Next Dor Update: Synangogue 3000 Meeting

Monday and Tuesday, representatives of Next Dor will be hosted by Synagogue 3000 in Westchester NY. The retreat will bring together all five recipients of the Synagogue 3000 grant to talk about our plans and learn about each other as well as the program. The pre-work included some pretty interesting articles, which I've included below.

The retreat comes at a great time, considering that construction is well on its way. What will be interesting to see is how the other projects selected will be making use of their grant money.

To see where Synagogue 3000 is coming from, in terms of the research they are using to guide their program, check that out here here and here

We'll do our best to report back to you about what was said and how other cities are handling some of the issues we've talked about.

Shabbat Shalom
Read More......

Jewish Community Survey

I got an email from the Executive Director of Moishe House today cluing me in to a community survey that is being run by a professor at NYU. Read on for the Scoop

Everyone loves a survey, especially when it helps them to write research on what is going on in the Jewish community (particularly around the question of, "what is the deal with this new generation?").

See the email below and if you feel like it, participate in the survey and let your voice be heard:

American Jewish leaders have been changing – but we don’t exactly know how. We think that leaders in their 20s and 30s are different from those in their 50s and 60s. And we imagine that the Boomers today differ from the Boomers two or three decades ago.

Leaders may vary in their hopes and fears; in the issues that capture their interest, and that drive them to act; and in the ways in which they see Jews, Judaism, and the world. They may differ in terms of their life experiences that have led them to be who they are today.

But, with all this said, we’re not sure of the extent of differences; and we certainly know little about the diverse views and interests of Jewish leaders across America.

To explore these issues, concerns that are critical to policy makers, philanthropists, and the Jewish public, I am inviting you to participate in, “The 2009 Survey of Leadership and American Jewish Life.” Whether you see yourself as a “Jewish leader” or not, and however old or young you may be, I’d like you to participate.

The survey is part of a larger effort to explore these and related issues, entitled, “The 2009 Avi Chai Study of American Jewish Leaders.” That effort draws upon the talents of six social scientists – younger and older, throughout the US – led by Prof. Jack Wertheimer, with a grant from the Avi Chai Foundation.

Please open the survey with this link. Simply hit Cntrl+Click: Jewish Leaders Survey

Or, you cut and paste this link in your browser: http://researchsuccess.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_eqSZoS4lhWjrdU8&SVID=Prod

As you begin to answer the questions, I think you’ll find that this survey is unlike any you’ve taken before, certainly any you’ve taken on Jewish matters. We raise some fairly complex issues in ways which I hope are both clearly articulated and genuinely stimulating.

How long will the survey take to complete? We think that you’ll get through the bulk of the questionnaire and arrive at the Demographics section within 15 minutes. If you’re willing and able to continue, we have 5-7 minutes of additional questions, after Demographics. Of course, you are free to stop at any time, but I hope you will complete as much of the survey as possible.
Read More......

Politics in St. Louis get interesting

St. Louis is often accused of having an inferiority complex vis-a-vis Chicago and it looks like, if the latest political scandal is to be believed, that St. Louis is taking a few pages from the 'Chicago-style politics' we keep hearing about.
-Update Both Jeff Smith and Steve Brown have just announced their resignations.

First, State Senator Jeff Smith, a professor at Washington University and a politician for whom a number of my college buddies worked, is apparently under federal investigation for actions undertaken during the 2004 campaign.

Next, State Representative Steve Brown is expected to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy stemming from the same race for being involved in distributing anonymous information critical of Russ Carnahan (now a Representative from MO).

Finally, a Democratic political operative (what the hell is a political operative?) Milton H. "Skip" Ohlsen III, is being connected with a bombing that occurred in Clayton last year.

Just what the hell is happening?!

I understand how politicians could get tripped up in those pesky campaign finance laws, and might even want to write anonymous hate mail about their competition, but a Democratic operative who makes points with explosives?

This is St. Louis, not Kabul...

We'll keep our ears to the ground, but in a a small-town big-city like St. Louis, it shouldn't be long before more information comes out.
Read More......

Welcome (back) To St. Louis

Over the past two weeks, graduate students at St. Louis' institutions of higher learning have been moving in and getting situated. Many of them start classes this week. So now that you are here... or back for another year in St. Louis, you probably want to know what's happening.

