The four residents of the new Moishe House in Adams Morgan love science fiction and building a community of fellow young Jewish adults.
Jonah Baskin, Juliet Brooks, Ben Fleisher and Tali Nusbaum, who have all resided in Washington, D.C., for years, already knew they wanted to live together. Then, Moishe House Georgetown closed earlier this year, so Mem Global — the umbrella organization of Moishe Houses — sought out a “whole new group of people” to fill this gap in the nation’s capital.
That group was Baskin, Brooks, Fleisher and Nusbaum, who moved to the Adams Morgan neighborhood of D.C. in early July. They join Moishe House homes throughout the world that serve as hubs for Jewish young adults.
“[I’m excited to] pick really unique and cool events that speak to people’s interests,” Nusbaum said, adding that Moishe House Adams Morgan recently launched a Jewish science fiction and fantasy book club. “We’re all big readers. We all love sci-fi. Obviously, Judaism means a lot to us, so it’s sort of a melding of all of our interests.”
Fifteen community members attended their first meeting, according to Nusbaum: “It just shows how many people are out there [who are] looking for these types of events.”
“We’re all really intentional about creating space and trying to make sure people feel welcomed and feel excited,” Nusbaum said. “We host a wide range of events [to] appeal to a wide range of people. I think, often, folks feel more comfortable participating in something that is meaningful for them or something they have a connection to.”
Each of the residents has a unique reason as to why they’re involved with Moishe House.
For Brooks, volunteering is a meaningful way to explore Jewish identity, and she looks forward to expanding on that.
“I’m really hoping to build a robust community of people who are making the world a better place,” Brooks said.
Fleisher, who has worked for Jewish nonprofit organizations for much of his career as a consultant, is similarly enthusiastic about community building in the District.
“I like bringing different groups of Jews together, and [being a Moishe House resident] felt like a good way to do that,” he said.
Moishe House Adams Morgan has hit the ground running in terms of organizing events. The four residents have hosted a few Shabbat meals, afternoon hangouts in Kalorama Park and a tour of the Capital Jewish Museum’s “LGBTJews in the Federal City” exhibition.
“The goal here is to work with folks in the community to have events that they will respond to and really appreciate,” Fleisher said.
He added that a “Sit and Sing” event — a half hour of meditation followed by a half hour of singing — the group hosted in August didn’t exactly go as planned.
“Folks who showed up made it fairly clear they were not so interested in the meditation,” Fleisher said. “But then we wound up singing for like an hour afterwards.”
He views his role as a Moishe House resident as helping community members pursue their interests rather than prescribing “how to have a fun time in Jewish D.C.”
Later in the fall, the four will partner with Jews United for Justice for Sukkot and a discussion about temporary or alternative living spaces. They hope to also host a program with the Library of Congress.
This Moishe House’s location is ideal for socializing and easily accessing key parts of D.C.’s Jewish community, according to the residents.
“We wanted a place that was walking distance to shuls,” Baskin said. “We wanted a place that had a strong neighborhood [and] community feel within D.C., so that was how we decided to land in Adams Morgan.”
Nusbaum appreciates that the Moishe House location is walkable and Metro-accessible from both the Red and Green lines.
The residents’ friendship long predates Moishe House Adams Morgan, brought together from all over the country by the Jewish community.
Baskin and Fleisher were both board members of the University of Chicago’s Jewish Student Association, then later went on to work together at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Fleisher and Nusbaum met during a year-long program in Israel, working across the hall from one another at JDC, a Jewish nonprofit organization.
“We became fast friends,” Nusbaum said.
In 2017, the three of them lived in a two-bedroom apartment in D.C. on a “very shoestring budget.” They attended services at Adas Israel Congregation. Fleisher bounced between DC Minyan and Rosh Pina and is still an active member of Kesher Israel Congregation’s Shabbat Frisbee games.
“Then, Jonah started dating Juliet, and Jonah and Juliet are now married, so that is the origin of our friendship story,” Nusbaum explained. “These three people are my best friends in the whole world, and I’m super excited to be sharing a house with them.”
Community members interested in attending an event with Moishe House Adams Morgan need not be intimidated by the residents’ tight-knit bond.
“I think we’re all really friendly, outgoing people who really like building community,” Fleisher said.
He added that the nature of the community programs allows for natural friendships to form. For now, these four friends are glad to be reunited in D.C.
“This is our home and we really love it here,” Nusbaum said. “[I’m] just really excited to be in community with everyone.”
