Due to Demand, Moishe House Opens New, Bigger Home in Northern Va

Photo credits: AryehPhoto.com.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Moishe House officially dedicated a new, bigger home for Jewish young adults last week in Arlington. The house will continue to serve as a hub for young Jewish life in northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area.

Moishe House is a global organization where young Jewish adults live together in subsidized homes and host Jewish programs one to two times each week for their peers, with more than 100 houses worldwide. Moishe House Northern Virginia is the only one in Virginia and joins only three other such homes for 20-something Jews in the D.C. area.

Moishe House Northern Virginia, originally called Moishe House Arlington, officially dedicated its new location with a new name on Jan. 30 with a ceremony in which the residents, joined by more than 40 supporters, partners, community members, alumni, and family members, affixed a mezuzah – a case containing Jewish prayers – to the home’s doorpost. The organization first opened a home in Arlington in September 2013, and since then, the residents have already hosted more than 300 programs for 5,400 young Jews. In addition to their full-time jobs and graduate studies, the house’s three current residents – Danielle Kaplan, 30, Emily Mathae, 24, and Yoni Razin, 26 – are committed to hosting at least 84 peer-led programs annually, such as Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, wine tastings, spin classes, laser tag, and more.

These are the kinds of programs that D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area millennial Jews are seeking: a 2003 study commissioned by The Charles I. and Mary Kaplan Family Foundation found that overall involvement in Jewish activity was lowest for heads of household under 35. In fact, due to demand for programming, the residents have outgrown their home twice, moving to larger homes in the same neighborhood in late 2016 and November 2017.

“With more and more young Jewish adults moving to northern Virginia, we’ve seen the need to grow our Moishe House there to meet the increased demand for compelling and meaningful weekly Jewish experiences,” said Moishe House Senior Director of Advancement and Philanthropic Partnerships Lander Gold. “While Washington is a relatively small city, the Potomac can seem like a barrier. It’s important that they have a place on their side of the river to go for a Shabbat program, Passover Seder, or any one of the many weeknight events put on by Moishe House Northern Virginia.”

Photo #1: The Moishe House Northern Virginia residents affixed a mezuzah to their new home’s doorpost last week.

Photo #2: (From left) Moishe House Northern Virginia residents Yoni Razin, 26, Danielle Kaplan, 30, and Emily Mathae, 24, in front of their new house in Arlington.

Photo #3: Moishe House Senior Director of Advancement and Philanthropic Partnerships Lander Gold (right) welcomed the northern Virginia community to the new Moishe House Northern Virginia.

Photo #4: Moishe House Northern Virginia resident Yoni Razin welcomed the northern Virginia community to the new Moishe House Northern Virginia.

Photo #5: (From left, back row) Moishe House Northern Virginia resident Yoni Razin, Jewish Federation of Greater Washington CEO Gil Preuss, Moishe House Board Member Dottie Bennett, Emanuel J Friedman Philanthropies Head of Impact Investment Simone Friedman, Moishe House Northern Virginia resident Emily Mathae, and (front row) Moishe House Northern Virginia resident Danielle Kaplan.