A quick overview of St. Louis: For those of you from the East Coast, it is a real city, beyond the barriers of campus. There are a number of great areas in which to spend your time and money, and getting to know all of them can take some time.

We recommend South Grand, Tower Grove, Soulard, Lafayette Square, Benton Park, and the Central West End for urban destinations.

For those of you from smaller communities, St. Louis is unique in that it maintains a small-town city feel. People are friendly, helpful, and generally not totally self-absorbed. If someone invites you over for Shabbat, they are serious about the offer.

Nearly any activity that you are looking to get involved with, you will be able to find and there are a host of organizations in and outside of the Jewish community that can help you connect with those activities.

St. Louis isn't the largest Jewish community in the world, but it does have some incredibly Jewish neighborhoods. If you aren't from the area, it can seem like a daunting task to meet people who share your interests and level of observance (or lack thereof).

To connect with other grad students and young professionals, check out the Young Professionals Division of the Federation, Gesher City, JGrads, and Moishe House. Once the Next Dor house opens up, that should also be a fantastic resource to meet other people who share your interests.

To learn more about Israel Advocacy, hit up the St. Louis Israel Connection (SLIC)

For a community directory, listing congregations and basically anything else, check out jewishinstlouis.org

You can also send questions to thestloujew @ gmail.com

Welcome to St. Louis. Let us know how we can help make your transition easier.


Read More......

Renting in St. Louis, Part Duex

While there are big stories brewing, involving Jeff Smith, the only Jewish State Senator in MO, and two new Jewy apps for the Palm Pre, we should check back in on our friends and see if all is well in new apartment paradise.

When we last left off with our protagonists, they had just signed a 2-year deal on a fantastic apartment in the Central West End at a great price.

My friend returned to Israel to finish up his service in the IDF, and his girl friend was back in Colorado for a week before joining him.

All seemed well in the world until. . .

I get a frantic text from the friend still in Colorado. I call her and she is clearly upset. The owner fired the woman he had hired to manage the leasing of the apartment, and she had called indicating that, since she had been fired, and the owner wanted to sell, not rent, that the deal was off.

So there they were, without an apartment, and about to both be thousands of miles away.

Now, I'm not a law school student, but I've spent enough time around them to understand the concept of contracts, and more specifically, breach of contract.

I was able to contact a friend who has the three of the most useful letters after his name: Esq. and fill him in on the situation.

He agreed that the whole thing was fishy and that the owner and leasing lady were in the wrong. So he went to work to restore a little bit of order and sanity to this ridiculous situation.

After several rounds of letters, emails, and conversations. . . not to mention a few months, the owner relented and decided to honor his contract.

Good news for my friends, who will be moving in tomorrow.

Good new for me, cuz I always need an extra place to crash in the West End.
Read More......

Renting in St. Louis Part 1

Renting an apartment can be stressful. Worries over the condition of the building, the location, safety vs. cost... it can be a real nightmare. The following is the true, and unfolding story of two young adults and their adventures in apartment hunting in St. Louis.

A good friend (the girlfriend of a childhood friend) just moved to St. Louis (from Israel) to begin her Masters in Social Work at Washington University (the top ranked program in the country).

Her boyfriend has been serving in the Israel Defense Forces for the past two years, but was able to get a few weeks off, during which they visited St. Louis and looked at apartments.

Knowing that she would be at Wash U, they scouted the usual locales, University City, Clayton, Richmond Heights, the Central West End, etc. They probably looked at 15 or 20 places and were growing disheartened that nothing looked good enough to them.

Finally, they day before they were going to leave, I got a call while at work from my ecstatic friends indicating they had found the perfect place.

I joined them to look it over and to read through the lease as a third pair of eyes. The place was pretty fantastic. Located at Maryland and Newstead, the large two bedroom has a fantastic open dining/living space in a building with a pool.

Not only had they found a place they were excited about, they had also managed to get it at a price under market value by signing a two-year lease.

But the joy would be short lived. Tune into tomorrow to hear what happened.
Read More......

Signs Of The Times: The Professional Leaders Project

Over the past year or so, I've had the opportunity to join other Jewish Young Adults in speed mentoring, studying Jewish ethics, discussing issues vital to the American Jewish community, and fantastic networking. All of this was organized and paid for by the Professional Leaders Project, which just announced that, due to lack of funding, it would no longer be able to hold the events for which it had become known.

