This Story was originally posted here on Jewishinstlouis.org:

(St. Louis, MO) – While others roam from house to house this Halloween collective sweets, members of the young adult Jewish community here will be doing something else sweet.
On Sunday, Oct. 31, Next Dor St. Louis and Moishe House St. Louis are combining their resources for “Halloween Version Jew.0,” during which these young professionals will go door to door collecting food and personal care items for the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry.

“Halloween is certainly not a Jewish holiday,” organizer Benjamin Singer said in a statement. “But that fact should not prevent us from helping people in need while having fun and building community.”

The Food Pantry collection at 7:30 p.m. will follow a free pizza dinner and Jewish-themed pumpkin carving at 5 p.m. The group of young adults that collects the most donations gets to choose a film to screen following the collections. More details are available online on the Facebook event.

The Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry, a program of Jewish Family & Children’s Service, provides food, personal care items and community resource referrals to help St. Louis-area individuals and families of all faiths and backgrounds, “with respect and confidentiality.” The Pantry saw a 75% increase in new clients from 2008 to 2009, while serving more than 4,000 clients per month from more than 89 different zip codes.

Susan J. Rundblad, program coordinator-community outreach for the Food Pantry, said she was “proud to partner with Next Dor. The members have always been supportive …by providing strong backs and generous hearts.”

The evening will be hosted at the Next Dor house at 5062 Waterman Blvd., with generous sponsorship from Moishe House, another community center for young adults in Clayton. These two institutions, both co-founded by Washington University grad Yoni Sarason, have brought new life to the increasingly vibrant young Jewish community in St. Louis. 
For information, visit www. NextDorSTL.org and find “Moishe House STL” on Facebook. 

Add Comment
 
 
Rabbi Akiva Tatz, who has written and spoken on a large number of Jewish subjects, spoke at Next Dor last night to a crowd of interested young adults spanning the religious spectrum.

Rabbi Tatz spoke about relationships, and more specifically marriage in the Jewish context.  For more on his talk, click here.

PJ at Jewishinstlouis.org just published a great story about some of the Yoga going on at Next Dor.  You can read that story here.
Add Comment
 
 
Tu B'shvat is like the Jewish arbor day.  We celebrate our ancient and sometimes mystical connection to nature and take a moment to reflect on the sheer wonder of our natural world.

Thanks to Molly Zeff, Next Dor was able to host a Tu B'shvat Seder this past Saturday night.  You can read a press release from JewishinStLouis here.  

Check out Zeff's thoughts on the event:
"Having never been to a Next Dor event or met anyone from the community besides [Yoni Sarason], I had no idea what to expect when I led a Tu B’shvat seder there this past Saturday night that was focused on the interrelated themes of awe and stewardship within Judaism's texts on the environment.  At Next Dor, I found a welcoming, easygoing bunch of Jewish twenty-somethings, and we ended up having a fun (and sometimes humorous) seder full of engaging discussions about topics such as what we need beyond action when it comes to Jewish environmental activism and what we care about changing with regards to "greening" St. Louis.  

"I am thinking about moving back to St. Louis, and it was exciting to see that there is a venue through which young Jews can act on issues that are important to them, as well as a place where you can get to know people with similar interests.  Next Dor is really fulfilling its vision of being a community built by and for young Jews -- as well as a place that is continuously open to the ideas of anyone who walks through its doors."

The house is always open to great ideas like this one.  Check out the full text of the Seder below:

Add Comment
 
 
Over the weekend, the Next Dor house hosted a quite a few different gatherings.


Saturday morning, between the Challah French Toast, Guitar Hero, and Hebrew Tutoring Lessons, the house was alive with activity.  


On Sunday, after the volunteers returned from LightFest, Next Dor hosted a student studying the chiropractic arts at Logan to discuss her trade and show off a bit of her knowledge.  At the same time, a jam session broke out and lasted until around 9.


If you want to cook, teach, learn, play, or just hang out, email yoni@nextdorstl 
Add Comment
 
 
The house is really coming along nicely!  The renovations are nearly complete, everything has a fresh coat of paint and the house is almost ready for you.  Check out this video we took of what the house is looking like.
Add Comment
 
Google Analytics Alternative