By David Cygielman, Moishe House Founder & CEO
The past year has elevated the importance of spotting opportunities for change or growth in order to remain competitive, viable, and impactful. Here at Moishe House, we have been identifying new ways to extend our reach to communities that may not have been part of our existing populations — from young rabbinic couples to remote workers. It is one of the reasons why we were excited to announce our acquisition of Base earlier this year, which allows us to target cities with at least three existing Moishe Houses.
Base has continued to thrive under the leadership of Faith Leener, Matt Bonney-Cohen and Rabbi Avram Mlotek, with exciting programming for thousands of young adults. What we have seen so far this year further solidifies our belief that this program and model are exactly what our community needs right now. Through our partnership with the One8 Foundation, we have built out a growth strategy to add two new rabbinical houses in Chicago this year, and will open two new houses in new cities each year. We will also be adding immersive retreats to our program offerings. More details will be forthcoming.
Another demographic that we’ve embraced are remote workers, and we’re starting in our own backyard. The pandemic has led to a shift in the way we all work and Moishe House is no exception. As we plan our return to a hybrid in-person working environment, we are offering our team the option of spending three days in the office and two days working from home. We’ve structured our week so that Wednesdays will be our time to collaborate, bond, and build relationships together — face-to-face.
Additionally, we are positioning ourselves to attract top talent from around the globe by adding new hub offices in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York. Adding hub locations beyond London, Charlotte and North County San Diego will allow us to hire from a larger pool of team members and provide an even more global work environment.
Programmatically, we are diving into a new world of remote living by launching a three-month co-working space pilot program in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Rome. Think of it as Moishe House meets Starbucks or WeWork. It provides many opportunities for us to interact with a whole new audience while filling a need for remote working young adults to find free wi-fi, social interaction, and networking — in-person! Thanks to our incredible R&D team, this concept is catching on as a viable option for working professionals who desire a human connection throughout the work week.
I’m also thrilled to announce that we have partnered with Onward Israel to provide a cohort of over 20 young professionals with the rare opportunity to spend 4-8 weeks in Israel with our Career Onward experience this fall. Historically it’s been a little challenging for young adults to participate in overseas trips like this due to lack of vacation time. Now, they will be able to work in their current roles with approval from their employers while immersing themselves in the life and culture of Israel.
There is so much more on the horizon and the Moishe House community is more motivated than ever. We just concluded another successful CouchCon on August 22nd, and as I shared in my State of the House remarks, each of us helps to form this Moishe House experience with the 1000 little things we collectively do to propel this organization forward. I could not be more proud of all that we have accomplished in the past 15 years and I know without a doubt that our best years are still ahead of us.
