That's right, early this morning, we hit our 14,000th page view! With about 1,300 visits each month, and a listing among St. Louis' top 30 blogs, things are racing ahead.
For those of you looking to get your quota of Yiddishkeit for the weekend, start off with Zeda's Beat Box tonight, kicking off around 10 PM at Ursa's on Washington University's South 40. Let ZBB get you hyped, connect with the bloggers of The St. Lou Jew, and join us afterwards for drinks on the loop.
Saturday is the biggest night of the young Yid social calendar as YPD's kickoff at the Coronado goes down. Show up looking good, leave feeling good...after all, the price of admission gets you access to an open bar.
Read More......
Showing posts with label Young Jewish Professionals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Young Jewish Professionals. Show all posts
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, December 8, 2008
Zuz and Y?'s Excellent Adventure
Y? and I made the pilgrimage to New York City this weekend to participate in the Professional Leaders Project SkillSummit. Along the way, we found time to rekindle some old friendships as well.
Spending just 33 hours in New York is a challenge of epic proportions, but one that I took on this weekend. Where do you go, what do you see, when do you sleep? These were just some of the questions I pondered during the pre-dawn flight out. The weekend was separated into two parts: catch up with old friends on Saturday, and attend the SkillSummit on Sunday. What follows is the quick rundown, as well as some sites to check out to see what engaged Jews are doing around the country.
Saturday:
-Upon arrival, I successfully navigated the spidery NYC transit system, taking bus to subway to walking to make my way to the Upper West Side.
-For lunch, I met up with old Umrath friends (yeah U2!) and experienced Barney Greengrass, only the world's best bagel and lox establishment.
-The afternoon was spent wandering lazily through the city on foot, including Strawberry Fields, the world's coolest Apple store, the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and an excursion into the Plaza to view high tea being served.
-Saturday night was a reunion with the only Yankee fan I call a friend and a tour of almost two dozen NYC bars. Unfortunately, the play by play of that night has been censored by my editors (aka me).
Sunday was then spent at the SkillSummit, a gathering of next generation Jewish leaders from across the eastern half of the country. The best thing I can do is provide you with links to same amazing organizations and let their work speak for itself. Please check them out:
Jews United for Justice
National Jewish Democratic Council
The New Orleans Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals
Jewish Museum Milwaukee
Read More......
Spending just 33 hours in New York is a challenge of epic proportions, but one that I took on this weekend. Where do you go, what do you see, when do you sleep? These were just some of the questions I pondered during the pre-dawn flight out. The weekend was separated into two parts: catch up with old friends on Saturday, and attend the SkillSummit on Sunday. What follows is the quick rundown, as well as some sites to check out to see what engaged Jews are doing around the country.
Saturday:
-Upon arrival, I successfully navigated the spidery NYC transit system, taking bus to subway to walking to make my way to the Upper West Side.
-For lunch, I met up with old Umrath friends (yeah U2!) and experienced Barney Greengrass, only the world's best bagel and lox establishment.
-The afternoon was spent wandering lazily through the city on foot, including Strawberry Fields, the world's coolest Apple store, the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and an excursion into the Plaza to view high tea being served.
-Saturday night was a reunion with the only Yankee fan I call a friend and a tour of almost two dozen NYC bars. Unfortunately, the play by play of that night has been censored by my editors (aka me).
Sunday was then spent at the SkillSummit, a gathering of next generation Jewish leaders from across the eastern half of the country. The best thing I can do is provide you with links to same amazing organizations and let their work speak for itself. Please check them out:
Jews United for Justice
National Jewish Democratic Council
The New Orleans Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals
Jewish Museum Milwaukee
Read More......
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Next Dor Proposal
What the young professional Jewish community in St. Louis needs is a place that everyone can call home. So much of our Jewish identity is wrapped up in this idea of belonging, of searching for belonging, and Next Dor plays right into that.
What the young professional Jewish community in St. Louis needs is a place that everyone can call home. So much of our Jewish identity is wrapped up in this idea of belonging, of searching for belonging, and Next Dor plays right into that.
