Shavuot unveiled
Moishe House community members from across Australia and New Zealand united in Sydney last weekend to connect, deepen their knowledge of Jewish community building, and celebrate Shavuot in a new way.
Participants at the retreat
Shavuot Unveiled: Cultivating Connections provided local Moishe House leaders an opportunity to learn about Shavuot through the lenses of Jewish identity in the 21st Century, Torah and human rights. Participants learned how to build communities in an era of individualism and were able to attend sessions on topics that ranged from queer readings of the Torah, to the history of Israel through music, to paper cutting for ketubahs le-Shavuot (Shavuot marriage contracts).
Rabbi Michael Nasielski of Congregation Or Chadash Sydney joined as a guest educator, and led sessions about Shavuot, Torah and Jewish identity.
Participants travelled from across Australia and New Zealand. Moishe House Global Retreat Specialist Igal Entenberg and Global Community Manager Albert Closas Oliveras led the retreat.
Moishe House Sydney resident Michael Heymann said, “I really enjoyed being in a pluralist space and discussing usually polarising topics in a constructive and meaningful way. The content was thoughtfully written and appropriately delivered which ensured that everyone was challenged and had something to take back to their communities. I look forward to the next one.”
Peninah Silverstein, Moishe House Community Member from Melbourne Australia said,“All the programs were crafted and run with so much richness, depth and love for Jewish learning that I left each session passionate about my own Jewish expression and excited to bring this love and exploration to others in my community! The warmth and Joy that seeped into each session, meal, fun chill time and personal conversations are so emblematic of the Moishe House experience and has warmed my heart so much to be a part of. I felt so welcomed and held by the community and will cherish the friendships gained on this retreat!”
Moishe House Sydney is generously supported by Shalom & the JCA and the Moishe House International Fund, Moishe House Melbourne is generously supported by the Erdi Foundation, anonymous donors, and the Moishe House International Fund.
This Jewish Learning Retreat is Moishe House’s second retreat in Australasia within five months. The previous retreat took place in Melbourne in December 2023, and was about the Jewish calendar.
Moishe House has had an active presence in Australasia since Moishe House Melbourne opened in 2013, enabling emerging Jewish leaders to create meaningful communities for themselves and their peers, with three houses and three MHWOW (Moishe House Without Walls) hosts currently active.
Collectively, they have engaged 33297 participants at 1,931 programmes to date.
Moishe House is the global leader in engaging Jewish young adults in peer-led programming.
