Here it is! The big one! In episode 27.3 of OMGWTFBIBLE, David Tuchman and Rachel Rose Reid read what everyone knows as The Ten Commandments. And it’s… interesting. Sure, the commandments themselves are pretty impressive, but the laws that follow them? Not so much. And are there even really 10 commandments? It all depends on how you break it down. Listen to the third part of “Yitro” and tell us what you think in the comments. (Or tweet your take to OMGWTFBIBLE and Jewcy!)

For more excellent Limmud audio, check out their Soundcloud page.

David Tuchman translated the Tanakh as a comedy and called it OMGWTFBIBLE. Each month on his podcast, he calls up a different guest to read as many chapters of OMGWTFBIBLE as they can while they both make fun of it.

Jewcy is the proud (internet) co-host of OMGWTFBIBLE. Read more about the project here, and listen to previous episodes here.

Check back here in a week for the next installment of OMGWTFBIBLE. David will be reading the next live show with Sha James in New York on January 26!

Previously: OMGWTFBIBLE: Live From Limmud UK With Rabbi Leah Jordan!

(Image: lucaswxyz.com)

The post OMGWTFBIBLE: Live From Limmud UK With Rachel Rose Reid! appeared first on Jewcy.

We were two would-be vagabonds, Anna and I, traipsing our way up the Pacific Northwest to satisfy a rather urgent sense of wanderlust, charged by equal parts restlessness and East Coast disillusionment. This was in Spring 2013, around the time that Didion-inspired “Goodbye to All That” anthology was published; I had only just graduated from college but already felt worldly enough to dismiss New York outright as “not really my scene” (though, wherever that scene may be, I still do not know).

Anna, always resourceful in matters of being young and broke, took the liberty of contacting some friends-of-friends she knew from her days as a Moishe House resident to find a place for us to crash for the duration of our trip. Moishe House, for the unacquainted, is a non-denominational organization that funds groups of Jewish 20-somethings to live together and host events in their area, with the intention of fostering a sense of Jewish community and identity. We had stayed at MoHo San Francisco the previous year and, having had a fantastic time, decided to give it another shot. Thus, housemates in Portland and Vancouver woke to emails from two spunky young New York women asking if they’d be willing to put us up for a couple nights. And wouldn’t you know it, they were.

Couchsurfing via Moishe House (let’s call it Moishe-surfing) came to be my favorite means of travel. Hotels are sterile and expensive. Hostels are hit-or-miss. A Moishe House has the added bonus of being a community center of sorts—people pass in and out all the time, events take place that are genuinely interesting, and housemates are remarkably sociable (they kind of have to be). And of course, there’s the Jewish angle: each Moishe House provides a glimpse into the Jewish character of its city, from a fun, Millennial point-of-view.

My first West Coast MoHo experience was a candlelit meditation session in San Francisco in April 2012. Anna and I, two secular Russian Jews reared on good old-fashioned immigrant cynicism, reveled in the energy of the event, which was spiritual yet atheist-friendly. Chakras may or may not have been opened. Regardless, I had a good time.

The following April, we embarked on our journey up the Pacific Northwest, sampling a great deal of exceptional coffee along the way. Our first stop was MoHo Portland, to greet our hosts and engage in the first of many rounds of Jewish geography. Unsurprisingly, the network is vastly interconnected—every introduction revealed a smattering of mutual Facebook friends acquired from previous MoHo visits. At the House, we explored the joy of kosher veganism (or rather, vegan kosherism). I tried chia seeds for the first time and jammed with an observant Jew. Frolicking through the temperate rain of northern Oregon, we bonded over our mutual love of falafel and shakshuka, made with free-range eggs or otherwise.

We stopped for two nights with a friend in Seattle (which has no Moishe House right now) and made our way across the Canadian border, into the mountain-hedged city of Vancouver. Once settled in the House, we found ourselves in great company: two Israelis taking a year abroad had made MoHo Vancouver their home-away-from-home, coinciding with our stay. In customary Israeli fashion, we were greeted warmly and loudly. Yehuda and Avior initiated our stay in Canada with song and smoke. Drinks were had and YouTube music exchanged. We also compared Jewfros (Yehuda’s corkscrew mane was far superior to my own). Soon, it was revealed that Anna and I were, in fact, two Rusim: “And did you know, Avior, that balagan is a Russian word?”