I was first connected to PLP through Moishe House. We were asked if we wanted to participate in an 8 month program which would consist of monthly flights to Washington, D.C. for which our only expense would be a fairly small registration fee.

Zuz and I jumped at the opportunity to get free flights to a city in which a number of friends lived. It was only after attending the events that we began to realize their true value.

Now, I won't say that the program was perfect. Sessions consisted of approximately 5 hours on a Sunday, beginning with discussions, culminating in a satellite broadcast of Donniel Hartman from Jerusalem, followed by more discussions.

For the several hundred dollars they spend on us per session, one might have expected a richer program, perhaps consisting of longer hours, deeper discussions, and fewer breaks. That being said, the true value that emerged, for me personally, was in the network of interested and engaged emerging Jewish leaders that I had the opportunity to meet. Their energy and perspective was a welcome change and I always felt re-enthused upon returning to St. Louis. We met other Moishe House residents from D.C., Philly, and elsewhere, and got to hear about all of the interesting programs and movements emerging all over the country.

Now, falling victim to both the economic situation and the unfortunate passing of one of the main donors to the organization, PLP is being forced to figure out how to maintain the connections and spirit of the organization without the capital it had counted on.

PLP has responded to the crises by creating a 'Virtual ThinkTank', which it hopes will keep the embers burning until the current crisis blows over. We certainly hope to see the organization get back on its feet and continue the great work they began.

Learn more about the Professional Leaders Project here.
Read More......

Hockey at the Hebrew Academy, Who Knew?

Last night, after a 5 hour drive back from Cincinnati, a good meeting with the Next Dor Board and Michael Staenberg, and a solid dinner at Pi, I was ready to call it a night.

That is, of course, until I got a phone call asking if I wanted to play some floor hockey at 9:30 PM.

There are certain things that I am often accused of. Chief among them is probably the inability to say no. But, when offered the opportunity to play hockey, it was only a matter of getting enough details to make it work.

Where was it? I don't have a stick, can you provide one? etc.

Turns out, not only was the venue Epstein Hebrew Academy, the game goes down every Sunday night.

For a pickup game, it was pretty legit; real goals, goalie equipment, 15 minute halves. . . I got pretty worn out pretty quickly.

Getting home close to midnight (on a work night), drenched in sweat, exhausted, bruised, and sore. . .I'm still pretty pleased with the decision to play. In fact, I may make it a part of the Sunday routine.
Read More......

Moishe House Reopens!

This Friday night, Moishe House St. Louis will be reopening in its new location in Clayton. What does that mean for you?

Well, if you are like most of the MOT in STL, it probably means the location is a bit closer to where you live, and may even be walkable... no word yet if it is in the Eruv or not.

With Shabbat dinner this week, Moishe House in St. Louis will continue to provide informal opportunities for Jewish young adults to connect and build community in a comfortable environment.

The deal is this, you bring the drinks, appetizers, or dessert, and Moishe House provides the main course. Not a bad deal, right?

If you or someone you know might be interested in getting connected, email moishehousestl at gmail dot com.


Read More......

Hershey Novack, St. Louis' Chabad Rabbi on Campus

The St. Lou Jew sat down with Rabbi Hershey Novack to discuss talk about Chabad and the life of a Shaliach. All I knew about Chabad before coming to St. Louis was that they are very religious and like to drink. To see how my preconditions held up, read on!


Rabbi Hershey Novack is pretty ubiquitous in St. Louis. I first met him around my Birthright trip to Israel (he has since lead trips for over 500 students), during which we debated theology, philosophy, and why Ashkenazi Hebrew makes my skin crawl. While Chabad's (Rohr center for Jewish Life) programmatic offerings tend to center on the undergraduate and graduate student populations at Washington University, he has also been involved outside of this realm, supplying a Sukkah to Moishe House, and doing a L'Chaim or two for Simchat Torah at Bais Abe.

Born in Chicago, Hershey grew up in LA, as spent time as a Yeshiva student in something like 15 countries teaching and learning, meeting broad range of Jewish people of all ages. Hershey was married to Chana in NYC 1 week before 9/11/01.

The St. Lou Jew: How did you end up with this gig?