By establishing a “home base” of activities for young Jewish professionals that is centrally located, easily identifiable, open to all, and multi-purpose, people can begin to come together under a veneer of Judaism, but really just as young Jews in St. Louis looking to connect.
Vision: There will be a security code to gain access to the house. The code will change monthly and will be available only to those included in a confidential email list. If an administrator lives in the house, he or she will have a key to the third floor to ensure security and privacy. However, the idea that anyone (with the code of course) can come and go as they please is an important aspect of a welcoming center for Jewish activity.
There will be various spaces within the house, some that groups can schedule time in for meetings and group events. Other spaces will be reserved for a particular purpose, such as studying or catching a quick cat nap in between classes, and will be open to all at any time. Space for an art studio is also intriguing if local artists would be willing to supply their own materials. Essentially, the space should be whatever each individual needs and wants it to be for them. There can even be a garden for those who want to grow their own vegetables.
Where we will run into problems, however, are when the desires of one group conflict with those of another. A good example of this would be when it comes to the rules of Kashrut. While the kitchen would not be a strictly Kosher kitchen, groups would be welcome to schedule a Kosher dinner in the kitchen and use it as such. Someone who is observing the Shabbos would certainly be welcome to use the house as a quiet resting place, but they would have to understand that others in the house may turn on lights, etc.
Essentially, the success of the house will come down to the ability of those who wish to use it to compromise. With the proper forethought and planning, Next Dor can be not just a physical gathering place, but an opportunity to bring the young professional Jewish community in St. Louis “together under one roof.”
Read More......
What the young professional Jewish community in St. Louis needs is a place that everyone can call home. So much of our Jewish identity is wrapped up in this idea of belonging, of searching for belonging, and Next Dor plays right into that.
By establishing a “home base” of activities for young Jewish professionals that is centrally located, easily identifiable, open to all, and multi-purpose, people can begin to come together under a veneer of Judaism, but really just as young Jews in St. Louis looking to connect.
Vision: There will be a security code to gain access to the house. The code will change monthly and will be available only to those included in a confidential email list. If an administrator lives in the house, he or she will have a key to the third floor to ensure security and privacy. However, the idea that anyone (with the code of course) can come and go as they please is an important aspect of a welcoming center for Jewish activity.
There will be various spaces within the house, some that groups can schedule time in for meetings and group events. Other spaces will be reserved for a particular purpose, such as studying or catching a quick cat nap in between classes, and will be open to all at any time. Space for an art studio is also intriguing if local artists would be willing to supply their own materials. Essentially, the space should be whatever each individual needs and wants it to be for them. There can even be a garden for those who want to grow their own vegetables.
Where we will run into problems, however, are when the desires of one group conflict with those of another. A good example of this would be when it comes to the rules of Kashrut. While the kitchen would not be a strictly Kosher kitchen, groups would be welcome to schedule a Kosher dinner in the kitchen and use it as such. Someone who is observing the Shabbos would certainly be welcome to use the house as a quiet resting place, but they would have to understand that others in the house may turn on lights, etc.
Essentially, the success of the house will come down to the ability of those who wish to use it to compromise. With the proper forethought and planning, Next Dor can be not just a physical gathering place, but an opportunity to bring the young professional Jewish community in St. Louis “together under one roof.”
Read More......
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Jewish in St. Louis
Looks like we made the front page of Jewish in St. Louis! And surpassed 3,600 pageview!
For those of you who are just joining us, this post will serve to explain a bit about why the St. Lou Jew is here. If you have been reading for a while, read on for our next moves.
This blog (like most ideas) came from identifying a need.
That need can be defined as a lack of content for the post-undergraduate St. Louis Jewish community. First, we recognize that this demographic isn't huge, but that it is passionate (even if it doesn't realize it).
There are several different streams of content which we hope to provide.
