Moishe House Opens First Fort Lauderdale Home

Photo credits: Courtesy of Moishe House.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Moishe House officially dedicated the first home for Jewish young adults in Fort Lauderdale last night. The new house will serve as a hub for young Jewish life in the Miami metropolitan area

Moishe House is a global organization where young Jewish adults live together and host Jewish programs one to two times each week for their peers, with more than 100 houses worldwide. In exchange, the residents receive a modest monthly rent subsidy, and a monthly programming budget. Moishe House Ft. Lauderdale is the first in Fort Lauderdale and joins three other such homes for 20-something Jews in South Florida.

Moishe House Ft. Lauderdale first opened its doors in September 2017. Last night they officially dedicated the new house with a ceremony in which the residents, joined by supporters, partners, community members, and family members, affixed a mezuzah – a case containing Jewish prayers – to the home’s doorpost.

Since moving into their new home in September, the residents have already hosted more than 40 programs for over 800 in total attendance. In addition to their full-time jobs, the house’s four current residents – Suzanne Lepselter, 28, Dan Morris, 30, Michelle Weitman, 30, and Jill Wolfson, 28 – are committed to hosting at least 84 peer-led programs annually, such as Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, pool parties, charity events, and more.

These are the kinds of programs that South Florida’s millennial Jews are seeking. According to a 2014 PEW survey of 18- to 33-year-olds, “millennials have fewer attachments to traditional religious institutions, but they connect to personalized networks of friends, colleagues and affinity groups through social and digital media.”

“With one of the fastest-growing Jewish young adult populations in North America, Fort Lauderdale was a perfect location to open a new Moishe House,” said Moishe House Senior Director of Advancement and Philanthropic Partnerships Lander Gold. “Moishe House is built on a demand-based model from the young adult Jewish community, and that is exactly how Moishe House Ft. Lauderdale came about. There were eager and excited Jewish young adults who knew of Moishe House in Fort Lauderdale, and who longed for a community that they could help design and create for their fellow Jewish 20-somethings.”

Moishe House Ft. Lauderdale is generously supported by the Jewish Federation of Broward County, Stanley and Pearl Goodman, and Laura and Mike Cutler.

Photo #1: (From left) Moishe House Ft. Lauderdale residents Suzanne Lepselter, 28, Jill Wolfson, 28, Michelle Weitman, 30, and Dan Morris, 30, affixed a mezuzah to their new home’s doorpost last night.

Photo #2: (From left) Moishe House Ft. Lauderdale residents Michelle Weitman, Dan Morris, Suzanne Lepselter, and Jill Wolfson, at their new home in Fort Lauderdale last night.

Photo #3: Moishe House Senior Director of Advancement and Philanthropic Partnerships Lander Gold welcomed the South Florida community to the new Moishe House Ft. Lauderdale.

Photo #4: Supporters, partners, community members, and family members joined the Moishe House Ft. Lauderdale residents at last night’s mezuzah hanging and open house.

Photo #5: The Moishe House Ft. Lauderdale residents welcomed the South Florida community into their new home last night.