The Latest
We Are Jewish, And We Are All Connected.
Pinkwashing: The Antisemitism and Erasure Behind This Bogus Claim
Next Stop: Israel. How You Can Support This Journey and My Work During This Historic Time
March Madness: Jewish Disillusionment in the Diaspora, The Antisemitic Left, and October 7 Revisionism
Things aren’t good. A look at events in the Jewish world this week as antisemitism skyrockets and Jews around the world are increasingly alarmed This is a post from Doing Jewish Substack, March 30, 2024. Subscribe to get them first, direct to your inbox. 🔥 In the last 30 days: The internet…
Diversity, Dog Whistle, and Dreyfus: D Is For… (Part 5)
Delulu, Demographics, & Displacement: D Is For… (Part 4)
Deir Yassin, 3 D’s of Antisemitism, and Double Standards: D Is For… (Part 3)
Decolonization, Defamation, and Death Cult: D Is For… (Part 2)
Check Out the New ProSemitic Shop: Buttons, Stickers, and Apparel
Dalet, Deir Yassin, Decolonization, & Diaspora: D Is For (Part 1)
Ceasefire, Colonizer, & Compromise: C Is For…
B Is For… The Antisemitic Alphabet: From A-Z.
The Antisemitic Alphabet: From A-Z. A Is For…
I Stand with Israel. Am Israel Chai.
Jewish Pride, The Pink Triangle, and San Francisco
The Jews of Spain: Back to Barcelona — A Bit Basic, and Lacking in Sites
A Return to Amsterdam: Jewish Tour and A Golden Age Uncovered 🌷🇳🇱
Halloween Fright: The Jews Are Not Alright (Or All White), and Far-Right Celebs Are Upending Things
Jewish Morocco Part 4: Train from Fes to Casablanca, and Goodbye to A Gorgeous Adventure
Moroccan Adventure Chapter 3: Fes Finds, Random Hospitality, and Colorful History
From the Marrakesh to the Sahara: A Desert Journey, Spanish Travelers, and Tracing Jewish History in the Ancient Hills 🐪
I’m Pissed, and I’m Terrified: Roe, Christo-Fascism, Mass Shootings, and Rising Antisemitism
Moroccan Beauty: Marrakesh, Jewish History and Art, and Initial Culture Shocks
Berlin Throwback: Memorial to the Slain Jews of Europe and Into the (Former) Lion’s Den
I lived in Europe in Summer 2017, a whirlwind of experiences and attempted-expat life (not meant-to-be at the time) that often seems like a three-month, 10-country dream. It was that summer I first visited Berlin, some 25 years after first trip to Europe. That summer, 1997, I landed in Frankfurt…
Passover and Shabbat Unite: Thoughts Toward the East, Toward Liberation, and a Better America and World
Violence Against Jews Is Never Justified.
Why The Jewish History of Ukraine Matters, And Why My Heart Breaks Right Now ??
From the Right and the Left, Rewriting History and Antisemitism Amid Russia’s Rush to Ignite WWIII My heart breaks for Ukraine right now. A reckless, lying dictator trying to hold onto power and restore a Soviet empire has invaded a beautiful, independent country—one with a long history of violence, specifically…
The Shabbat Candle-Lighting Blessing, and Calling On the Ancestors for Connection and Wisdom
SHABBAT THOUGHT: All the Things Shabbat Are (and are not yet for me); Confession Time
Repost: What Christmas Means to Me, A New Jew After Conversion
New Orleans Road Trip: Sleeping in a former Synagogue, and the Southern Jewish Experience at a New Museum
Happy Hanukkah from the Nathans in Miami: A Slideshow, A Reminder of What The Holiday Is, and Why We Shine the Light
Chanukah Shopping Guide 2: Support A Progressive Jewish Community, and Gifts from Modern Tribe
Shabbat Thought from At the Well Project: Kislev, The New Month and Moon, and The Pocket of the Heart
Jewish Creators: Alex Clare turned down the career of a lifetime to observe; Rootsmetal on antisemitism, Halloween, and Traditional Monsters
Shabbat Shalom: Remembering Tree of Life in Pittsburgh 3 Years On, And What We Can Learn From Día De Los Muertos
Hanukkah Approaches! Get the best gear here with our shopping guide for those 8 Crazy Nights ✡?
One Trip Around the Sun: Mikveh Marker and Reflection in the Waters
That Gay, Jewish, Digital Nomad Life, Jewish Identity in Mexico, and a little history of Mexican Jews
The Wandering Jew: Being a Digital Nomad as a Hebrew, a Mexico Break, and a New Blog
Shana Tova: 7 Things We’re Leaving Behind in 5781 this Rosh Hashanah
Hebrew Humor Roundup: August 2021
Raviv Ullman, The Study, and Torah in Tough Times
Hineni: Here I am, A Learner and Wanderer—A Jewish Tour of San Francisco
Some Blessings As Pride Month Ends: The Work and Learning Continue
Shabbat Shalom: Fuck Antisemitism.