Hershey Novack: It was last day of Shevah Brachot, there was this black pall of ash above NY, and I wanted to do something so I found an outlet with the American Red Cross as a chaplain. I worked at the family center where all these organizations set up shop for victims’ families and later at Ground Zero. The campus rabbi piece was at the encouragement of my wife. We looked at a number of opportunities, and St. Louis was the best fit. I Came to STL in Fall 02. I was 24 or 25 at the time. It was an incredible entrepreneurial experience.

SLJ: How did you come to Chabad in the first place?
HN: My parents did not grow up Chabad, although my some of my grandparents did and rejected it. I grew up and studied in the Chabad educational system.

SLJ: So what is Chabad?
HN: Chabad is a branch of the Chasidic movement, which was founded by Rabbi Israel Ball Shemtov about 300 years ago. “Chabad” is a philosophical approach to Jewish belief and practice. It is an acronym for chochma, binah, daat which means the spark, the articulation, and the physical action.

Most recognizably in the modern era, Chabad is an organization within the global Jewish community, with full-time reps (we call them Shluchim) in something like 80 countries, almost 50 states, and serving 150 campuses. I’m frankly unaware of another organization that parallels Chabad in scope, which can make it hard for people to grasp what Chabad is today. On one foot, it’s like combining a Chasidic intellectual movement with an Israeli youth movement, adding a serious social services component. Couple this with a philosophy based on the inherent sacred value of every individual and offer it pretty much wherever Jews are.

Typically, Chabad’s don’t have membership dues, because if you are Jewish you automatically belong. This is the parish model as opposed to the membership model.

SLJ: What do you see as your goals in the community?
HN: There is an inheritance to every generation of Jews and I want to connect people to that. At any given moment, I want to make Judaism one hair more relevant for each individual person. I would love to see people move Judaism up in importance in their lives. We live in an individualistic age. Just as our faces are different, so are our opinions. We've never had these many choices as Jews in terms of how to live our lives, and I think there is a greater responsibility that comes with that. I think that we Jews have an incredible message for 2009. We can provide meaning and substance to people's lives, and we need to do this in an accessible way.

SLJ: What are your boundaries as a movement?
HN: We have the opportunity to connect people with their heritage as opposed to a way of limiting or putting up walls. In terms of the identity of Chabad, we obviously believe there was a revelation at Mount Sinai and we measure our actions by the code of Jewish law. In terms of participants we are blessed with an incredibly rich and diverse community; there is no litmus test at the door. At Chabad you can meet students from virtually every part of the campus, democrats, republicans and anarchists, Zionists and people who are convinced that Hamas is just. Seriously. I think that part of the reason for this diversity is because we look past the labels and hyphens.

SLJ: There are a number of people who have some vague negative feelings towards Chabad. Where do you think that comes from?
HN: The best way to dispel myths is with light and love, and I invite readers of this blog to contact me directly with any and all questions. I can be found all the usual ways, FB, email etc.
Probably the biggest misconception about Chabad is that people perceive Chabad as an all or nothing type of movement. You are either in or out. I don't think our beliefs or practices are an all or nothing system. I actually found reference to this notion in Maimonides’ letters which is cool. Some people could interpret outreach (or “engagement”) as intrusive. Which is obviously not anyone’s goal. We strive to see each person as an individual and calibrate our actions accordingly.
There are also two opposing sets of misconceptions – some people say that Chabad is for uninvolved or unaffiliated Jews only, while others think that is for religious people. Similarly, some think that the goal is to make people orthodox, while others say that it is not orthodox enough. As I see it, when it comes to our core Jewish identity we are exactly the same. If I would have my way, I would like to remove the label of “Orthodox Jew” and similarly conservative and reform Jew from our collective Jewish psyche. I suppose these are useful tools to distinguish philosophies and practices, synagogues and summer camps, however, they do not accurately reflect our core connection and our shared sense of Jewishness. Instead they divide. This plays out for us that we have a challenge in getting people through the door the first time. We have a data set about people who participate in Chabad, and that the likelihood of repeat participation is very high, our challenge is lowering the barrier for the first encounter.