The first is young adult content. There are some things that simply matter more to us right now. . .and a few things that matter less. If we don't speak for ourselves, someone else will, and they will likely misquote us at best, and misrepresent us at worst.
The second is Jewish. We come from diverse backgrounds representing a rich fabric of collective consciousness, history, and tradition. If you thought this means we gotta provide you with something stale or recycled, go back to the first stream.
We are far too fresh for all of that. And by fresh I mean Def, and by Def I mean ill, dope, fly, and occasionally, funky.
The third stream is St. Louis. There are a lot of St. Louis haters out there. There are a lot of Midwest haters out there too.
My momma always told me that hate can be traced back to ignorance.
So consider this an attempt to find the diamonds in the rough in St. Louis, the people, places, and experiences that are waiting to be discovered.
The truth is that we have the power to evoke our ideals from our environment, which means that if you can't find something fun to do, maybe the blame lies a little closer to home.
We believe that this city (and we are focusing on the city, not the county) has a lot of potential and that we can be positive elements in creating change in St. Louis.
Ultimately, we are aiming for that sweet spot where all three of these streams combine, the center of the Venn Diagram, if you will.
We have some big things coming up, including a continuation of the Living Jews series, which aims to connect with young Yids doing cool things in STL. We may even foray into the depths of J-Date.
So check back frequently, comment on what you like and what you don't, and add your voice to the conversation.
Read More......
For those of you who are just joining us, this post will serve to explain a bit about why the St. Lou Jew is here. If you have been reading for a while, read on for our next moves.
This blog (like most ideas) came from identifying a need.
That need can be defined as a lack of content for the post-undergraduate St. Louis Jewish community. First, we recognize that this demographic isn't huge, but that it is passionate (even if it doesn't realize it).
There are several different streams of content which we hope to provide.
The first is young adult content. There are some things that simply matter more to us right now. . .and a few things that matter less. If we don't speak for ourselves, someone else will, and they will likely misquote us at best, and misrepresent us at worst.
The second is Jewish. We come from diverse backgrounds representing a rich fabric of collective consciousness, history, and tradition. If you thought this means we gotta provide you with something stale or recycled, go back to the first stream.
We are far too fresh for all of that. And by fresh I mean Def, and by Def I mean ill, dope, fly, and occasionally, funky.
The third stream is St. Louis. There are a lot of St. Louis haters out there. There are a lot of Midwest haters out there too.
My momma always told me that hate can be traced back to ignorance.
So consider this an attempt to find the diamonds in the rough in St. Louis, the people, places, and experiences that are waiting to be discovered.
The truth is that we have the power to evoke our ideals from our environment, which means that if you can't find something fun to do, maybe the blame lies a little closer to home.
We believe that this city (and we are focusing on the city, not the county) has a lot of potential and that we can be positive elements in creating change in St. Louis.
Ultimately, we are aiming for that sweet spot where all three of these streams combine, the center of the Venn Diagram, if you will.
We have some big things coming up, including a continuation of the Living Jews series, which aims to connect with young Yids doing cool things in STL. We may even foray into the depths of J-Date.
So check back frequently, comment on what you like and what you don't, and add your voice to the conversation.
Read More......
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What Happenned to the Real Bagels
A long awaited dispatch from a man who has been published far and wide:
Bagels are in my blood, and I mean that as literally as scientifically possible.
My father and his brother opened the first bagel deli in Seattle back in 1978, 5 years before I was born. They brought with them the Detroit recipe and made them properly (boiling the formed dough before baking). Bagels were tokhik in our family, and still very much are. But my snobbery for real bagels (if they’re not boiled, their rolls or muffins, even if they are shaped like donuts) has made life difficult because bagels are increasingly rare. Most sellers of purported “bagels” simply parade rolls (savory flavors) and muffins (sweet flavors). My father, were he dead, would be rolling in his grave. But roll he does, in life (thankfully), like I do, over people’s, and Jews’ in particular, acceptance of these impostors as legitimate products.
