Well, that’s exactly what Moishe House has been doing since 2006, when it first opened its doors in Oakland, California. Founded by philanthropist Morris Bear Squire and Forest Foundation Executive Director David Cygielman, today Moishe House boasts 28 houses in eight countries. Each house has its own unique slant, but the overarching umbrella is the concept of allowing young Jews to create their own community and their own curriculum.

Funding comes from a variety of philanthropic partners including the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, AviChai, and The Righteous Persons Foundation.

The relaunched, revamped Moishe House in Los Angeles officially got underway on August 1, 2009 and has already made its mark on the young, vibrant, Jewish community here. Designed to be a warm, inviting space for young people of all stripes, even this interview came with a lunch invitation.

The LA Moishe House is a beautiful family home situated in a leafy street in Mar Vista. The large front door with a prominent mezuzah opens into a polished, clean, vast space. Inside, two of the Moishe House’s residents – Maital Guttman, an independent filmmaker and Anthony Rogers-Wright, a musician and environmental planner – are eager to chat, as they lay out the promised lunch and pull up chairs around the large dining table.

Guttman begins explaining that while the ethos and overall goals of Moishe House are the same, each house brings its own, unique elements, and the LA Moishe House has a strong, artistic, bent.

“We had this goal of creating a collaborative community space, specifically targeting artists, activists, and young Jews,” Guttman says. “The London House is focused more on text study, while the Buenos Aires House is more socialist based, but there are so many creative people who move to Los Angeles who are working in the industry, and the Moishe House allows us to not only work on our creativity but to also not be isolated, which is common in Los Angeles.”

Indeed, the two share the Moishe House with four other residents, one of whom is Guttman’s girlfriend. That dynamic is just one of the unique tracks that this diverse group of individuals brings to the Moishe House.

“The Jewish queer contingent is exploding right now,” says Rogers-Wright. “There’s a lot of congruent ideas coming together from the progressive, young Jewish, gay, lesbian and queer community and it’s great that we have that in this house. We also have two African Americans living here,” he adds (of which he is one). “Our group comes with such a diversity, in terms of where and how we grew up, and how we think, and it’s great to be able to say ‘I live with two outwardly proud lesbians.’ You can come into this space and be comfortable, just be who you are.”

The residents have already taken these aspects of their lives and channeled them into their initial programs. In the few short weeks that the LA Moishe House has been running, there has already been a Hannukat HaBayit, a housewarming party, a sensitivity training session geared towards the gay, bisexual, and lesbian community, and a spiritual healing to commemorate 9/11.

Moishe House residents have to ensure that they include three different tracks in their programs: Jewish community, tikkun olam, and Jewish learning. Beyond that, it’s up to the residents what programs they undertake. The LA Moishe House also has a local rabbi – Scott Perlo – to oversee a lot of the Jewish learning component of the program.

“It’s an exciting time to be Jewish and young in Los Angeles,” says Rogers-Wright. “We’re at the intersection of being both a home where we can host Shabbat dinners, a group of six young people living together, but also being an organization. We have something unique to offer in terms of our space and our home, but we don’t have to compromise who we are to do it,” adds Guttman.

And while the Moishe house has partnered with several groups already, including LimmudLA, JQ, The Jewish Arts Initiative and NEI, both Guttman and Rogers-Wright are proud of the fact that they can create their own agenda.

Says Guttman, “My vision is to provide a warm space for people to come into, whether they are Jewish or not. I’m not asking anyone to keep Shabbat or light candles. We’re here to show people we are young, proud, Jews but it doesn’t have to look a certain way. It can look like tikkun olam, or art, or culture.”

One of the most successful projects to date was an open mike night jam session run by Orthodox Jew, Dov Rosenblatt of Blue Fringe. “I got an email from a young guy after the open mike night, saying he felt like he was on a high,” says Guttman.

So what makes Moishe House’s programs different from those run by Hillel or JConnect? Says Guttman, “I was very involved with Hillel and I’ve gone to JConnect events and I think they both do an amazing job. But we have a radically different approach.”

The main difference, she says, is that there is no one single program director hired to create events. “At the Moishe House we’re given this space and the tools so that we can do the programs ourselves. It’s not one person, but six people working together.”

Adds Rogers-Wright, “This is really a bottom up process, which is how you truly effect any kind of real change in a community.”

For Guttman and Rogers-Wright, the Moishe House is all about creating a safe place for people to explore new experiences, even if it’s something as simple as a Shabbat meal, and to be comfortable with just being themselves. “We do want to challenge people and their ideas,” says Rogers-Wright, but we believe you can do that in a safe, sensitive environment.”

Both say they have no problem coming up with exciting, innovative programs, the word of mouth has been overwhelming, and they’re already looking forward to and preparing for their next event on September 30, an art charity auction. The Moishe House will display the original work of local artist Sarah Nehman, and auction off some of her work. The proceeds from will go to the families of Arnaldo Quinones and Tedmund Hall - the two fire fighters killed in the Los Angeles Station fire on August 30, 2009.

For more information on the LA Moishe House and upcoming events, visit www.moishehouse.org/houses