SLJ: What is the largest issue we face as Jews today?
HN: I think so much of what is alleged to ail the Jewish community (declining affiliation, philanthropic shrinkage, etc) are really symptoms of a larger problem which boil down to the lack of education, Jewish specifically. It sounds cliché but more Jewish Americans know the name of Jesus' mother than Moses'. It is scary when People of the Book couldn’t even identify the names of these books in a police lineup. Instead of fixing symptoms, we need to fix Jewish education across the board—formal, informal, experiential—and I think that women and men of Chabad play a vital role in this. It is our responsibility to acknowledge the difficulties and try to work through them. The great sages have grappled with our tradition throughout the ages and now it’s our turn. Let’s do it together.

If you have questions for Hershey about Chabad, how to get a free meal, what the place of women is in the movement, or why Chabadnikim have pictures of the Rebbe on the wall, he can be reached at @ rabbi@chabadoncampus.org.

Read More......

Ok, so maybe you are interested in what Representative Carnahan had to say last night... That's why guest blogger @mrgeller wrote up what he heard last night.

A public option for healthcare coverage seems inevitable as part of the reform, according to Rep. Russ Carnahan, who greeted representatives of the Jewish community Wednesday evening. Healthcare reform and Middle East policy dominated discussion when the congressmen met with constituents in the Clayton home of Carl and Lynn Lyss, long-time activists of the Jewish community. After a brief introduction, and special note of involvement with the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, those in attendance were allowed to ask questions.
While the topics covered, including preventing a nuclear Iran and President Obama's statements on settlements in Israel, were some of the heated issues in the news, the congressman steered clear of any firm position statements. His commitment to Israel was evident; however, the congressman balanced this support by stressing the importance of Obama's engagement of the Muslim community through his speech in Cairo, Egypt, in early June.
The congressman is holding town-hall meetings to hear from constituents on issues related to health reform. He noted that this process has been interesting due to the interruptions now caused by protesters. He joked that it was an unofficial badge of honor among members of Congress to have made it onto several news programs and Internet video clips.
The next town hall meeting is tonight, August 6, at Bernard Middle School, 1054 Forder Road, St. Louis, Mo. The doors open at 6 p.m.
Read More......

Autiomadic at the Gramophone Tonight

While, in any other week, meeting Congressman Russ Carnahan last night would have been the highlight of of the week, The St. Lou Jew is looking forward to the debut of the local group Autiomadic at the Gramophone tonight.

I'm sure everyone wants to hear about how cool Congressman Carnahan was, how he came across as reasonable and thoughtful, and it's true, but that was last night, tonight, The Gramophone is the place to be to hear the musical equation that postulates that a DJ plus a drummer equals a good time.

With Alex "Kahn-man" Kahn on the wheels of steel and one of our own on drums, the show is going to be fun.

With no cover, at one of St. Louis' best places to catch live music (not to mention smoke free), the Gramophone is definitely what is happening tonight.

Doors at 9.


View Larger Map
Read More......

A Night Downtown

For as much as we love talking about and being in the city, The St. Lou Jew spends fairly little time downtown. So when we heard that Lupe Fiasco would be performing at the final 'Live On The Levee' show, we figured it was about time to get back into the heart of the city.

Being the responsible citizens that we are, we decided to take the Metrolink down to Laclede's landing, where the show was already underway.

The turnout was immense. There were several thousand people under the arch. For those of you who don't know Lupe's music, some of the more well-known songs include Paris Tokyo and Superstar.

Lupe had the crowd surging, and the fireworks over the river were a nice finale to the show.

Not wanting to call it a night that early (plus having to deal with a packed Metrolink), we decided to hoof it to Mosaic, a tapas bar on Washington Avenue.

When we first arrived, it had the typical Washington Avenue vibe going on. That is to say that people were standing around trying to look blasé and cool. So we took matters into our own hand and started a dance party that lasted until the bar closed down.

Unfortunately, once Mosaic started closing down, we realized that there weren't many other options. Rue 13 is known for its 80's night, but also its cover, which took it out of contention. We wanted to hop back on the Metro, but past midnight, there is no service, which makes it awfully hard to use as a designated driver service.

While waiting on the corner of Tucker and Washington Avenue for a ride, we were treated to a St. Louis spectacle. Everyone driving by had their stereos bumping, sub-woofers thumping, trying to look cool. We saw the same motorcycles drive by several times, and a few SUVs with girls sitting on top of the roof, or hanging out the windows.

