36 | MAY 26 • 2022
W
hen Moishe Pod
Detroit opened in
December 2021,
there was one goal: to build
upon Detroit’s already vibrant
Jewish community. Geared for
young adults and organized
by couple Jeremy Rosenberg,
23, and Menuchah Bluth, 24,
who goes by Chella, Moishe
Pod Detroit puts on events,
social gatherings and more
to create a hub for Jewish
Detroit.
Rosenberg and Bluth
live in-house at Moishe Pod
Detroit (or MoPo), located in
Woodbridge. It slightly differs
from a Moishe House, which
operates as co-op housing
with several young Jewish
adults. Instead, a pod is run
by two.
“The previous Detroit
Moishe House was closing,
and they weren’t going to
refill it,” Rosenberg recalls.
“Instead of trying to open a
new house, they wanted to
start a pod.”
For the Modern Orthodox
couple, who recently got
married, the opportunity felt
like a great fit as a next step
in their journey. When asked
to be the pod’s residents, they
were all in for the experience.
“We welcome everyone [to
the pod],” says Bluth, who
explains that the pod can
feel like a home to Jews of
all levels of observance and
interests.
NAVIGATING
THE PANDEMIC
The December opening
started off strong. “We
had a great kickoff party,”
Rosenberg recalls.
However, COVID-19 was
surging at the same time,
particularly with the highly
contagious Omicron wave, so
the ongoing pandemic slowed
the pod’s plans down.
“It was harder to get people
to come to events,” Rosenberg
continues.
After three months, how-
ever, things began to look
up. COVID-19 case numbers
once again dropped and, by
February and March of 2022,
Moishe Pod Detroit was back
in action.
Frequently partnering
with a wide variety of Jewish
organizations in the area,
such as Chabad Detroit,
Hebrew Free Loan and more,
Moishe Pod Detroit is steadily
becoming a promising figure
in the local young adult
community. Now, as summer
rolls in and the weather turns
warmer, they plan to up the
ante on events, especially
outdoor ones.
“We’re more looking
forward than we are looking
into the past,” Rosenberg
says. “We’ve strengthened
our partnerships with other
organizations here because
in the summer, everyone’s
coming out of the woodwork,
and everyone’s experienced
the same challenges when it
comes to COVID-19 and lack
of engagement.”
Both Rosenberg and Bluth
are in awe of the combined
work being done across
Detroit to boost engagement
and continue to build upon
the Downtown Jewish
community.
“There are so many great
organizations doing great
things in the city,” Bluth
says, “and only so big of an
audience. As opposed to
contributing to that overlap,
we’re trying to create that
overlap at the organizational
level, to get people familiar
with different offerings or
industries.”
EVENTS FOR
ALL INTERESTS
They’re also working on
creating programming
through Moishe Pod
Detroit that caters to a
variety of individuals. “We
want to create programs
that complement people’s
interests,” Bluth continues.
“People want to volunteer and
also go to brunch.”
Rosenberg says Moishe Pod
Detroit events have drawn
a variety of ages, anywhere
18-year-olds to those in their
mid- to late-30s. They’re not
structured, but rather provide
an opportunity for young
adults to simply hang out and
make new friends.
“There’s no one answer,”
Rosenberg says of age
requirements. “Whenever
Moishe Pod Detroit creates
events for young Jewish adults.
A New Jewish
Hub in Detroit
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
NEXT DOR
Chella Bluth
and Jeremy
Rosenberg at a
Chanukah party
VOICE OF THE NEW
JEWISH GENERATION