Today and every day, #fuckantisemitism. And because you can’t even say that without hostility in response, also fuck: occupation, nationalism, racism, Hamas, rockets, and Netanyahu. Shabbat Shalom. Peace. Stay safe. T-shirt by Noah McBride. https://www.facebook.com/doingjewish/posts/319948876167337
061 | Nefesh, Jewgrass, Superbloom and A Debut Album: Support This Amazing Jewish Community!
Part of a series on my Jewish Journey, by Bobby Apperson Nefesh of Los Angeles and the Nefesh Band; our spring fundraiser includes funding for our DEBUT ALBUM of beloved music and you can help make that happen! TAP THE IMAGE TO DONATE In 2019 I wrote on picking a…
060 | American Jews, This Shavuot it’s Time We Rededicate Ourselves to Social Justice
059 | A Heart with Many Rooms
New Member of the Tribe: Bi-Mia
Meet the real-life artist behind the paintings in ‘Shtisel’
Earth Day: We are all stewards.
Earth Day: We are all stewards. Happy Earth Day, and take care of her, not just because Torah says to. Over at the Instagram: give us a follow there if you haven’t yet! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Newish Jewish | Amos (@doingjewish)
058 | Finding My Kosher Body: Sex, Bacon, Tattoos, and other things on/in you
Walk Forward: Exodus, Being Stuck, and Self-Actualization
Book Recommend: The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli, on how Queer Communities Should Take Care of Each Other As Jewish Ones Do
There’s a Term for Those Who Enable Fascism
American Genocide, Redux
American Genocides: Native American genocide (continual, unacknowledged)African slave trade and Black oppression (unacknowledged, as of yet atoned)Unnecessary nuclear bombings of Japan used solely as tests and a warning to Russia, 1945D*n*ld Tr*mp’s ignoring a pandemic to let it kill his political enemies, then actively spreading it, 2020 (emphasis on highly…
Newish Jewish: A new look, a new focus on wider Jewish justice and learning
Flashback: MLK, Tzedakah, and Injustice (2020)
057 | What Christmas Means to Me, A New Jew After Conversion
056 | Post-Mikvah Slumps, Lame Duck Dumps, and Pandemic Punishment: We enter the darkest months of the year
Rebecca Solnit: On Not Meeting Nazis Halfway
Photo: Stare Hatred, Ignorance, and Racism in the Face.
We need this reminder right now: Post-Election Slow-Motion Coup Madness Trump’s face says it all here. Not only couldn’t he make eye contact 4 years ago, he’s making “apology face” and pursing his lips. He’s ashamed, and he knows what he really is. Obama, meanwhile, looked him in the eye…
055 | A New Jew’s Registry: Social Causes, Nefesh, and Some Holiday Cheer
054 | Gone Goy: A Dip, a Daven, and Dance—I’m a Jewish!
053 | Into the waters: Joining the ancestors, an interview with the AJU Mikvah
052 | Beit Done: Days of Awesome, Jewish Journey Limbo, and Holy Daze (One Year In)
Well, I did it! I had my Beit Din a couple weeks ago. I’ve been slammed since with these High Holy Days and all the work that entails with Nefesh, my buoyant, vibrant, supportive eastside Los Angeles community. After being slightly anxious way back in March to do this thing…
051 | Beit Din Today: A Winding, Delayed Journey
050 | Rewind: Pesach, Patience, and Seinfeld-Era Memories of Matzah and Maror
Passover is one of the highlights of the Jewish calendar and nearing the home stretch of my Jewish journey to conversion, I was truly looking forward to experiencing it for the first time as an adult. The banter, the torah, the weird foods—the gathering is the biggest thing American Jews…
049 | My Poor Jerusalem: Tisha B’av, Portland, and Grief
048: Shabbat Shalom, The Middot Project, Nine Days of Av, and First Year of Learning
047 | George Soros Did Not Pay for This Post: QAnon and Deep State-Delusion are Deeply Anti-Semitic, Y’all
046 | Unorthodox, One of Us, Shtisel: My Orthodox Netflix Crash-Course
It’s peak Netflix in general, but also for Jewish and Haredi content. Here’s what I learned. One of Us Netflix, 2017 (Yiddish, English) Netflix documentary One of Us highlights the plights of ultraorthodox Jews who fled the community and like Esty in Unorthodox (below), didn’t exactly leave easily. One lives…
045: Support Jewish artists and other small business during the downturn (it’s a mitzvah)
044 | Mom, Dad: I think I’m Jewish. Coming out all over again! The Pride Issue 🏳️🌈
043 | The Jewish Call for Social Justice: Black Lives, Our Failed System, & Tikkun Olam
042: Jason Rosenberg: Larry Kramer Taught Me How to Be an Angry Gay Jew
A great activist I know on another great activist’s passing. I feel so much this even as a not-quite-officially Jew, but a practicing one on the cusp of making it official. Shabbat shalom, article link below. https://twitter.com/doingjewish/status/1266106245880016897?s=20
041: A little Torah for Shavuot: Don’t be a mask-hole. Shavuot round-up, Converts, & Ruth
A little torah (study) for Shavuot follows; Shavuot is the Jewish holiday that once was a harvest festival and now is an all-night, dairy-binging, torah-studying celebration of Sinai, learning, and Jewish converts. That’s me! And this will complete a full year’s cycle of Jewish holidays for me. Conversion date: TBD!…
040: Freedom in the time of Shavuot
Listening to people steeped in privilege complain of their oppression and compare it to slavery is particularly hard if you’re a person of color. It’s difficult to process, too, as a queer person, or a Jewish or Muslim person. Freedom ends when you harm others. “Freedom” means something radically different…
039: G?d, G!d, and G-d: Who you gonna wrestle?
