris had committed to continuing her Jewish leadership for two years. She said 30 seconds after Bloom told her about Moishe House she was sold on that as her commitment.
Noting she was already doing the programming anyway, she said having a large home to host events and a programming budget was a dream come true. She said it will be wonderful not having to dip into her own savings or find local funding.
“I already have a history of events I’m bringing to the table,” said Berris.
Peterson said it took him even less time to commit to joining Moishe House.
“I committed a second after she explained it to me,” said Peterson. “I thought it was a good way to transform Jewish Portland and appeal to an underserved market—20s and 30s in Jewish Portland.”
He said he owes his commitment to reaching out to underserved segments of the Jewish community to the example set by his mother Eve Miller, one of the founding families of the South Metro Jewish Congregation (now Beit Haverim) in West Linn.
Peterson honed his leadership skills as president of the campus Chabad at the University of Oregon for two years. Now back in the metro area, he attends services with both Chabad and Kesser Israel and studies at the Portland Kollel.
Peterson describes Moshe House as “palatial.” Both he and Berris said the large common areas will make it easy to host large Shabbat dinners for up to 50 people.
Peterson said he is also pleased to be living in a Torah observant house. The house will be strictly kosher and shomer Shabbat.
Berris said other housemates do not need to have the same level of observance outside the home, but they will be expected to maintain the home’s standards.
She said the home will maintain strict kashrut, with the guidance of Tzvi Fischer from the Portland Kollel, “so we can be accessible to as many people as possible.”
She said the Portland Moishe House is the only one in the country with such observant standards.
Prospective housemates who commit to living at the home in January will be eligible to attend the three-day retreat in California, she said.
Berris said she has “a whole slew of events in my head,” including a men’s basketball league starting in February, Shabbat dinners at the home, yoga for women, house parties and Guys Night with the Rabbi. Most events are aimed at those 21 to 39, but she does plan an open house for 40+ singles cocktail party sometime in February.
“I’m committed to this project for two years,” said Berris. “With Matt, I’m launching this to cultivate new leadership and to help guide future leaders to build this house that will be sustainable in Portland for a long time.”
To ensure minimal disruption to the home’s usefulness as new leaders move in and old move out in future years, Berris is seeking donations of furniture and entertainment items for the common areas and new kitchen items to furnish a strictly kosher kitchen.
For more information on Moishe House, contact Berris at jodiberris@aol.com or 248-760-0743. Event information will be listed in the Jewish Review calendar and online at portlandjewishevents.com and theforestfoundation.net.