For Whom the Blog is Written

Well, after days of checking my email more than was probably necessary, I heard back from the organization that I will be blogging for come Blogathon 2010. All funds raised will be going to Keshet , a LGBTQ organization for Jews in the greater Boston area. When I first thought about the Blogathon back in mid-April, I had no idea who I should blog for or how I should start looking. It took a while for me to narrow the list down. One of the rules of the Blogathon is that no blogger may blog for multiple charities, and I think that's a pretty good rule. Posts every half hour for one organization is an overwhelming prospect. Doubling the number of posts so one may raise funds for two organizations would require mental stamina that I suspect few are capable of.

I eventually decided on Keshet for many reasons. Primarily, I wanted to help a segment of the Jewish community in anyway I could. Ideally, I wanted the organization to be either in San Diego (my hometown) or Boston (where I will be spending the summer and where I lived for the first half of my life). I have also been a long time believe in the fight for marriage equality. Although my parents and I have several key differences of opinion, one of the values they raised me with was a sense of fair play. It does not seem 'right' to me to have what has become predominantly secular institution governed by religious ideals, especially in a country where one of the founders and third president strongly espoused an idea of 'a wall of separation between church and state.' While I am aware of certain passages in Torah that go against homosexuality, there are also many other passages that instruct parents to stone disobedient children (Deuteronomy 18: 18-21), that a woman should be a virgin on her wedding night or risk severe punishment (Deuteronomy 23: 18), and numerous dietary laws (Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Exodus). While I know that there are many Jews who choose to follow the dietary laws, I am unaware of any contemporary community that follows Deuteronomy 18:18-21. There will be a post at a later date about how I am coming to understand the Torah and the Jewish experience. This is not the time nor place for such a post. As Keshet is Boston based, serves the Jewish Community, and is involved in the fight for marriage equality, it seems like it hit the triple jackpot.

Now for the content of the blog on the 'day of blogs' itself. All posts (ideally) will be related my experiences from traveling. There will most likely be a post when I have been up for multiple hours where I seem out of it or unable to form coherent sentences. This should be nothing new or exciting to readers of this blog. There will be many stories, some humorous, some sad, some where I came out saying "I never want to do anything like that ever again!" and still others where I hoped my experience would never end. All in all, it would be a pretty fun ride. I hope that you will join me for at least part of the experience.