038: I’m in the press! Many people are having their Jewish conversions delayed. #DOJ #DelayOfJewish
037: 40 Days and 40 Nights in Quarantine: What’s in a name?
Today marks 40 days in quarantine for me give or take Trader Joe’s visits, a small work move, a big house move to a different county, and a couple clients at the very start. And like many I’m anxious, angry, tired all the time, and trying to accept the new…
036: TBT: Hot Girl Purim Vibes, and Desserts that Are Definitely Vajayjays
Just about the last big in-person event I went to PC / BC* was Purim with my Nefesh community. What is Purim? I’m glad you asked! PC / BC Pre-/Before Corona Purim is the springtime festival celebrating the story in the Torah’s Book of Esther about the near destruction of…
035: Pop culture moment: Sukkah-in-Place, Urchatz, the Ides, and Passover
034: Join me for Passover: Nefesh LA Zeder (that’s a Zoom Seder)
Looking for somewhere to “go” for Pesach? Maybe you’ve heard of Nefesh in LA but it was too far? It’s my amazing community and I’m glad and honored to be helping them out with social media and support. We come together a week from tonight on Zoom. Kids Jam 5pm,…
033: Alma: How to Make Your Quarantine as Jewish as Possible
https://twitter.com/HillelIntl/status/1243247079755075586?s=20 Link: https://www.heyalma.com/how-to-make-your-quarantine-as-jewish-as-possible/
032: The Big Birthday, Uncertainty, & Pikuach Nefesh: Saving Lives & Taking Care of Ourselves
Uncertainty. We’re all united in it right now, are we not? My Rabbi Susan Goldberg spoke so well of it from our recent Nefesh community Zoom call. Uncertainty is bewildering and draining and we’re all going through it right now, for a very long period of time. We don’t know…
031: Land of Feta & Dates: Wrestling with Issues in Israel as a soon-to-be-Jew
030: Wo/Man, this week was a long year. Things keeping me sane
029: Judaism’s Best Ideas: A Listicle
028: Flashback Friday: Mikvah orientation, feeling underwater, and halfway mark
Post from 2019, way back yonder before we nearly had WW3 with Iran and a President was impeached but nothing happened Community Mikveh at American Jewish University Highlights! Toured the mikvah where I convert in March, the day after my 40thLots of feels about itFinished my required Intro to Judaism…
027: MLK, Tzedakah, and Injustice in America
026: Oi to the World: First Hanukkah, Awkward Family Christmas, and I *Heart* Maccabees
025: Bacon, Bread, and Butter: Haven’t I snipped out enough?
024: Mystery Rabbi, A Great Book, and Joy
023: Suffering, Identity, and Hipster Judaism
022: Jews in Space, Spock, and The Moon
021: Lech Lecha, A Song, and Blessing the World
020: We need to talk about Stephen Miller: Challaween, Masks, and Identity
019: Bat Mitzvah, Ikarious, and the Trees of Life and Wisdom
018: The Lego Sukkot Movie, Etrog on My Face, and Study
017: When Life Gives You Lulavs: It’s a Mitzvah to be happy on Sukkot
016: Yiddlife Crisis, Wandering the Desert, and Transparent
015: Yom Kippur & Schrödinger’s Jew: Practicing but not quite there yet
014: Down to the River: Taslich and Tossing My Woes Away
013: Hot Girl Rosh Hashanah: Shofar Sho Good!
012: Picking a Rabbi, A Community, and a Name
011: Teshuvah and Trump: Practicing the Jewish & Being a Mensch
010: God, Golden Joinery, & A Mikvah for Your Mouth
009: Nefesh and Getting Called Into the Circle
008: First Synagogue, First Kippah, and an Unfortunate Keychain
007: First Shabbat & Picnic Under the Stars
Danielle: Wait so, are you converting? Yes. Eat this giant picnic.
006: Tisha B’av, Pico-Robertson, and Guru Ram Das Ashram
A lovely Sunday stroll on the westside resulted in a series of serendipitous events