This issue speaks to a more broad issue: the growing indifference of Jews in American to being Jewish. American Jews have the luxury of being Jewish without fear for their livelihoods, but many do not take advantage of this privilege.
The bagel is an American Jewish invention. So too is Reform Judaism (credit can be shared with Europe, though the movement is stronger in state-side). And like the bagel, (and lox – what’s with this Nova rubbish?) the Reform movement is having its problems keeping itself significant. In January of this year, the chair of the board of trustees of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), Peter Weidhorn, warned the most pressing challenge for congregations is “attracting and retaining members,” specifically pointing out troubles of retaining family memberships after their children’s bar or bat mitzvah.
However, being religious is only an electable part of what it means to be Jewish. There is much more to Jewish identity than religion. There’s the heritage of the Jewish people: our shared history of cyclical struggle and victory in our pursuit of life. There’s the long list of traditions. There’s Jewish values, like tikkun olam, which drives the Jewish civic mind. There’s Israel, and the politics surrounding it. And for many American Jews, these pieces of Jewish identity are becoming foreign concepts.
Take the Israel connection as an example. Many of us have been on Birthright, and most of us have enjoyed our trip. And potentially (hopefully), you developed a stronger connection to our ancestral homeland. But how do you feel now, a year or more after your trip? The Jewish community has done a fantastic job bringing Diaspora Jews to Israel, but there are few organized post-Birthright programs, and they are not popular among Birthright alumni. We’ve all been told that what Israel needs most from American Jews is aliyah, yet America legs behind immigrants from the former Soviet bloc, Ethiopia, and France.
Most events in St. Louis for Jews in their 20s and 30s are well attended; I see this when I go. But as the events get less socially-focused and more issue-focused, attendance decreases. YPD and SLIC’s Yom Haatzmaut had a great turnout, but Java Talk, which aims to foster a better understanding of Israel through dialogue on Sunday afternoons, receives only a fraction of the 60th celebration crowd. Events like Jewish art shows are frequented almost exclusively by the over 50 crowd. I doubt most St Louis Jews in their 20s and 30s could explain the significance of “Shalom Salaam” or even tell the difference between a real bagel and an impostor.
I’m disturbed by the practical and philosophical implications of the loss of the bagel because there is so much good in our heritage and so much potential in our future that hangs in the balance. Not everyone has to volunteer for a political campaign and go to temple every week, but it is important that they vote, that they learn about Judaism, and that they explore their own connection, because guarantee with all have one.
Read More......
Bagels are in my blood, and I mean that as literally as scientifically possible.
My father and his brother opened the first bagel deli in Seattle back in 1978, 5 years before I was born. They brought with them the Detroit recipe and made them properly (boiling the formed dough before baking). Bagels were tokhik in our family, and still very much are. But my snobbery for real bagels (if they’re not boiled, their rolls or muffins, even if they are shaped like donuts) has made life difficult because bagels are increasingly rare. Most sellers of purported “bagels” simply parade rolls (savory flavors) and muffins (sweet flavors). My father, were he dead, would be rolling in his grave. But roll he does, in life (thankfully), like I do, over people’s, and Jews’ in particular, acceptance of these impostors as legitimate products.
This issue speaks to a more broad issue: the growing indifference of Jews in American to being Jewish. American Jews have the luxury of being Jewish without fear for their livelihoods, but many do not take advantage of this privilege.
The bagel is an American Jewish invention. So too is Reform Judaism (credit can be shared with Europe, though the movement is stronger in state-side). And like the bagel, (and lox – what’s with this Nova rubbish?) the Reform movement is having its problems keeping itself significant. In January of this year, the chair of the board of trustees of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), Peter Weidhorn, warned the most pressing challenge for congregations is “attracting and retaining members,” specifically pointing out troubles of retaining family memberships after their children’s bar or bat mitzvah.
