Moishe House Pays Your Rent? Oy, Vey!

How would you like a generous benefactor to pay a portion of your rent?

Fortunate groups of 20-something Jews across the country enjoy just that, in a Real World-styled living arrangement. The New York Times reported today on Moishe House, an innovative idea started in 2006 to support young Jews - a model that other religious, ethnic, or social groups might consider duplicating.

In exchange for the rent subsidy, members of a Moishe House chapter must organize social events for other 20-something Jews. No free lunch, folks!

But, what a sweet arrangement for the three or four - dare say it - chosen ones. Given the proclivity of 20-somethings of every stripe to enjoy socializing - not to mention rent payments, and in the case of Moishe House Philadelphia, ready cash for such events - it is easy see why the Moishe House model has spread by word-of-mouth to 29 cities, from Beijing, to Cape Town, to Warsaw.

So how does it work, and could your community benefit from developing something similar?