I've seen a bit of this on the Loop before, but it was magnified on Washington. It would be kind of funny to do some type of live broadcast from down there to put that scene on exhibit.

Another interesting thing about standing at that corner is that if you are standing on the North East corner looking South, you can't tell that you are in St. Louis. What I mean is that all you see are large buildings in all directions, it really feels like a much more metropolitan area. Too bad you can walk just a block North and see nothing on three sides.

The downtown portion of the night ended pretty early, cuz there just wasn't that much of interest on Wash Ave it we couldn't convince everyone to check out the Broadway Oyster Bar (a St. Lou Jew Favorite).

We'll probably head back there soon, though, now that that rooftop of the City Museum is open.

Read More......

After these messages, we'll be right back

We've received a few comments and questions recently about Moishe House, specifically what has been going on and why people haven't been hearing as much about Shabbat dinners. The answer is pretty simple: transition.

As you may recall, I was in the middle of a tough decision when we realized that our lease would be up at the end of July. In trying to figure out my plans, the other Moishe House residents were put in a bit of a bind too.

The new Moishe House, was moved into this past Sunday, and is being put in order to hold events. The new location is likely to be more convenient for many, being close to Clayton and Big Bend.

Unfortunately, the nature of moving makes it difficult to impossible to hold events while packing up or unpacking, but hopefully this won't cause a loss in momentum.

Look for events to start back up mid August in a new location, with the same dynamic you come out for ... and of course... the free food.

Shabbat Shalom.
Read More......

Republican Political Posturing

Mark one for their win column

Tonight at 11:09 PM EST the United States House of Representatives Committee of Energy and Commerce voted on an amendment to House Resolution 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act. This amendment was offered by Roy Blunt of Missouri’s 7th Congressional District. The committee voted down the amendment.

What were its details? Very simple: that the President, Vice President, and Members of Congress shall participate in the public health care plan being promoted by the Democrats and the Presidential administration. The argument: if you say it’s the best way to move forward, you should be willing to participate in it.

Representative Lois Capps, a Democrat of California, raised a point of order arguing that it was outside the jurisdiction of Energy and Commerce. Points of order are ruled on by the Chairperson, in this case Henry Waxman of California. A Democrat, he agreed to the point of order, eliminating the Committee’s ability to consider the amendment. In his elaboration, the Chairman claimed that on this issue his committee held co-jurisdiction with the House Administration Committee, and because this amendment did not include a referral to that committee, that he had to rule in favor of the point of order.

The Republicans appealed the Chairman’s ruling, which was put to a role call vote. The final count was a party line 36 to 22 in support of the ruling. One democrat was shown reading Politico during the vote while another sipped a bottle of Fiji water.

I’ve been involved in politics for long enough to know that a Committee, House or Senate, Republic or Democrat led, does not vote something out of its jurisdiction unless it does not want to have to vote on it. After an extended day of health care mark ups, the Republicans called out the Democrats, those who voted in favor of amendments strengthening a public health care option and against those weakening or eliminating one, and the Democrats cowered.

To be fair, the Democrats argue that a public option is just that, an option. Therefore, an argument could have been raised that each Member of the House should have the choice, as Republicans argue for, as to which health care package they choose. However, that argument was not made, and as the elected leaders of this country with whom the responsibility falls on to fix the national health care system, they must react to a steady slide in public support that now shows that more people oppose a public option than support it. This would have been a step that Congress could have taken to assure the American public that the pill they’re prescribing has no serious side effects. Let it also be stated that had the Democrats voted for the amendment, the Republicans would have voluntarily initiated their own enrollment in a health care plan they did not want.
Read More......

Everybody Loves Free

Maybe there is such a thing as a free lunch... so long as that lunch takes place around happy hour.

Just cuz we're Jewish doesn't mean we have to be afraid of posting about free stuff.

Check out STL Meal Deals article on free appetizers to see what we mean. Read More......

Next Dor Renovation Update

The renovation work has begun! Read on for juicy details.

With out much fanfare, work on the Next Dor house is underway. The demolitions work has already been completed and consisted of taking out carpets, removing wallpaper, clearing out the island in the kitchen, and dealing with a downed power line.

