Moishe Pod MKE
Moishe Pod MKE is a local branch of an organization whose mission is to engage Jewish adults aged 22-32 by hosting holiday observances and social events, facilitating conversations, and holding a safe space for folks to “just be Jewish” all in the casual setting of one’s home. They receive a monthly budget to plan events entirely of their own accord. This is the first of its kind here in Milwaukee.
Founders Nicole Gorelik and Leah Biller founded the Milwaukee branch earlier this year in June. While all Moishe Houses are different and unique experiences, Gorelik and Biller try to program with as much inclusivity and representation as possible.
Gorelik shares why she wanted to be involved.
“There’s a lot of Jewish organizations in Milwaukee that target young Jews, but none of them are actually led by young Jews. Hearing about Moishe House, I thought about how dope it would be to have something like that here. I know a lot of people in the community and I like event planning and promoting things on social media so I was really excited by the concept of it.”
Biller adds, “It was exciting to me that we could completely curate something and be passionate about it, which in turn would make others interested in it as well. It’s an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. We obviously knew that it would be hard work, literally having strangers in our home, but the community has been so supportive. They’ll even come early and help set up or stay after and help clean up.”
In the last six months some of Moishe Pod MKE’s events have included an interfaith Shabbat, a bar crawl, a Shabbat with a backyard concert, a seminar on feminist Yiddish culture, and a conversation about environmental justice while making bars of soap.
“The backyard concert has been my favorite event so far,” Biller said. “We hired two Milwaukee bands and people walking down the street heard music and came by to check it out. Our Intersectionality Shabbat was another favorite, where we had a diverse panel of Jews talk about how their Jewish experiences are all unique. It was super educational.”
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Gorelik adds, “I also really liked our first event, which was like a backyard happy hour housewarming party, because Leah and I didn’t really know what to expect; we were just getting started and tried to promote it the best we could. We had such an incredible turnout of people that just showed up; Jews I had never even heard of came, and they’ve consistently returned to our events since.”
Seen and Heard
As mentioned, part of Moishe Pod MKE’s mission is to help young Jews feel that they are being seen and heard. Biller believes that the Jewish community in Milwaukee is still finding its voice.
“I don’t think people take antisemitism seriously enough. People outside our community think that the only scope of Jews that are represented in America are white Jews that have privilege, which is inaccurate. I won’t say that there isn’t privilege there, but when we get marginalized without taking into account Jews that deal with racism and homophobia, I just wish others would have a little more empathy when it comes to antisemitism going on. Some Jews are scared to be loud and proud because they’re afraid for their safety.”
Gorelik adds, “There are so many types of Jews in Milwaukee, and we all have voices in different spaces but we don’t always get to talk about our Judaism within those spaces. We’re not a monolith. We try to insert ourselves into social justice circles but aren’t always asked to pull up a chair.”
They share their goals for Moishe Pod MKE in 2022.
“We definitely want more people coming,” Biller said. “I want to see new faces that are excited to meet others. Nicole and I hope to plan bigger and better events with feedback from the community.”
“I would like to see not only more Jewish faces but also non-Jews coming through to see what we’re all about,” Gorelik said. “It’s a very low-stake environment; anyone can hang out here as long as they respect our space.”
Moishe Pod MKE are making holiday kits for high schoolers in need in partnership with Tikkun Ha-ir 6 p.m., Dec. 7; having a Hanukkah Shabbat 6:30 p.m. Dec. 10; and having a social at Art Bar in Riverwest 8 p.m., Dec. 21.
For further updates, follow @mkemoishepod on Instagram, like their Facebook page, or email them at moishepodmke@gmail.com.