However, being religious is only an electable part of what it means to be Jewish. There is much more to Jewish identity than religion. There’s the heritage of the Jewish people: our shared history of cyclical struggle and victory in our pursuit of life. There’s the long list of traditions. There’s Jewish values, like tikkun olam, which drives the Jewish civic mind. There’s Israel, and the politics surrounding it. And for many American Jews, these pieces of Jewish identity are becoming foreign concepts.
Take the Israel connection as an example. Many of us have been on Birthright, and most of us have enjoyed our trip. And potentially (hopefully), you developed a stronger connection to our ancestral homeland. But how do you feel now, a year or more after your trip? The Jewish community has done a fantastic job bringing Diaspora Jews to Israel, but there are few organized post-Birthright programs, and they are not popular among Birthright alumni. We’ve all been told that what Israel needs most from American Jews is aliyah, yet America legs behind immigrants from the former Soviet bloc, Ethiopia, and France.
Most events in St. Louis for Jews in their 20s and 30s are well attended; I see this when I go. But as the events get less socially-focused and more issue-focused, attendance decreases. YPD and SLIC’s Yom Haatzmaut had a great turnout, but Java Talk, which aims to foster a better understanding of Israel through dialogue on Sunday afternoons, receives only a fraction of the 60th celebration crowd. Events like Jewish art shows are frequented almost exclusively by the over 50 crowd. I doubt most St Louis Jews in their 20s and 30s could explain the significance of “Shalom Salaam” or even tell the difference between a real bagel and an impostor.
I’m disturbed by the practical and philosophical implications of the loss of the bagel because there is so much good in our heritage and so much potential in our future that hangs in the balance. Not everyone has to volunteer for a political campaign and go to temple every week, but it is important that they vote, that they learn about Judaism, and that they explore their own connection, because guarantee with all have one.
Read More......
Friday, August 8, 2008
The strength of Generation Y(id) and an update from Mattisyahu
Local Big young Yid, J.J. Flotkin had some interesting words culminating in, "Generational silence will only force the “more experienced" leaders of today to build our future for us." Isn't this why we write?
A recent article by J.J. Flotkin entitled, "A Call for Young Leadership" puts up a pretty good defense to those that would call our generation lazy, uninterested, or unengaged.
His call to action includes the sentence, "It is our job as young leaders to find passion in our community."
Should we tell him? I mean, organizational skills, we may not have. Grammar abilities, neither. But passion! Passion we have.
We might not know what to do with it, how how to use it efficiently, but we have it.
On another note, everyone's favorite Hassidic Reggae Superstar, Matisyahu, was interviewed over at Rolling Stone, and was pretty talkative. Except that he really didn't say a whole lot.
He did say that, "Music and Politics is two different things". Which, according to the article, is a big deal.
Gotta cut this one short, its almost time for Shabbat, and we are packed this time around, we even had to tell guests to bring their own chairs.
Read More......
A recent article by J.J. Flotkin entitled, "A Call for Young Leadership" puts up a pretty good defense to those that would call our generation lazy, uninterested, or unengaged.
His call to action includes the sentence, "It is our job as young leaders to find passion in our community."
Should we tell him? I mean, organizational skills, we may not have. Grammar abilities, neither. But passion! Passion we have.
We might not know what to do with it, how how to use it efficiently, but we have it.
On another note, everyone's favorite Hassidic Reggae Superstar, Matisyahu, was interviewed over at Rolling Stone, and was pretty talkative. Except that he really didn't say a whole lot.
He did say that, "Music and Politics is two different things". Which, according to the article, is a big deal.
Gotta cut this one short, its almost time for Shabbat, and we are packed this time around, we even had to tell guests to bring their own chairs.
Read More......
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Jewish dating
Take a guess at which 'Jewish organization' has the largest number of young Jewish members (facebook doesn't count, despite Zuckerberg's MOT status).
It's not YPD, it's not Gesher-City, its JDate. Really. The single largest group of 20 and 30-somethings in St. Louis (and in most cities) is a website that exists purely for Jewish dating, and potentially marriage. It is useless to argue the chicken and the egg about which came about first, the lack of specific programming for this demographic, or the lack of engagement, but it is still interesting that the Gen Yid demographic would rather join a Jewish dating site, instead of align themselves with a community organization or temple.
