Two Moishe House Residents Reflect on Th ree Years of Building Deep Connections and Community for Young Adults

Charlotte Jewish News December 2021

By Loán Lake, Moishe House Senior Communications Manager

Life right after college can be a bit daunting for a 20-something-year-old returning to their home city after moving away for college or a new graduate heading to the “big city” for the very first time. Fortunately for roommates and Moishe House Charlotte residents Caleb Seidler, 25, and Calvin Newman, 24, they learned about Moishe House, the world’s leader in engaging young Jews around peerled programs, as they began their careers in Charlotte.

Seidler, a youth and family program associate at the Levine Jewish Community Center and Charlotte native, knew he would return home once he graduated from UNC Asheville, but his hometown felt different with his friends having moved away to various locations after high school. He learned of Moishe House through personal connections and realized he had found a community where he could meet others in his peer group. Newman, a financial analyst from Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University graduate, relocated to Charlotte with a desire to continue his active involvement in the Jewish community after years of participation in Hillel and the Jewish Fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi.

Together with Josh Kindler, these young men make up Moishe House Charlotte and bring together hundreds of Jewish young adults for fellowship and networking. Moishe House first established its local presence in Charlotte in 2013 and has continued to enable emerging Jewish leaders to create meaningful, welcoming community for themselves and their peers, hosting ongoing events at least once per week. Seidler and Newman, along with former Moishe House residents Daniel Rich and Aaron Goldstein, first opened the doors of their rented home for programming in November 2018. There is also currently a Moishe Pod located in South End, which is led by two residents, Alison Shay and Emily Koller. Within the Moishe House model, two to five Jewish young adults (ages 21-32 years old) locate their own rental housing and create several programs each month targeting their local peer group in exchange for a generous rent subsidy, program budget, and ongoing training and support from Moishe House staff.

The close-knit community that has emerged as a result of Moishe House programming has been important for both Seidler and Newman. “My goal is to become a rabbi, so Jewish community building has always appealed to me,” said Seidler. “I have learned the importance of having a Moishe House in the community. It fills an extremely crucial role in helping keep people connected to Judaism after college, between settling down and joining a synagogue,” he said. For Newman, his involvement with Moishe House was a continuation of what he had spent his life doing, namely building relationships with members of the Jewish community, but he was happily surprised at the large number of his peers who longed for connection. “I was going to connect myself with a Jewish community whether or not I lived at Moishe House. It’s what I’m used to and how I socialize,” said Newman. “At first your parents are telling you and forcing you to go [to Jewish activities], and in college your thoughts change to ‘I’ve got to keep this going.’ Then you move to a city where you don’t have to do what your parents are doing, and there’s no one like Hillel reaching out to you, but Moishe House is there reaching out to you,” he said.

Seidler and Newman both feel that the deep relationships they have formed within Charlotte’s young adult community and the ability to watch it grow over the past three years are among the most rewarding parts of their Moishe House experience. They especially love to add personal touches for their guests at monthly programs, like remembering their favorite bagels or beverages, to ensure that their needs are met during their time together. Attendance averages 20 to 30 unique participants each month (many of whom attend regularly) and can change depending on the program and the day, but the feeling of belonging and togetherness does not. The roommates have developed an extensive network through social media and word-of-mouth communication, and they are seeing the results — both in the social and professional realms.

“Word of mouth, even during the pandemic, has helped our community grow. We’ve created a spider web of friends, but it definitely took a lot of time to build,” Newman said. “The people

who reach out are genuine, are our friends. We really know each other’s families and siblings. It’s rewarding to introduce people to each other and thinking that if Moishe House didn’t exist, these people would have never met, especially when we see them on social media hanging out. There’s a sense of professional networking as well,” he said.

Since learning about the history of Moishe House and the way that founder and CEO David Cygielman started the organization in 2006 with a Shabbat dinner among his friends, Seidler said he cannot envision himself not hosting a Shabbat dinner once a month. “We focus on the importance of Shabbat, that it’s not just throwing a party. It’s a great time, and you feel a sense of community,” he said.

Newman and Seidler both agree that their lives are better with Moishe House and have set their sights on becoming financially stable so they can fund programs and improve the lives of young Jewish adults in the future. “Without some of these donors, we could not have done things. To be able to fund [programs] in any way and make someone’s life better a couple of years from now would be so rewarding,” Newman said.

“I want to be the next Morris,” Seidler said of the philanthropist who co-founded Moishe House.

Moishe House Charlotte Resident Caleb Seidler

Feature Photo Caption: Moishe House Charlotte Resident Calvin Neman