My Moishe expeditions would eventually take me to the other side of the world. A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of staying in MoHo Moscow, where three charming young women from Belarus and Russia opened their home to me and a friend. Like the other Houses I’d stayed in, their apartment was adorned with Judaica, but here it seemed a bit more earnest. The sense of Jewish pride was not subtle or implicit, but overt. It reflected a trend I’d witnessed in Jewish communities elsewhere in Russia: those who hadn’t been able to practice Judaism for however many generations now relished the opportunity to make up for lost time.

It was greatly heartening that, thousands of miles away from my country, I was taken in by perfect strangers who hosted me like one of their own. In 63 cities around the world, I can find a home with that familiar Moishe House plaque on its walls, show up at an event, and be welcomed. If you ask me, that’s a pretty good incentive to travel—as if you needed any more.

Samantha Shokin is a freelance writer in Brooklyn.

(Images: supplied by the author.)

Related: “The Refusenik That Wasn’t”: My parents fled the culture of the USSR. So why am I drawn to it?

The post Around the World in 63 Moishe Houses appeared first on Jewcy.

Doors open at 7:30pm, show starts at 8:00pm.

Buy tickets online for $10, $15 at the door. Ticket prices include one drink!

Visit http://www.HobokenIsraelParty.com/ and click where it says “Buy Tickets Online” and you will be taken to the registration page.

The post Israel Independence Day Bash appeared first on Jewcy.

As I stood outside in the near freezing Washington DC cold, it hit me that I was in line to join the President and First Lady for Hanukkah! I had received a beautiful invitation a few weeks prior in the mail, but still have no idea how I ended up getting invited to the White House for a Hanukkah celebration but Frankly, it is a lot more fun not knowing.  Id’ like to think that the President and First Lady were having dinner one night and thought, “You know who should be at our Hanukkah reception? Moishe House! They do great work!”

Before the actual Hanukkah reception we were invited to a policy briefing at the Eisenhower offices, which was really well done, and quite interesting. Following the two-hour briefing, we had a little break but before we knew it, 5:30 PM came around and it was time to head into the White House.  After three security checks, we were finally greeted with a refreshing glass of champagne and program book. Walking through the smaller halls on our way to the actual reception hall was an experience unto itself — including a stop to send postcards to our troops overseas. After I spent the first ten minutes admiring the men’s room that is about the same size as my entire apartment, we headed upstairs to the beautiful sounds of the Marine band playing Hanukkah music, an out of this world buffet and three open bars! I was able to get a few extra White House napkins and even a branded yarmulke.

One thing the White House certainly takes seriously is being on time. When we arrived they handed every person a card with a time slot to return downstairs. I didn’t know what it was at first –as I was a bit too overwhelmed by everything– but later I learned it was a receiving line to meet the President and First Lady.  At exactly 6:35 PM, President Obama, the First Lady and Vice-President joined the party to share a few words, light the menorah and introduce Joshua Redman, who played some beautiful songs for the guests. The choice of menorahs was a terrific; bringing in a recovered menorah from a New Orleans Synagogue that was flooded during hurricane Katrina.

Immediately following the candle lighting, my fiancé and I went down stairs to the receiving line to meet the President and First Lady. No matter what your politic views, there is no way to not feel a rush of emotion when standing in a room with only 12 people and two of them being Barack and Michelle Obama. We had a chance to meet, invite them to our wedding and get a picture.

Perhaps the most amazing part of the whole event was waking up the next morning in Washington DC, turning on the television to see that Barack Obama was in Afghanistan giving a speech. I literally could not believe it.  Just a few hours before I’d been shaking his hand, but while I was back at my hotel fast asleep, Obama was heading across the world to continue the never ending job of being the President of the United States of America.

I am still in disbelief that less than a week ago I was enjoying Hanukkah with the Commander in Chief but I guess I can reminisce in person with Barack and Michelle once I invite them to my wedding next year!

I’d have to assume they are good gift givers.

The post The White House Meets Moishe House appeared first on Jewcy.