It makes sense to a certain degree. A friend of mine was recently lamenting the problem of dating as a young Jew, particularly in St. Louis. While its not my place to judge certain patterns of dating behavior (although judge, I do), he raised some interesting points. The first problem is, where are all the Jewish women at? Second, where are the events at which to find these elusive characters in an environment that is casual, conducive to making friends and potential matches, and not awkward?
This is the beauty of JDate. Its all taken care of for you. You don't have to ask all those hard-to-ask questions that qualify a person as a potential match, its all done for you. They say everyone knows someone who met on Jdate. As more and more of my friends get married, I hear about more and more about Jdate's efficacy.
Granted it doesn't work for everyone. I also know several people who have gone on many a Jdate, and while they made a few friends here and there, the results left much to be desired.
Still, what if there was a place, or a stream of events that were casual enough to just drop by, like Mondays at the Muny (free seats, obviously), or Wednesday night jazz at the botanical gardens, meet a few people, share a glass of wine, and let things take their course.
That is the raison d'etre behind the Gcalendar we organized. Its simple, Just click the calendar link to see what is going on around the city. Also, if you shoot us an email, we put you on the calendar, and you can post your own events.
Then all you have to do is show up.
It's not just about singles. The hope is to provide for ourselves, to be the change we wish to see by simply connecting with the other young Jews in the STL metro area, and providing a forum and a sanctuary where we can express our vision for the future.
Read More......
It's not YPD, it's not Gesher-City, its JDate. Really. The single largest group of 20 and 30-somethings in St. Louis (and in most cities) is a website that exists purely for Jewish dating, and potentially marriage. It is useless to argue the chicken and the egg about which came about first, the lack of specific programming for this demographic, or the lack of engagement, but it is still interesting that the Gen Yid demographic would rather join a Jewish dating site, instead of align themselves with a community organization or temple.
It makes sense to a certain degree. A friend of mine was recently lamenting the problem of dating as a young Jew, particularly in St. Louis. While its not my place to judge certain patterns of dating behavior (although judge, I do), he raised some interesting points. The first problem is, where are all the Jewish women at? Second, where are the events at which to find these elusive characters in an environment that is casual, conducive to making friends and potential matches, and not awkward?
This is the beauty of JDate. Its all taken care of for you. You don't have to ask all those hard-to-ask questions that qualify a person as a potential match, its all done for you. They say everyone knows someone who met on Jdate. As more and more of my friends get married, I hear about more and more about Jdate's efficacy.
Granted it doesn't work for everyone. I also know several people who have gone on many a Jdate, and while they made a few friends here and there, the results left much to be desired.
Still, what if there was a place, or a stream of events that were casual enough to just drop by, like Mondays at the Muny (free seats, obviously), or Wednesday night jazz at the botanical gardens, meet a few people, share a glass of wine, and let things take their course.
That is the raison d'etre behind the Gcalendar we organized. Its simple, Just click the calendar link to see what is going on around the city. Also, if you shoot us an email, we put you on the calendar, and you can post your own events.
Then all you have to do is show up.
It's not just about singles. The hope is to provide for ourselves, to be the change we wish to see by simply connecting with the other young Jews in the STL metro area, and providing a forum and a sanctuary where we can express our vision for the future.
Read More......
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Not bad at all, a reflection
Some big things have recently happened, and seeing as how I went to Jew camp, I feel pretty comfortable sharing.
First, the St. Lou Jew blog reached 500 page-views over the weekend, which is fairly momentous because we haven't really done any publicizing other than word of mouth. It took EJ at Celebrity Car Parade a little longer than that and look at him now, pushing that Challenger!
We appreciate your support and would love to hear from you as we expand our content. What would you like to see our crack team of LouJews investigate?
