100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials may be under copyright. If you decide to use any of these materials, you are responsible for making your own legal assessment and securing any necessary permission. If you have questions about the collection, please contact the Bentley Historical Library at bentley.ref@umich.edu

November 03, 2011 - Image 40

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 2011-11-03

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

Motor City matchmakers

Six hventysomethings
move to Midtown —
and set about showing
others there's lots
there to love

Josh Gershonowicz was
Pennsylvania-bound. He had
his eye on Pitt Business. But his
heart was in Detroit.

Born and raised in West
Bloomfield, Gershonowicz
spent time in Florida and New
York before deciding he should
get back to the D. A stately
brick house on Ferry Street
turned out to be home sweet
home for Gershonowicz — and
five of his peers.

30-year-old young adult Jewish
population."

Headquartered in Oakland,
Calif., Moishe House sponsors
40 homes in 14 countries,
with regularly scheduled
programming that engages
more than 40,000 attendees
each year.

In exchange for subsidized rent,
the Motor City housemates
host at least five organized
events a month. Some activities
are focused on Judaism, such
as Shabbat dinner and sukkah
building, while others are
more secular, such as yoga
classes and a 5K. Everyone
is welcomed through the
mezuzah-adorned doorway,
whether they
keep kosher or
aren't sure what
that means.

The three women
and three men
meet once a
month to plan
activities and
divvy up tasks.
They spread the
word through
social media,
such as the house
Facebook wall,
and through
affiliated
groups such as
CommunityNEXT
and Come Play
Detroit.

Good neighbors:

Motor City Moishe House sits on friendly
Ferry Street, in walking distance from WSU,

When they moved into Motor
City Moishe House in June, they
became part of an international
organization that aims to
provide meaningful Jewish
experiences to young adults in
home-based settings.

"The Jewish community has
done a terrific job of creating
all sorts of opportunities for
Jewish life for children, college
students and families," says
Moishe House CEO David
Cygielman, who co-founded
the organization in 2006 to
meet that need. "But there's a
significant gap for the 22- to

New traditions

Housemates fit
programming into their already
busy lives as entrepreneurs,
community activists, a Teach
for America corps member and
graduate students. That last
label is most common: Half the
housemates are Wayne State
Warriors.

All three agree that living in
Moishe House while in grad
school gives them a greater
appreciation of their university
and its surroundings.

"I feel 100 percent more
connected to Detroit now
that I live, study and socialize
downtown," says first-year

Happy housernates: Ariella Morrison (from top left), Mlle Gross,

Jordan Wolfe, Justin Jacobs and Danniell Nadiv
(not pictured: Josh Gershonowicz).

Wayne Law student Ariella
Morrison. She says living a
stone's throw from gems such
as the Detroit Institute of Arts
and Eastern Market makes
every day exciting.

Morrison and her housemates
have capitalized on Detroit's
star attractions with events
such as a three-hour bike tour
through the city, a fireworks-
viewing party at the Wayne
State Physics Building, a
hands-on volunteer session at
Earthworks Urban Farm, and a
field trip to Eastern Market to
gather ingredients for brunch
back at the house.

"It's been great to see how
receptive the community has
been to our programming,"
says Danniell Nadiv, who's
working toward her master's
in Near Eastern Studies. Nadiv
is pleased that Moishe House
has offered a way to continue
what she started as a member
of the city-focused Irvin D. Reid
Honors College. "It's incredible
to be part of the movement to
reinvent Detroit."

Key to that movement is
encouraging young people to
move to the city — to follow
in the footsteps of the Moishe
House six and others like them.
Of course, before folks will
move to Detroit, they must
first fall in love with it. And to

that end, the Moishe House
team is playing Motor City
matchmaker.

During their first month in the
house, the group hosted a
BBQ that drew 350 attendees.
Resident Justin Jacobs estimates
that 90 percent of those people
had never been to a house
party in Detroit.

"Moishe House gives people
a reason to come in from the
suburbs," says Jacobs, who
notes that his cousin and
house organizer Jordan Wolfe
initially considered Royal Oak,
but realized Detroit needed a
Moishe House more. "People
our age tend not to consider
the city. Now, just since we've
been here, I know of another
eight or 10 people who've
moved to Detroit. These dense
pockets of young adults will
have a big impact on the city's
future."

That's exactly what helped
Gershonowicz choose Detroit
over Pitt Business. Now he's
taking WSU business classes
at night after spending days
working as an advertising
consultant.

"I decided to take a chance on
Detroit," he says. "I felt like this
was a way to do something
different and make a difference
at the same time."

Back to Top

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan