By Roey Kruvi, Senior Director of Immersive Experiences
One of our core values at Moishe House is to embrace the unknown. And in the Research & Development (R&D) Department, we try to take that even further to push the boundaries of the unknown and bring new ideas to life. Despite the current turmoil of the world, the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of a community remain as present as ever. Perhaps even more so.
And so, our role as the R&D Department is to embrace the unknown with a smile, outstretched digital arms, a positive and hopeful outlook, and an unrelenting commitment to adaptability.
Now is the time to run. Run with ideas. Run with creativity. Run with fervor towards an unknown future. Inside the R&D Department, we’re running with fervor, so that when you—yes, this message is for you!—are ready to seek meaning, connection and Jewish community, we’ll be ready to welcome you with outstretched digital arms.
We’re making big investments in finding new pathways for connection, experimenting with different forms of online communities, and looking for opportunities where we never thought we would.
There is growing consensus on how Zoom just isn’t enough—so our team is running fast with different ideas on what the missing component might be. We’re doing this through dedicated brainstorming and creative sessions, and more importantly—moving from ideation to action as quickly and effectively as we can. When we met as a team in early April, we agreed together to dream big, run wild with our imaginations, and lean into creativity and risk instead of familiarity and comfort.
Currently, our team is concocting several ideas to create meaningful virtual experiences—a multi-sensory program that will hopefully spark new questions, encourage inquiry and curiosity, and stimulate vulnerability—all in the name of seeking community, meaning, and belonging. In the absence of in-person camp this year, Camp Nai Nai Nai is working on several new initiatives to keep the spirit of camp alive. This includes the new Studio Nai where we are highlighting the most creative, inspiring, touching, and outrageously funny videos from Moishe House constituents around the world, and DIY Expedition for you to create your own Expedition Nai. We’re celebrating Tu B’Av with Jewcy on August 6: improvisation meets sketch comedy meets all of your bad dating stories. The Peer-Led Retreats team has been running a virtual learning series on building online intimacy for virtual Retreats. And you can still build a community at a hyper-local level with a Moishe Pod and you can compete for cash money and worthy prizes for yourself and nonprofits you care about with Expedition for a Cause.
Not to mention all the additional ideas we have in the works that will be coming your way very soon.
We believe that the world is changing in fundamental ways that are sure to impact all of our assumptions around gathering, community, and peer relationships for years to come. Our commitment to you is that we are taking this responsibility seriously and training to run as fast as the pace of change itself.