Second, we are moving forward with our partnership with both Moishehouse and Jewish in St. Louis. We hope that by joining up and collaborating, we can start connecting with other young Yids, find some interesting things to get involved with, and maybe make even relieve some debt along the way. Jewish in St. Louis is basically the one stop show for information regarding all things Israelite in the city. The site didn't really have a lot geared towards the post-undergrad-crowd, and I think we can fill that space pretty well.
Third, CRC makes dope Challah. Seriously.
Finally, we are always looking to network and expand. If you are young, Jewish, and in St. Louis (not St. Charles (ok, you too)), and might be interested in linking up to contribute, or just socially, shoot us an email, we're in the business of making friends (actually Auggie Busch the first said that, but we mean it).
Read More......
Friday, June 20, 2008
From sea to sea
There is a rumor that has spread around the Middle East for decades that the Israeli flag, with it's Star (or shield) of David flanked on either side by a blue line, is a symbol of the Jewish state's intention to have a Jewish presence from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates (a terrifying notion, to be sure).
While certain religious Zionists have declared that a the State of Israel should contain all of the land of Israel, its clear to me that the majority of the Israeli have no intention of even hanging around the Jordan river. In fact, the majority of the Israeli population lives right on the Mediterranean coast.
Let me now make a comparison, if I might, to the US, where most of the Jews also live on the coasts (especially the post-college, pre-marriage demographic). In fact, if you were to judge by the way many Jewish organizations (especially a certain well-respected reform theological seminary that I love very much) behave, there aren't any Jews between the coasts at all.
Kanye said, ". .The Mid-West is Young and Restless." You certainly wouldn't know it from the media. Jewish images in the media are generally restricted to New York, LA, or Israel. To be fair, those may or may not be three of the largest Jewish populations on the planet, seeing as how there aren't that many of us left in Cairo, Morocco, Spain, or Iran. So whats the deal? Every sitcom that doesn't involve Jews seems to take place in the Mid-West, or at least somewhere outside of NYC or Cali (exception being of course the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but seeing as how the whole thing was basically making fun of bougie JAPs anyways, it doesn't count).
Beyond that, half of us 'fly-over-state' Yids end up in NYC, DC, LA, etc. I feel the pull too, I just can't give up on STL yet. So what if people don't hustle the same way here (CSM points out that you can't spell hustle without 's-t-l'), the conditions exist in the Mid-West for a spark to really make some things happen. Not just in STL, but in areas like Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, NOLA, etc. (the last two aren't MW but count, you don't like it, get yer own soapbox). But we are here, the young and the restless of the coast-less, but certainly not hopeless.
This brings me to Moishe House, a pretty cool concept for those of us on the front line of Generation Y(id)™. Basically, they help you turn your spot into an urban (hopefully) JCC. A non-denominational open house for post-college Jews to come, kick it, maybe have a meal, and connect.
There is a lot of potential in this idea, and if you have some feedback regarding feasibility and interest on the local level, shoot it our way.
Perhaps one day, those rumors of a well represented young Jewish community can apply to the areas between the coasts of the US as well.
Read More......
While certain religious Zionists have declared that a the State of Israel should contain all of the land of Israel, its clear to me that the majority of the Israeli have no intention of even hanging around the Jordan river. In fact, the majority of the Israeli population lives right on the Mediterranean coast.
Let me now make a comparison, if I might, to the US, where most of the Jews also live on the coasts (especially the post-college, pre-marriage demographic). In fact, if you were to judge by the way many Jewish organizations (especially a certain well-respected reform theological seminary that I love very much) behave, there aren't any Jews between the coasts at all.
Kanye said, ". .The Mid-West is Young and Restless." You certainly wouldn't know it from the media. Jewish images in the media are generally restricted to New York, LA, or Israel. To be fair, those may or may not be three of the largest Jewish populations on the planet, seeing as how there aren't that many of us left in Cairo, Morocco, Spain, or Iran. So whats the deal? Every sitcom that doesn't involve Jews seems to take place in the Mid-West, or at least somewhere outside of NYC or Cali (exception being of course the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but seeing as how the whole thing was basically making fun of bougie JAPs anyways, it doesn't count).
