Houston Couple Launches Moishe house Pod to Foster Young Jewish Community
A houston couple, Eric Stevelman and Dori Jezmir, recently opened a Moishe House Pod in their home on November 1st, aiming to build community for Jewish adults in their 20s and 30s. The Pod, a smaller version of a traditional Moishe House, is currently run by stevelman, 25, and Jezmir, 22, who live together and will host three jewish programs each month with a dedicated program budget and rent subsidy. Participants can be involved for up to three and a half years.
Their Pod is the only one currently operating in Houston, joining the city’s single full-sized Moishe House as a resource for young Jewish adults. Moishe House operates over 100 locations globally, focusing on inclusivity for all branches of Judaism through engaging activities like shabbat dinners and social action projects.
Stevelman, a Houston native and Texas A&M University graduate in chemical engineering, and Jezmir, originally from Leawood, kansas and a recent marketing graduate from the university of Kansas, met while Jezmir was completing an internship in Houston. They have since visited Israel together seven times.
“We love hosting people,” Jezmir said.”It is very natural for us, and now we’ll be hosting even more and finding ways to be involved in the Jewish community. We thought a Moishe House Pod would be a good option for us.”
Initial events planned include a housewarming and a Friendsgiving Shabbat Dinner, with future programming encompassing themed Shabbats, movie nights, football watch parties, arts-focused events, “Tacos and Torah” sessions, and learning opportunities. The couple hopes to collaborate with other Jewish organizations in the area.
stevelman and Jezmir are active members of chabad of Uptown and participate in their Young Jewish Professionals (YJP) group. “That group runs the gamut of observance,” Jezmir noted. “Everyone is excited to be around other Jews.”
Jezmir’s connection to Judaism deepened after her parents, Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union who arrived in the 1990s, began observing Shabbat in the United States. “My dad started celebrating Shabbat for the first time when he came here,” she explained. “He instilled Shabbat in all four children. We were not religious for the most part.”
Both Stevelman and Jezmir experienced being among the few Jewish students in their respective schools growing up. Jezmir further embraced her Jewish identity through Chabad, where she learned to read and write Hebrew, and became actively involved in combating antisemitism. She organized counterprotests and advocated for support from the University of Kansas governance after Jewish students experienced antisemitic incidents on campus. “That experience made me prouder and wanting to be louder about being Jewish,” Jezmir said.
Stevelman similarly found his Jewish observance growing during college, making Judaism a consistent part of his life. He recalled four antisemitic events in neighboring high schools during his senior year of high school in 2018 that garnered regional attention. “Growing up, I would introduce myself by saying, ‘My name is Eric Stevelman, and I’m Jewish,'” he said. “I became more observant in college, diving into Judaism deeper and making it part of my daily activities, not just weekly or monthly.”
Both credit organizations like Chabad and Hillel with shaping their Jewish identities. “Dori and I are continuing to grow in our Judaism every day,” Stevelman concluded. “We have the education and shared experiences. Chabad and Hillel shaped us into the people we are now.”