We wanted to have the floor refinished in the studio space on the 3rd floor, but after removing the carpet, it was determined that it wouldn't be possible. On the plus side, carpeting will help sound proof that area so that people can watch movies or be active without disrupting activities on the 2nd floor.

Cracked and uneven floors in the basement will be replaced to make the space more usable... Shabbat Underground Rock show anyone?

We are anticipating an October opening date. To find out more, email thestloujew (at) gmail (dot) com




Read More......

What we can learn from Philly

After spending a weekend in Philly, it's clear that we are doing some things pretty well already, but STL can stand to learn a few new tricks.

Philadelphia seemed a bit like a Canadian New York City; not quite as big or rich, but cleaner, quieter, and more comfortable. Which is parallel number 1, STL plays little indignant brother to Chicago, and Philly does the same for New York.

One of the largest similarities I found between St. Louis and Philadelphia was the number of people from Philly who stay there.

The city itself doesn't take up that much space, but makes up for it in the sheer density of buildings. You can walk from place to place without too much trouble, and the buses, trains, and trolleys take you further faster when you are feeling on the lazy side.

MetroLink scores a surprise victory over SEPTA, both on price, and because on SEPTA, you have to actually, physically buy a ticket of an employee who walks down the aisle (This concerned me when I arrived and realized I had neither cash nor debit card on my person).

The city is still heavily segregated, with large minority majorities in West Philadelphia. Center City reminded me of parts of downtown Denver, great infrastructure, but few people on the streets for such a big city.

St. Louis City may be suffering from a large number of vacant lots, but it has nothing on Philly's 30,000, more than any other city. Urban guerrilla gardening and mural making has helped with some of the eye-sores, but it still leaves much to be desired.

On the topic of urban gardening, Philly is all about it. Everyone grows something in their backyard (and not the California type of growing something). We could definitely stand to benefit from more urban gardens in St. Louis, both as a beautification measure, as well as a community building and educational measure.

This is why we are so excited to create the urban garden at the Next Dor house. It will serve many different needs at the same time.

I was able to stay at the Moishe House in Philly, and had the opportunity to see a bit of what they do. I think the probably beat us in terms of organization, but they have also been around a few more years and have had more time to establish themselves and connect with people.

After an erev Shabbat service at the Moishe House, we had an awesome potluck, which was kicked off with an activity called "pimp my dish", in which each person had to describe the food they brought and try to make it sound as tasty as possible....it worked.

For a city known for its cheesesteaks, there sure were a lot of vegetables coming out of the concrete jungle.
Read More......

Find Food In St. Louis

I admit it, this is partially due to laziness and partially due to how cool I think this is. Either way, check out Urban Spoon's clever way of finding a restaurant:

St. Louis restaurants on Urbanspoon

Read More......

Update from the Next Dor Front Lines

Last night, a group of community leaders including Rabbis, representatives of Jewish Federation, Nishmah, Hillel, Gesher City, the Jewish Community Center, and notable others gathered in a multi-purpose room at the new JCC to talk about Next Dor.

While it might have felt at times like stump the chump, even the most pointed questions were asked from a level of interest.

Representatives of YPD asked if Next Dor would produce its own programming (we'll try to avoid that), and whether it would push existing organizations to increase their own offerings (we'll encourage but not push it).

There were questions from other leaders about how we plan to attract new people to Next Dor, as well as if we are going to target people from St. Louis who may be elsewhere in an attempt to bring them back.

I mostly found myself facing these questions alone, as the vast majority of our committee was unable to attend. As someone not from St. Louis, some of the questions were things I hadn't thought about, but that fit well into our vision.

Another question asked about the need for something like Next Dor. The train of thought went something like this, "we have research showing that Jewish 20's and 30's want to be met where they are, which is why we do events at bars. You want to create a central space in which people come together, which seems to run counter to this.."

It's a interesting point but there are models (places like 6th and I in DC, the 92nd Street Y in NYC, etc.) that have been proven to attract people.

When the question of models for this type of organization came up, a representative of Gesher City asked about the other Next Dor, a program of Sacramento's Federation. While its demographic target and approach are similar, it doesn't revolve around a central gathering place.

While we hope that a lot of questions were answered, we know even more were raised.

If you want to be involved in the next round of discussions, or know someone who might be, feel free to email thestloujew@gmail.com and we'll be sure to make sure your voice is heard.


Read More......