Beyond that, half of us 'fly-over-state' Yids end up in NYC, DC, LA, etc. I feel the pull too, I just can't give up on STL yet. So what if people don't hustle the same way here (CSM points out that you can't spell hustle without 's-t-l'), the conditions exist in the Mid-West for a spark to really make some things happen. Not just in STL, but in areas like Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, NOLA, etc. (the last two aren't MW but count, you don't like it, get yer own soapbox). But we are here, the young and the restless of the coast-less, but certainly not hopeless.
This brings me to Moishe House, a pretty cool concept for those of us on the front line of Generation Y(id)™. Basically, they help you turn your spot into an urban (hopefully) JCC. A non-denominational open house for post-college Jews to come, kick it, maybe have a meal, and connect.
There is a lot of potential in this idea, and if you have some feedback regarding feasibility and interest on the local level, shoot it our way.
Perhaps one day, those rumors of a well represented young Jewish community can apply to the areas between the coasts of the US as well.
Read More......
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Discovery
So I did some cursory Facebook searches and found that there are actually a couple hundred youngish Jewish kids around, either through Jgrads, YPD, or GesherCity.
I recognize the difficulty of coordinating between groups, resources agendas... etc. maybe there needs to be a 'career fair' model for all the groups trying to court us so that we could determine which groups really align with the type of involvement we want to have, from purely social to more religious or social justice focuses.
As I see it, the people would be the only reason to keep us here. STL doesn't have the population or activity diversity or density of NYC, DC, Chi-town, or LA. It doesn't have the beaches of the West Coast or the weather of the South.
The city's culture is a little incongruent with the majority of young Jews (if you don't vote Democrat when you are young, you have no soul, if you don't vote Republican when you are old, you have no savings) so really you have a few strikes against you.
Perhaps most challenging about St. Louis is simply the layout. There are little pockets or neighborhoods spread out over a fairly vast area considering the relatively small population. We are spread out across regions from downtown and the actual city of St. Louis (Vassup!) out to the depths of West County (Ish don't sink so). Nothing against West County, tax base depletion aside, but people move out there to start families, not communities.
Anyways, the point is just that we need an urban JCC. Wait. . .is that the point?
Perhaps its a point. We need a rallying point somewhere that is fairly central, where people want to be, where they are comfortable being. A place where they can drop through after work, have a beer (that isn't yellow fizzy water) or a water. . . whatever.
Let me try that again. We need a place, physical or digital, where people exchange ideas and connect, because contact is key for a community. Read More......
I recognize the difficulty of coordinating between groups, resources agendas... etc. maybe there needs to be a 'career fair' model for all the groups trying to court us so that we could determine which groups really align with the type of involvement we want to have, from purely social to more religious or social justice focuses.
As I see it, the people would be the only reason to keep us here. STL doesn't have the population or activity diversity or density of NYC, DC, Chi-town, or LA. It doesn't have the beaches of the West Coast or the weather of the South.
The city's culture is a little incongruent with the majority of young Jews (if you don't vote Democrat when you are young, you have no soul, if you don't vote Republican when you are old, you have no savings) so really you have a few strikes against you.
Perhaps most challenging about St. Louis is simply the layout. There are little pockets or neighborhoods spread out over a fairly vast area considering the relatively small population. We are spread out across regions from downtown and the actual city of St. Louis (Vassup!) out to the depths of West County (Ish don't sink so). Nothing against West County, tax base depletion aside, but people move out there to start families, not communities.
Anyways, the point is just that we need an urban JCC. Wait. . .is that the point?
Perhaps its a point. We need a rallying point somewhere that is fairly central, where people want to be, where they are comfortable being. A place where they can drop through after work, have a beer (that isn't yellow fizzy water) or a water. . . whatever.
Let me try that again. We need a place, physical or digital, where people exchange ideas and connect, because contact is key for a community. Read More......
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