Shalom! Welcome to Doing Jewish, formerly Gay Goy Doing Jewish – and then Newish Jewish.
Update: I wrote this in January 2021. I feel very differently now, post-October 7, about many aspects of my Jewishness and politics. I’m more centrist, having been abandoned by the “activist” left and their creep toward totalitarianism and insistence on purity tests around Palestine, “genocide“, and more. The world is mad, and the far left is mad, and while, when I drafted this, I already had a firm stance against ignorance spewed from the likes of JVP, I feel even stronger now about hijacking Judaism and Jewish identity with things like “Tikkun Olam” and “collective liberation” and the racialization of politics and identity. More to come. TL:DR? I’ve been called a far-left, queer, “fake” Jew by some online, and a MAGA Bibi-lover by others. None of these are true. I’ll leave the text below fully intact for posterity.
Doing Jewish started as a personal blog about one man’s conversion to Judaism; it’s a place for Jewish concepts, Torah (and Torah), justice, and Tikkun Olam, as well as views from Jews, activists, and artists of all backgrounds and colors.
This is a personal blog foremost; I’m Bobby, and I write about my Jewish journey from 2019 (5779) to my conversion in 2020 (5781).
But now it’s 2021, and I’m looking to the future, as is my country. America has a new President and Vice-President today, and we have a moral obligation to reverse the staggering creep toward fascism and remove the violent, racist stain of Trumpism from America.
America was founded with that stain, the mark of white supremacy. The work will be difficult. The work began long before me and will continue long after. I am just one white guy.
I recognize that I am blessed to live in a country and at a time where I can speak out against our government and failed leadership. Even in the “best” times and under progressive leadership, too many BIPOC have languished in prisons, in slums, and been killed by our police.
In past generations, Jews were on the receiving end of this, too, and I speak out because they could not. I have an individual moral obligation to do so, but also a larger one per Torah.
And lastly, I speak up because this is my country. Past Jews were considered guests in their own countries, even after centuries as integral parts of their cultures. They were never citizens*, and could not openly criticize their failed national leadership. I owe it to them to speak up when I see injustice. They are my spiritual ancestors.
I hope this becomes a place to share ideas, to learn, and to welcome all feedback and contributions. A site redesign and reformat help empower me to think bigger as I continue to learn. I’ll keep posting about Jewish concepts, torah (and Torah), justice, and views from Jews, activists, and artists of all backgrounds and colors.
Together, our voices carry.
Also there will be memes and puns. But first a prayer for new beginnings:
.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה
Baruch atah,
Adonai Eloheinu,
Melech haolam,
shehecheyanu,
v’kiy’manu,
v’higiyanu
laz’man hazeh.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God,
Sovereign of all,
who has kept us alive,
sustained us, and
brought us to this season.
Bobby Apperson
January 20, 2021
*This changed in the late 1800s, but Jews were quickly expelled from those countries, including Germany.
Y’all, people know that Joe Biden isn’t some magical savior. We know there’s still work to be done. Accountability, all of that.
But today, people get to be happy *just* because trump is gone.
This has been ROUGH. Seeing him leave is reason to celebrate.
Let folks have that.— YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA, PhD (@T_dot_Lee_PhD) January 20, 2021